Garlic oil Hainanese chicken rice

Poached until perfectly tender, the silky chicken rests on a bed of fragrant, garlic-infused rice. Drizzled with a nutty garlic oil, fiery chilli sauce and zesty ginger sauce, each bite delivers a brilliant balance of comforting textures and vibrant, aromatic Southeast Asian flavours.

This garlic oil Hainanese chicken rice receives a Nutri-Score of E due to the high carbohydrate content from the jasmine rice and the significant fat content from the garlic oil, chicken skin and sesame oil.

Per serving (approximate): 1450 kcal, 75g fat (of which 15g saturates), 140g carbohydrates, 12g sugars, 3g fibre, and 65g protein.

Method

Make the Chilli Sauce (10 mins + 2 hours resting – start well ahead)

1. Blend the sauce ingredients – Toss the chopped bird’s-eye chillies, peeled ginger, garlic cloves, salt, white caster sugar, lime juice, rice vinegar and chicken stock into a food processor and blend until you have a vibrant, fiery paste. Add a splash more chicken stock if you prefer a looser consistency.
2. Rest the flavours – Give the sauce a taste and tweak it with a little more salt, vinegar or sugar until it hits that perfect balance of hot, sour and sweet. Set it aside to sit for at least 2 hours – this resting time is essential as it lets the flavours deepen and mingle properly for your garlic oil Hainanese chicken rice.

Poach the Chicken (35 mins – overlaps with the chilli sauce resting)

3. Simmer the chicken – Pour 1 litre/1¾ pints of cold water into a large lidded saucepan and bring it to the boil. Drop in the smashed ginger, salt, whole spring onions, turmeric and the chicken legs. Pop the lid on, reduce the heat to low and let the chicken poach gently for 30 minutes. Cooking it low and slow keeps the meat incredibly tender.
4. Ice bath and reserve liquid – Carefully lift the cooked chicken out and plunge it straight into a bowl of ice water – this stops the cooking instantly and gives the skin a lovely, bouncy texture. Crucially, reserve all that flavourful poaching liquid in the pan as you will need it for the rice and serving.
5. Flavour the poaching liquid – Stir the light soy sauce and sesame oil into the warm reserved cooking liquid, mix it well and set it aside. You now have a brilliant, savoury broth ready to finish the dish.

Make the Garlic Oil (10 mins – do this while the chicken rests)

6. Rinse the garlic – Pop the finely chopped garlic into a bowl of cold water, give it a quick stir and drain it. This simple trick stops the garlic from burning too quickly when it hits the hot oil.
7. Fry until golden – Add the vegetable oil, rinsed garlic, finely chopped shallot and sliced chilli to a small saucepan. Turn the heat to medium-high and fry everything for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the garlic and shallots turn a gorgeous golden brown.
8. Season the oil – As soon as it hits that golden colour, turn the heat off completely. Stir in the salt, sugar, MSG and oyster sauce until everything dissolves into the fragrant oil. Pour it into a bowl and set it aside.

Cook the Garlic Rice (25 mins – overlaps with sauce making)

9. Wash the rice – Rinse the jasmine rice under cold water, drain it, and repeat this process twice more until the water runs completely clear. This removes excess starch and guarantees perfectly separate, fluffy grains.
10. Render the chicken skin – Add the vegetable oil to a pan and heat it over a medium-high heat for 1 minute. If you are using the optional chicken skin, lay it in the pan and render it down until beautifully crispy. Remove the crispy skin and set it aside, leaving all that wonderfully flavoured fat in the pan.
11. Fry the aromatics – Toss the finely chopped garlic and ginger into the rendered fat and fry for 1 to 2 minutes until they smell incredible but have not taken on any colour.
12. Steam the rice – Add the washed rice to the pan and stir it around for 1 to 2 minutes to toast it slightly. Ladle in most of your reserved chicken poaching liquid – saving a little bit for serving – until it sits about 2 to 3cm above the rice. Pop the lid on, turn the heat up to high until it boils, then immediately drop it to the lowest possible heat. Cook for 18 minutes without lifting the lid. Once done, turn the heat off and leave the lid on while you finish the rest of the dish.

Make the Ginger Sauce (5 mins – do this while the rice steams)

13. Combine the base – Put the finely chopped ginger, spring onion, salt and MSG into a small bowl and give it a good stir.
14. Pour in hot oil – Heat the vegetable oil in a small pan over a high heat until it is just shy of smoking – this should take about 2 minutes. Carefully and gently pour the screaming hot oil straight over the ginger and spring onion mixture. It will sizzle and fragrance your kitchen beautifully. Mix it well and set aside.

Assemble and Serve (10 mins)

15. Prepare the platter – Grab a large serving platter with a nice rounded edge and cover the base with the thinly sliced cucumber.
16. Debone and slice the chicken – Remove the chilled chicken from the ice bath. Lay it skin side down and run your knife along the bones. Use your thumb and index finger to push the meat away from the bone and pull it out – do not be shy, use a bit of force here. Chop the boneless chicken into 2cm/1in slices and arrange them skin side up on top of the cucumber.
17. Sauce and garnish – Pour the rest of the reserved, warmed chicken poaching liquid over the sliced meat. Generously spoon the fragrant garlic oil and the rested chilli sauce all over the top. Place the bowl of ginger sauce on the side, scatter with chopped coriander, and serve immediately alongside the fluffy garlic rice.

Additional Notes

The ice bath step for the poached chicken is absolutely key – it stops the meat from overcooking and gives the skin a gelatinous, delicate texture that is characteristic of authentic Hainanese chicken rice. Keep the leftover chicken poaching liquid in the fridge or freezer, as it makes a fantastic base for a quick noodle soup the next day.