Chicken rice is one of those wholesome meals that will leave you feeling warm and content. Malaysia has blessed us with many variations of this dish. Typically, there are three types of chicken servings—steamed, fried and roasted. The popularity of this dish has risen to the point where it can be found in any hawker stalls. Depending on the stall, you could choose to have more than one type of protein as well—offering a choice of char siew and siu yok aside from the mainstream chicken.
Either way, a good plate of this chicken meal means flavoured rice, a big portion of chicken, clear soup, a few slices of cucumber and a small side of spicy sambal.
Origin of Chicken Rice
History suggests that the first chicken rice dish was first conceived in Hainan, hence the famous Hainanese Chicken Rice. During the Qin rule back in 221 BC, Hainan was recognised for four dishes that have marked the emblem of Hainanese culture.
One of these four dishes includes the variation of this dish made with the Wenhang (a district in Hainan) chicken. The meat of this bird is typically fattier and sweeter due to its coconut and peanut bran diet. From there, this dish has been introduced to other countries, where it is now a well-known dish throughout Asia.
Chicken Rice Recipe: How to Make Authentic Chicken Rice
Difficulty: Easy3-4
servings20
minutes20
minutes284
kcalChicken rice is a dish made of rice, chicken (either steamed, fried or roasted) and a bowl of rich clear soup. This recipe will teach you how to make chicken rice at home. Although a little labour intensive, the end result of this dish will make it all worth it!
Ingredients
- To prep the stock:
1 whole chicken
1 large onion (roughly chopped)
1 inch ginger (finely sliced)
2 stalks of lemongrass
3 cloves of garlic
- To prep the rice:
5 cups of rice
1 inch ginger (finely sliced)
3 onions (finely sliced)
4 cloves of garlic (finely sliced)
1 cinnamon stick
1 clove
1 tbsp butter
- To prep the chicken:
3 cloves of garlic
½ inch ginger
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp black pepper sauce
Sweet soy sauce at hand
½ tbsp. brown sugar
Salt to taste
1 chicken bullion
1 tbsp margarine
- To prep the sambal:
5-7 large red chillies
1 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp lime juice or vinegar
4 tbsp chilli sauce
- To prep the soup:
1 cinnamon stick
1 clove
1 tbsp pepper
Salt to taste
Chicken parts like the neck and feet
Fried onion for garnish
Parsley for garnish
Directions
- First, prep the soup. Cut the chicken into 8 parts. Wash and reserve the fat and unwanted parts like the neck and feet from the bird. Next, boil the chicken pieces. Fill a pot with enough water to cover the chicken, add the soup prep ingredients and let boil for 10 minutes. Reserve the liquid after you remove the pot from heat.
- To make the rice, use a rice cooker and add in the chicken fat and margarine. Let the fats melt before adding in the cinnamon, clove, garlic, onion and ginger. Sauté for two minutes. Then, add the rice, chicken bouillon and salt. Mix well and add the reserved chicken stock from before. Set the rice cooker to cook. Add a little turmeric powder if you want a brighter yellow to your rice.
- Now, use the leftover chicken stock for the rice and add the sweet soy sauce. Mix well and set aside. You will pour this on top of the fried chicken before serving.
- Place the cooked chicken in a large bowl and add in chicken prep ingredients. Marinate for at least an hour. Deep fry the chicken until the skin turns brown. Keep the heat on low to avoid the chicken from drying out.
- Next, make the sambal. Use a food processor and finely blend all the ingredients for the sauce. Then, pour the mix into a pot and set on the stove to reduce the sambal. Stir for five minutes until the sambal thickens.
- To make the soup, boil the chicken neck, wingtips and feet with a stick of cinnamon, clove, a chicken bouillon cube, pepper and salt. Boil for 10 minutes and garnish with parsley and fried onion.
- Lastly, plate your chicken rice. On individual plates, portion out some rice and chicken for one person and pour on one tablespoon of the soy sauce and sambal onto the chicken. Get a small bowl for a serving of soup.
Ways to enjoy Chicken Rice
If you’re a veggie-lover, an added crunch from some sliced cucumbers will do wonders for this dish! Not to mention, dipping the cucumbers in sambal would serve as a good finish to this dish as well.
You could also add a small side of ginger and garlic paste made by simply grating equal parts garlic and ginger. This condiment will give your dish an excellent heat factor.
Explore other popular Malaysian delights with Lokataste Recipe and more!
