Hainanese Steamed Chicken Rice

A Bowl of Opportune and Riches

Good to Know

For a healthier option, replace white rice with brown rice which gives you the goodness of fibre and vitamin B.

Ingredients

1 whole	free-range or kampong chicken (medium-sized)
1	MAGGI® Chicken Stock Cube, crumbled
1	cucumber, halved vertically and sliced 5 mm thick diagonally
For chicken rice:
3 cups	rice, washed and drained
2 tablespoons	peanut oil
4 cloves	garlic, finely chopped
4 cloves	shallots, finely chopped
3 ½ cups	water
½ cup	chicken broth (from steaming chicken)
2 tablespoons	MAGGI® Homemade Chicken Stock
3-4 pieces	pandan leaves
2 inches	ginger, bruised
For the gravy (mix in a bowl):
2 tablespoons	light soy sauce
2 tablespoons	chicken broth (from steaming chicken)
3 teaspoons	sesame oil
3 teaspoons	fried garlic oil (minced garlic fried with cooking oil)
For the chilli sauce:
4	red chillies
2	bird’s eye chillies (optional)
3 cloves	garlic
2 cm	young ginger, sliced
100 ml	chicken broth (from steaming chicken)
1 teaspoon (or to taste)	sugar
1 teaspoon (or to taste)	MAGGI® CukupRasa™
3 tablespoons (or to taste)	Kalamansi lime
For garnishing:
	coriander leaves and spring onion (shredded)

Preparation

For the chicken:

1. Firstly, thoroughly clean the chicken under running water.

2. Next, rub the cavity and the skin of the chicken with the crumbled MAGGI® Chicken Stock Cube and leave it to marinate for about 1 to 2 hours.

3. When the chicken has been properly marinated, place it in a large steamer or wok and let it steam on high heat for about 30 minutes or until the meat is thoroughly cooked. You can use a chopstick to poke through the chicken to see if it’s cooked.

4. Remove the chicken from the steamer and set aside the juice/broth from the steamer/wok to prepare the rice, gravy and chilli sauce for dipping.

5. Allow the chicken to cool before chopping into desired serving size.

Filling:

1. In a wok, heat some oil and fry the chopped shallot and garlic until fragrant and golden brown in colour.

2. Then, add the rice into the wok and stir well. Next, transfer the rice mixture into a rice cooker.

3. After transferring the rice into the rice cooker pot, add in water, chicken broth from the steamed chicken, MAGGI® Homemade Chicken Stock, pandan leaves and the bruised ginger.

4. Stir the ingredients well and allow it to cook. If you would like the texture of your rice to be a little softer, add more water or chicken broth.

For the chilli sauce:

1. Using a blender, blend the red chillies, bird’s eye chillies, garlic and sliced ginger along with the chicken broth until it reaches the desired consistency.

2. When that is done, place a pan over low heat and pour the blended mixture into it. Next, add lime juice, sugar and MAGGI® CukupRasa™ to taste.

3. Finally, turn off the heat and allow the sauce to cool.

Serving suggestions:

1. Neatly place the cucumber slices on an oval plate.

2. Next, place the chopped chicken on the cucumber slices and pour over the chicken gravy.

3. Then, garnish the chicken with coriander leaves and shredded spring onions.

4. Finally, serve a nice warm bowl of chicken rice along with the chilli sauce and enjoy your very own homemade chicken rice.

Chef tips: Chilli sauce can be stored in an airtight glass jar for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.