Hainanese Chicken With Rice

Photo used for illustration shows a pretty unusual presentation for Hainanese Chicken and Rice.

i like to fry the chicken skin in the oil before adding the rice then remove to add later as a garnish

I definitely agree with the observation about the photo (which looks more like chicken salad over rice than Hainanese Chicken). The more usual presentation is pieces of chicken, which BTW are delicious dipped in the ginger scallion dipping sauce.

You know what puts the broth over the top? MSG. Blasphemy, I know. It went from being bland to tasting “correct”. Threw some frozen dumplings and Chinese noodles in the soup too. Kids loved it.

I have made this in my slow cooker. Put the chicken in the slow cooker and just cover with water, add the salt and I only use ginger. I cooked on low for 6 hours or high for 4. Its so tender and sometimes it falls apart on the platter after removing. I do save my broth but use it for soups. I will save it for the next time I make this recipe.

The tyranny of cilantro at the end. Does the dish really need cilantro because I hate it.

I’m curious can you really use and re-use stock, freezing and unfreezing it, repeatedly without causing a food safety problem?

I make a version of dashi (classic Japanese stock) and use that instead of MSG. None of the chemicals, and all the yummy ummami flavors.

The skin is a big part of this dish. Other recipes I've seen have emphasized spending some time cleaning the skin before poaching the whole chicken, and then immediately chilling the chicken in an ice bath to firm up the skin. You can then rub the skin with sesame oil before cutting the chicken into serving sizes, with the skin on, to serve with the rice and vegetables.

Rub some salt onto the breast beneath the skin as one would a dry brine, before cooking the chicken. Makes a world of difference - no more dry white meat.

Made exactly as directed, although I used a 5 lb organic chicken. Yielded meat with a very silky texture cooked in this way. Broth was excellent - looking forward to making it again with the remainder saved, which there was a LOT. Rice was stellar, too. You can really get creative with the garnishes - just use whatever you like. Snap peas, book choy and steamed broccoli was our sub.

Absolutely. I've been doing it for decades. The problem with thawing and refreezing is that bacteria can grow during the thawing phase. If you dump the frozen stock into a pot and bring it to a boil, the bugs don't have a chance to grow.

I made this and it looked almost exactly like the photo. It's mildly seasoned boiled chicken on white rice with cilantro, cucumbers, and tomato. It reminds me of the Thai dish khao man gai (chicken with rice).