Long before being called the "Hawaii of China" with some of its most expensive real estates in China, Hainan Island in south eastern China was famous for one thing namely the irresistible Hainanese chicken rice. Migrants brought this simple dish to South East Asia and became one of the most popular dishes of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Everyone has their favourite version and since the method of cooking the rice and bird remained basically unchanged, it is the condiments served along side the dish that sets them apart. Malaysians love to serve it with a garlicky chili sauce, the Singaporean would have the same but some extra sweet dark soy on the side, meanwhile the Thais are happy with an equally addictive bean paste sauce. The beauty about this dish is you can just cook the chicken and rice and as long as you have prepared all the different sauces mentioned above you will be able to keep everyone happy. Since this is an unofficial "Thai week at the tummies'", I will be showing you the Thai version - khao mun gai (directly translater as rice-oil/fat-chicken and you'll see why) today.
Updated on 17/01/12 - click HERE for the Malaysian version.
Updated on 17/01/12 - click HERE for the Malaysian version.
you'll need;
1 free range chicken, cleaned and excess fat removed*
2 garlic cloves
3 coriander roots
5 cm knob of ginger, sliced
1 shallot, halved
dash of soy
dash of Chinese cooking wine
salt and white pepper to taste
spicy ginger and chili bean sauce (nam chim tao jiaw)to serve
cucumber, peeled and sliced to serve
spring onion to serve
bokchoy, washed and halved**
* use this to render the chicken fat needed
** blanch and serve in the chicken poaching broth
for the rice;
2 cups of jasmine rice, washed, rinsed and drained
3 tbs of chicken lard
2 garlic cloves, minced
chicken poaching stock
Place chicken and aromatics in a stock pot and cover with enough salted water. Bring it to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes then turn off the heat, cover and let the chicken steep in the hot stock til it cools down. If you are in a hurry, simmer the chicken for 30 minutes, remove and rinse under cold running water for a minute.
OMG this is so cool. I just watched Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations last night. He was in Singapore and was raving about the local dish Chicken and Rice. The condiments looked fantastic! I am excited to try your Thai version!
ReplyDeleteOh yum... will your Msian version be the steam one or the Roasted one?
ReplyDeleteI love chicken rice.. when I was in school, I had chicken/char siew rice every day for lunch 3 weeks straight.. even the chicken rice seller knew who I was and when I got out of the car he would just look at me, nod, smile and give me my food!
That's what you call service =P
oh tummy u make me drooling lah! i like any type of chicken rice tau! especially my kids! but tak pernah buat thai version of chicken rice, must try! thanks 4 sharingg!!
ReplyDeleteI love chicken rice but I have never tried the Thai version. It looks good and I can't wait to taste the sauce too!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite! I think I am going to need all the different sauces on the table :)
ReplyDeleteYour step by step instructions make it very simple to follow!
hi tummy..makcik berhajat nak masak nasi ayam besuk..hari ni anak makcik pulang dari London..semua suka nasi ayam this version..I'll try your recipe..thanks..
ReplyDeleteoh yum, I love this dish, didnt realise you could get so many different condiments for it
ReplyDeleteOh yum! I never tried the Thai version before and the sauce looks very delicious. Why people always tell me chicken rice is too hard to make at home??
ReplyDeletehi tummy..wah this really look marvellous..sgt sesuai utk orang berdiet kan! hehe
ReplyDeletewor, this look so delicious, next time i going to try that bean paste sauce.
ReplyDeleteLyndsey .
ReplyDeleteThank you very much! I watched that episode too :) Do try it and see what you think.
msihua,
I will do both. You must be eating a lot of chicken rice to get service like that lol
ijayuji,
Haha cubalah! Sosnya mesti buat banyak-banyak tau :)
Tricia F,
The real difference lies in the sauce really.Do try though!
shanshan,
Thank you! Try and see what you think!
mohdandmeriam,
Terima kasih makcik! Makcik sungguh sibuk masak untuk anak and cucu, sungguh bahagia mereka ;)
Maria,
Oh yes you do get all type of sauce. I 'll do the rest in the near future.
Yasmin ,
Thank you! Do try it. As you can see it is very simple :)
Inahar,
Thank you! Memang bagus buat orang yang berdiet walaupun ada sedikit lemak ayam didalam nasinya.
Sonia ,
Thank you! Just make some of the sauce and see if you like it.
泰式海南雞飯我還沒試過。下回要做些你的醬料來試一試!
ReplyDeletethis is a great simple style dish. i love hainanese chicken rice...making my mouth water right now lol. the spicy gingery sauce makes the difference to the dish
ReplyDeleteGorgeous food. I might try that for an informal dinner party soon. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteOh I love chicken rice! This looks wonderful and I can't wait to try the Thai version!
ReplyDeleteYou are indeed an amazing cook! Now it's only 5pm and I'm already hungry drooling at your pics. Well, dinner won't be served till around 8.30pm, wedding dinner, that's why!
ReplyDeleteI eat this (Malaysian version) quite often and now I must try making this at home. I would love to know how to make a good chili sauce for chicken rice too.
ReplyDeleteชอบมากๆ ข้าวมันไก่ของคุณดูดีมาก
ReplyDeleteThat sounds great!
ReplyDeleteIt looks so tasty with all of these sauces.
Thanks for this Thai dish and the history behind it!
~B xx
I saw the Anthony Bourdain show also. This looks delicious and you definitely know how to take great photos!
ReplyDeleteWe just returned home from a Thai dinner in South Melbourne and it was a rather disappointing meal. I wish we were served your food instead lol
ReplyDeleteThis is the boys favourite road side meal in Thailand so I will certainly be making this!
Umm now this is simple enough recipe. Easy and elegant! I haven't mastered cutting a whole chicken yet! Happy Weekend!
ReplyDeleteI eat a lot of this in Thailand. Delicious and only 30 bath hehe
ReplyDeleteMy favourite all time dish is Hainanese chicken rice. esp teh thick caramel kicap OOOHHHHH .I do it this way too.Poached n left in the pot forevr....The chopping part is tricky ..I can never get neat clean slices....must sharpen my cleaver...and my cleaver skills. m hungry.
ReplyDeleteFabulous!!
ReplyDeleteThis is a good dish! Simple to make and looks very delicious!
ReplyDeletereally delicious yaar..u make me hungry.
ReplyDeletefullamakk! i ter`missed` ur nasi ayam la tummy! next time i`ll try! thanx!!
ReplyDeleteoh wow I adore your blog the history and I always leave hungry
ReplyDeleteWe love chicken rice but have not tried the Thai version. Thanks for the background of the dish buddy!
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for this and a khao mak gai recipe since I left Thailand. Thank you so much for making this.
ReplyDelete