Chicken Rice with Fresh Dipping Sauces

By Carol Selva Rajah, Malaysian Cooking: A Master Cook Reveals Her Best Recipes

serves: 4–6
preparation time: 45 mins
cooking time: 30 mins

1 fresh chicken (1 kg/2 lbs), with skin on
400 g (2 cups) uncooked long-grain rice, washed and drained well
2 star anise pods
2.5 cm (1 in) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons sesame oil
6 cups (1.5 litres) Chicken Stock
3 green onions (scallions)
2 teaspoons preserved Chinese cabbage (tang chye), plus 1 more tablespoon for the soup
Salt and ground white pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sesame oil, to rub into the chicken
Thick dark soy sauce

Garlic Ginger Mix
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2.5 cm (1 in) fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

Garlic Chilli Sauce
1/4 cup (60 ml) bottled garlic chilli sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar

Accompaniments
Sliced cucumber
Sliced tomatoes (optional)
Sliced red finger-length chillies
Green onion (scallion) strips

Lift the lid while cooking and breathe in deeply the tempting aroma, especially if you are using jasmine rice and a full-bodied chicken stock. The brothy chicken aroma is layered into the dish with star anise, ginger and nutty sesame oil when the chicken is served, making it an enticing and satisfying dish for your family or guests.

Prepare the Chicken Stock. Clean the chicken well, removing the fat from under the skin and back. Dice the chicken fat and melt it in a skillet over high heat. Pour the chicken fat over the washed rice and mix well.

Grind the star anise, ginger and garlic in a food processor or a mortar until fine. Rub the paste over the entire body of the chicken and inside the body cavity.

Heat the sesame oil in a wok and stir-fry the fat-coated rice over medium heat until fragrant, 3–5 minutes. Set aside.

Bring the Chicken Stock to a boil in a pot. Add the chicken, green onions, preserved Chinese cabbage, salt and pepper. Return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer uncovered, skimming off the foam from the stock, until the chicken is just cooked, 3–4 minutes. Remove from the heat. Remove the chicken from the stock and strain the stock, discarding the solids. Rub the sesame oil over the chicken and set aside. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces just before serving.

To cook the rice, place the stir-fried rice, 21/2 cups (625 ml) of the reserved stock and salt to taste in the rice cooker. The stock should be 2.5–4 cm (1–11/2 in) above the rice level. Switch on the rice cooker and allow to cook. Alternatively, boil in a saucepan for 1–2 minutes, then cover the pan and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is cooked. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to sit for 5–10 minutes before removing the lid. If desired, add a little sesame oil to the cooked rice, then fluff with a fork to separate the grains before serving.

Prepare the Garlic Ginger Mix by grinding the garlic and ginger to a paste in a mortar. Prepare the Garlic Chilli Sauce by mixing the ingredients together.

To prepare the soup, boil the remaining stock and preserved Chinese cabbage for about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and ladle into individual serving bowls.

To serve, place the chicken rice on serving plates. Arrange the chicken pieces and Accompaniments on top. Serve immediately with the soup, Garlic Ginger Mix, Garlic Chilli Sauce, green onions and dark soy sauce on the side.

Reprinted with the express permission of Tuttle Publishing, a member of the Periplus Publishing Group.