Growing up in a Thai-American household, watching my mom make Hainanese chicken rice is one of my fondest food memories. I’d watch her poach a whole chicken and use the resulting broth to cook rice seasoned with loads of pungent garlic and cilantro. Then slices of the tender-juicy bird were served with the fragrant rice drizzled with sweet soy, a spicy ginger-garlic dipping sauce, crunchy sliced cucumbers and scallions, and a bowl of broth.
Over the years, my mom’s recipe for Hainanese chicken rice—called khao mun gai (chicken fat rice) in her native Thailand—has evolved. These days, she often uses a Costco rotisserie chicken, a favorite among home cooks and chefs, instead of poaching her own bird. The store-bought chicken contains plenty of schmaltz, which is essential for adding rich flavor to the rice. She adds the fat to the rice cooker with jasmine rice, chicken broth, and aromatics, then quickly makes a sauce.
The result is a meal that’s as delicious as the original but comes together in half the time. Here is what you need to know to make shortcut Hainanese chicken rice at home.
Allrecipes/Debbie Wolfe
What Is Hainanese Chicken Rice?
Hainanese chicken rice has roots in Hainan, an island off China’s south coast. But it’s a popular dish in many Southeast Asian countries, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. There are many variations, but the dish typically features slices of chicken, rice cooked in chicken broth, sliced cucumbers, and a variety of sauces like sweet soy, chile, and ginger garlic.
The basic version of my mom’s shortcut Hainanese chicken rice calls for a Costco rotisserie chicken, rice, chicken bouillon powder, salt, and optional flavor enhancers like cilantro and garlic. You can serve the dish drizzled with store-bought sweet soy sauce and/or homemade ginger-garlic and ginger-scallion dipping sauces.
How To Make Mom’s Shortcut Hainanese Chicken Rice at Home
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If you’re crunched for time or don’t have the ingredients on hand, you can skip making the sauces—but Ma’s garlic-ginger sauce is one of the best parts of the dish and plays well with the savory flavors of the rice and poultry.
Ingredients
- 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
- 1 Costco rotisserie chicken
- 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 10 cilantro stems
- 5 to 10 cloves of garlic, crushed (optional)
- Chopped cilantro
- Sliced cucumber
For ginger-garlic sauce:
- 10 cilantro stems
- 5 cloves garlic
- 3 Thai chiles
- 2 tablespoons of minced or grated ginger
- 1/2 tablespoon Thai soybean paste or miso paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon black soy sauce or hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Pinch of salt
For garlic-scallion sauce:
- 1/4 cup of sliced scallions
- 1 tablespoon of minced ginger
- 1/2 cup of neutral oil (such as peanut or grapeseed)
Directions
Step 1
Put the jasmine rice (preferred over white rice for its fragrant and fluffy qualities, according to Ma) into your rice cooker. Throw in the chicken fat from your rotisserie chicken (about 3 tablespoons), chicken bouillon powder and salt. Then pour whatever amount of water your rice cooker usually calls for and follow your machine’s directions.
Step 2
To boost the flavor of the rice, my mom adds in about 10 cilantro stems and 5 to 10 cloves of crushed or minced garlic to the rice cooker before turning it on. While you can skip adding these ingredients, it’s a really easy way to elevate the dish with garlicky and subtly nutty notes.
Step 3
To make my mom’s spicy, umami-rich sauce, use your food processor to purée all of the ingredients for the ginger-garlic sauce. And/or to or to make a ginger-scallion sauce, put the sliced scallions and minced ginger in a medium heat-safe bowl; heat the oil on medium high until shimmering; and carefully pour the hot liquid on top of the ginger and scallions.
Step 4
Slice the chicken and serve it alongside the rice with the sauces of your choice. I also like to sprinkle some fresh cilantro on top and enjoy everything with slices of fresh cucumber.
