Haianese Chicken and Rice (Com Ga Hai Nam)
This Haianese chicken and rice dish is made with ginger scented, perfectly poached chicken and fragrant, seasoned rice. I typically like to serve this dish with chili sauce, soup, and a side of herbs and veggies. It takes a bit of effort to make this dish at home, but trust me, the results are worth it. This dish is great for serving a small gathering of people, as it's really a three-in-one dish of chicken, rice, and soup. Even better is that you can save the broth to be used as a starting point the next time you make chicken this way, intensifying the dish's flavor, or you can use the leftovers as a base for other dishes.
PREP TIME: 30 MINS COOK TIME: 1 HRS, 30 MINS TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS
Ingredients
For the chicken and soup
1 whole chicken, 5 pounds
1 and 1/2 tablespoon salt
4-inch ginger, sliced
3 scallions, green and white parts, sliced into 1-inch sections
1 and 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
For the ginger garlic sauce
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
For the chili sauce
2 limes, juiced
4 tablespoons poached chicken broth
4 teaspoons sugar
8 tablespoons sriracha
8 cloves garlic
1-inch ginger
For the rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch freshly grated ginger
2 cups uncooked rice
2 cups poached chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
To make the chicken and soup, wash the inside and outside of the chicken. Place on a large plate and pat dry with a paper towel. Season the inside and outside of the chicken generously with the salt. Stuff the chicken with the ginger and scallions.
Place the chicken in a large pot and fill with enough water to cover the chicken by 1 inch. Don't worry if some of the ginger and scallions begin floating to the surface of the water.
Bring the pot to a boil. Once the pot has come to a boil, lower the heat and let simmer for one and a half hours.
Once the chicken is fully cooked, turn off the heat and remove the chicken from the soup and place it into a large container full of ice water to stop the cooking process. Be sure to save the poached chicken broth for the sauces, rice, and soup. Once the chicken is cooled, rub the chicken with the sesame oil to prevent it from becoming too dry. Set aside.
To make the ginger garlic sauce, heat the vegetable oil in a small pan. Once heated, remove from heat. Add the ginger and garlic and let sizzle. Once the sizzling has subsided, add the salt and vinegar.
To make the chili sauce, in a small food processor, blend the lime juice, poached chicken broth, sugar, sriracha, garlic, and ginger until well combined and smooth.
To make the rice, heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot. Add the garlic and ginger. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the rice, poached chicken broth, sesame oil, and salt. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until the rice is cooked through.
When the rice is almost done cooking, heat the soup and taste. Adjust seasoning by adding salt if needed.
Divide the chicken for serving. Drizzle the ginger garlic sauce over the chicken. Serve the chicken over a bed of rice, with individual bowls of chili sauce and soup.
