Hainanese chicken with rice – for New Year resolutions

Hainanese chicken with rice – for New Year resolutions

January 11, 2011 by Claire

Does anyone remember the very sweet, modest winner of Master Chef Dhruv Baker? He was a fantastic contestant. Anyway, ages ago in delicious. magazine they featured a recipe by Dhruv that is now nowhere to be seen on the internet. Can’t find it on the delicious website or anywhere. But luckily I have a copy I ripped out of the magazine, because it was a really tasty, light meal. Perfect for all those New Year resolutions and fad diets everyone is on at the moment.

I have made a couple of tiny amendments. I’ve listed the recipe as it appeared for four people. For two you can either do what I did which was do 1 litre of stock then fiddle about and ad-lib with the other ingredients, because they aren’t easily halved. Or make the whole lot and freeze half the stock.

1. Put chicken in a saucepan, then cover with the stock. Add the halved spring onion, ginger, garlic and dried spices. Place over a high heat, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10-12 minutes, covered, until chicken is cooked through.

2. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and set aside covered in foil. Sieve the stock into a bowl to get rid of the bits and pieces then return to the pan and boil to reduce by half.

3. Meanwhile in a separate bowl mix the chillies, vinegar and soy sauce (and honey, if like me you want it a little sweeter) and mix.

4. Spoon some rice onto the plates. Slice the chicken and place on top. Spoon a little of the flavoured stock over and place the rest in a little bowl for people to help themselves. Serve with the dipping sauce and shredded spring onion on top. In the photo I had mine with some stir-fried home grown runner beans, from my freezer, in some ginger, garlic and soy sauce.

5. The stock, before you boil it down, would make a lovely soup with some noodle and shredded vegetables or chicken.