Day one of my challenge, I’m starting simple with Singapore. I have a little bit of an inkling as I’ve actually been there 🙂
Friends suggested a few ideas – Chilli crab, Laksa and some others I came across – Hokkien Mee (noodle soup) , Murtabak (stuffed pancake). In my endeavours to start my project off on a positive note I opted for the relatively straight forward Hainanese Chicken.
There were a fair few recipes on the web with varying levels of difficulty and duration but I opted for the one below.
I found it simple to follow and the end result was enjoyable. It was fresh tasting and healthy. I might be tempted to add some coriander leaves and a few fresh chilli strands to give it an even fresher zing!
My rating – 7/10.
This is the recipe I followed:
Ingredients
1.6 kg chicken
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
6 slices root ginger, plus 2 tbsp grated root ginger
4–5 garlic cloves
400 g long-grain white rice
salt
4 spring onions thinly sliced
chilli sauce to serve
Method
Place the chicken in a large saucepan so that it fits snugly.
Cover with water, then add the rice wine, soy sauce, sesame oil, sliced ginger and one of the garlic cloves, lightly bruised.
Cover with a lid and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and allow to stand for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, strain and reserve the stock. When the chicken is cool enough to handle pull the meat away from the bones. Discard the bones and most of the skin (reserve some for later).
Cut the chicken meat into small pieces.
Heat a large heavy-based saucepan over medium–high heat. Fry the reserved chicken skin until the oil is released. Chop the remaining garlic cloves and add to the pan with the grated root ginger. Cook for 1–2 minutes, or until just fragrant, taking care not to burn the garlic. Remove the chicken skin from the pan, then add the rice and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring, until all the flavours are well combined.
Add 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) of the reserved stock. Season with the salt, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the rice is cooked and the stock has been absorbed.
Remove from the heat and keep warm until ready to serve.
Heat the remaining stock to use as a broth.
Check the seasoning, adding more soy sauce if needed.
To serve, spoon the rice into bowls, add a ladle of hot stock and some pieces of the cooked chicken. Sprinkle with the spring onions and serve with chilli sauce.
A Year Cooking the World 