Hainan Chicken Rice

Sorry, I forgot to include the pickle in the photo

I felt like having Hainanese Chicken Rice for dinner but I didn’t want to order for delivery. Many restaurants don’t get it right; well, I’m judging them by my dad’s recipe, which to me is the gold standard, because that’s how he would make it, considering I can claim Malaysian Chinese for my heritage, and I AM half Hainanese! 

So I decided to get the ingredients delivered and make my own. It’s really not that hard; it’s just that I don’t normally feel like cooking. This is a slightly different version from what I had previously made. This one uses chicken fat. One thing I cannot do is cut up the chicken as prettily as restaurants do since I don’t have a cleaver, but the taste is what I remember. I like basmati rice, so the rice isn't "authentic."

Ginger Scallion Dip

• 2 tblsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tblsp chopped scallion
• 2 tblsp vegetable oil
• salt, to taste

Spicy Dip

• 1/4 cup Sambal Olek (yes, it came from a jar)

Sweet Pickle

• 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tblsp salt
• 1 cup white wine vinegar 

Chicken

• 1 whole chicken, uncut

Broth

• 1/2 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 1” fresh ginger, peeled and thickly sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced carrots
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup fresh mustard greens, roughly chopped 

Rice

• fat from chicken + vegetable oil if necessary
• 1 tblsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, mashed
• 1 cup white basmati rice, rinsed and drained

SWEET PICKLE

1. Combine sugar and salt with vinegar until sugar has completely dissolved. Add cucumber. 
2. Cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

CHICKEN

1. Remove fat from chicken and set the fat aside. 
2. Put chicken in a large pot and fill with enough cold water to cover. Heat until just boiling, then turn off the heat. 
3. Take the chicken out and rinse it in cold water and throw away the liquid. 
4. Rinse the pot and put in the same amount of cold water. Add onion, ginger, carrot and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. 
5. Add the whole chicken. Cover and turn off the heat. Wait 30 minutes. 
6. Take the chicken out and heat the broth until boiling. Put the chicken in. Cover and turn off the heat. Wait 30 minutes. Take out the chicken. 
7. Shock the chicken to stop the cooking process and bring it to room temperature, then cut into small pieces. 
8. Bring remaining chicken broth to a boil. 
9. Add mustard greens to the broth and simmer covered for 15 minutes.

RICE

1. Heat chicken fat until hot until rendered.  Add enough vegetable oil to make 2 tblsp of cooking fat.
2. Sauté ginger and garlic for a couple of minutes until fragrant. 
3. Add rice and sauté until slightly translucent. Add 1 2/3 cup of the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Cover slightly and cook on low heat for 15 minutes. 
4. Turn the heat off and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Fluff before serving.

Kedgeree

Late last night I decided I wanted kedgeree for Sunday lunch (it’s a good breakfast dish, and I don’t even normally eat breakfast), but I couldn’t find it on any menu, so I had to do a late night Instacart order for ingredients! Sigh.

Of course there were ingredients that just simply were not available in any store (like smoked haddock) or others that I would actually have to cook (like eggs), so I really had to improvise. It turned into dinner because I had to get the fish defrosted. I used soy milk because I don’t drink milk, but I do drink soy milk. I would have preferred oat milk, but the store didn’t have any oat milk.

The milkfish wasn’t very smoky and it was smishier (I know it’s not a word) than I would have liked, but that was the best I could do.

I thought I had curry powder but I only have turmeric, so I had to improvise the curry powder with turmeric, paprika, mimita, and five-spice powder. Yeah, it’s not the same, but it turned out fine.

The dish was actually quite good!

• 8 hard-boiled quail eggs, halved
• 1 cup cooked rice
• 3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 lb smoked milkfish, skinned and filleted
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 1 medium white onion, sliced
• 1 tblsp curry powder
• 1½ tbsp lemon juice
• 3 tblsp fresh chopped parsley
• salt and pepper to taste
• lemon wedges to serve

1. Pour the soy milk into a large saucepan and bring to a simmer with the bay leaves.
2. Transfer the fish to the simmering milk and top up with a drop of boiling water to almost cover the fish.
3. Bring back to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, bathing the fish in the hot milk with a spoon intermittently.
4. When the fish is cooked, remove it from the pan to a plate. Set aside. Save a couple of tablespoons to add to the dish at the end for extra moisture, if preferred.
5. Using a large frying pan, heat olive oil and gently sauté the onions until soft and just beginning to color at the edges.
6. Add the curry powder and lemon juice and stir well.
7. Add the rice and chopped parsley to the pan with plenty of black pepper and salt to taste. Fold it all together until evenly mixed and piping hot.
8. Break up the fish by gently flaking into pieces with a fork and add to the pan. Fold through, continuing to heat.
9. Season to taste with salt, pepper, lemon juice, etc. Add a drop of the reserved poaching liquid for extra moisture if preferred.
10. Fold through 6 of the 8 halved quail eggs.
11. Transfer the kedgeree to a serving bowl and garnish with the remainder of the eggs, extra chopped parsley, and lemon wedges.