The Recipe · No.712 · Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hainanese Chicken Rice, and Where to Source It

The chicken stays silky because you never boil it; you slip it into barely-trembling water, cook it just to done, then shock it in ice so the skin sets into a jelly layer. The rice is the second half: fry it in rendered chicken fat and garlic, then cook it in the poaching broth so every grain tastes of chicken.

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Published July 2026 · Sourcing verified 5 Jul 2026

Prep20 min
Cook40 min
Makes4 servings
CuisineSingaporean
Part One
The Ingredients — and where to get them
Whole chicken
A good small bird poached whole; the fat and broth are half the dish. A pasture-raised chicken has real flavor.
1 (3-4 lb)
Source it →
Jasmine rice
Fried in chicken fat, then cooked in broth. Long-grain jasmine stays separate and fragrant.
2 cups
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Ginger
In the poaching water and pounded into the scallion oil. Firm, heavy hands of ginger are freshest.
1 large knob
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Soy sauce and sesame oil
For the dipping sauce and to gloss the chicken. A naturally brewed soy has real depth.
to taste
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Scallions and garlic
Scallions for the raw ginger-scallion oil, garlic for the rice. Fresh, bought local.
to taste
Local / market
One list, with a link to where to buy each one.
Part Two
The Method
  1. Poach gentlySlip the chicken into barely-simmering water with ginger and scallion and poach just until cooked through, never boiling.
  2. Shock and restPlunge the chicken into ice water to set the skin, then rest it. Save the poaching broth.
  3. Fry the riceRender some chicken fat, fry garlic and rice in it, then cook the rice in the poaching broth.
  4. Sauces and servePound a ginger-scallion oil, mix a soy dip, chop the chicken, and serve it over the fragrant rice.
Part Three
The Toolkit

Large pot · Rice cooker · Cleaver

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