My recipe is an amalgamation of many experiments over time. I incorporated my brother-in-law’s tip of stuffing the cavity with ginger and then using that ginger for the sauce. A Hainanese man I once conversed with, mentioned that his family rendered the chicken fat to fry the rice grains. To add a Peranakan touch to the chilli sauce, I used dried chillies in addition to the fresh Holland chillies. I got the tip from the Cricket Club recipe to plunge the chicken in an ice cold bath to stop the cooking process, and to simmer the chicken to keep it tender. I am sure that there are many recipes out there. But this is good enough for me. Hopefully you will like it too.

For precision, I have opted to weigh out the various ingredients because different countries have different sizes of garlic and such.

Chicken

• 1 Chicken, about 1.5 to 2 Kg (3 ½ to 4 ½ pounds). Ask your butcher not to trim the fat.
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 150 g or 5 ounces ginger, skinned and julienned
• 20 g or ¾ ounces garlic, minced
• 12 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Light soy sauce, to drizzle according to preference
• Sesame oil, to drizzle according to preference

Garnish

• 1 cucumber, skinned and sliced
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• Cilantro
• Spring onions, trimmed to thin strips

Method to cook chicken

1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Trim the fat and set aside for the rice.
2. Stuff half of the julienned ginger into the chicken cavity. (I then prefer to truss my chicken.)
3. Heat a deep and tall stockpot, add the oil. Lightly fry the remaining ginger and minced garlic until fragrant. Add the water and salt. Cover with the lid and bring to a rolling boil.
4. Turn down the heat to a simmer and add the chicken to the pot, breast side down. If necessary, top up with more water to fully immerse the chicken. Gently simmer the chicken to keep the chicken tender.
5. Simmer for 60 to 75 minutes for the chicken to cook through. (If you like yours pinkish, you can simmer for 60 minutes.)
6. Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath by filling a different pot with cold water. Add ice cubes if you like.
7. When the chicken is cooked, scoop and gently plunge the chicken into the ice bath to stop the cooking process.
8. After 10 – 15 minutes, transfer the chicken to a platter to air dry.
9. Reserve the stock for the soup, rice and sauces.
10. Before serving, divide the chicken into serving pieces, separating the drumsticks and wings and chicken thighs. Debone the thigh. Split the chicken breast away from the cartilage and slice each half breast into 1.5 cm or ½ inch pieces.
11. Arrange on a serving platter. Drizzle with light soy sauce and sesame oil, according to preference.
12. Garnish with sliced cucumber, tomatoes, cilantro and spring onions.

Chilli Sauce

• 7 g or ¼ ounces dried chillies (soaked in hot water)
• 120 g or 4 ounces Holland chillies, stemmed and chopped
• 20 g or ¾ ounces garlic
• 30 g or 1 ounce ginger, skinned and julienned
• ¼ cup chicken stock (taken from the boiled chicken)
• Juice from 1 key lime (or calamansi)
• Sugar and salt, according to preferred taste

Method

Pound or blend the dried chillies, chillies, garlic and ginger. Drizzle in the chicken stock until you obtain a nice blended sauce. Add the lime juice. Season with sugar and salt according to taste.

Ginger Sauce

• 60 g or 2 ounces ginger, previously stuffed in the chicken during boiling
• 20 g or ¾ ounces garlic
• ¼ cup chicken stock
• Juice from 1 key lime (or calamansi)

Method

Pound or blend the ginger and garlic. Drizzle in the chicken stock until you obtain a nice blended sauce. Add the lime juice.

Rice

• 3 cups Jasmine rice, rinsed three times
• Chicken fat, trimmed from the chicken prior to boiling
• 60 g or 2 ounces ginger, skinned and grated finely
• 5 pandan leaves, trimmed and knotted
• 3 cups chicken stock (from the boiled chicken)

Method

Rinse the rice with water three times until the water runs clear. Let the rice drain in a colander.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Render the chicken fat. Remove the remnants of the fat. Add the rice and gently fry until the rice grains turn opaque. Do not scorch the rice. Stir in the grated ginger and toss in the knotted pandan leaves. Continue to stir until fragrant. Transfer to the rice pot and cover the rice with the chicken stock. Cook the rice according to the cooker instructions.

To serve, I tend to put my rice in a serving bowl to let my guests decide how much rice they would like. I position several small bowls of the ginger and chilli sauces around the table, along with bowls of dark soy sauce. If you have a thicker type of soy sauce (also called sweet flour sauce), that would be even better.

As for the soup, I would serve it upon request, using individual bowls. The soup can be flavored with a dash of white pepper, more salt and some finely chopped spring onions.