Chicken rice is an infamous dish that you can find at many hawker stands in Southeast Asia.

I first fell in love with this dish watching Anthony Bourdain romanticize it in one of his shows. He was visiting Singapore, jumping from food hall to food hall searching for the perfect plate of Hainanese Chicken & Rice with food blogger, K.F. Seetoh. Bourdain eventually landed at Tian Tian Chicken inside the Maxwell Food Centre. Little did I know I had been eating a version of this dish my whole life - bak chit gai. My grandmother was a connoisseur of Cantonese white cut chicken which is incredibly similar to the Hainanese-style poached chicken.

Each version starts out by gently poaching a whole chicken with aromatics like ginger and scallions. Once the chicken is cooked, it’s dropped into an ice bath to rapidly cool the chicken to maintain the texture of the chicken skin. The Hainanese take it to the next level by cooking rice in chicken fat and reserved stock from the poaching. Both variations of this delicious cold-poached chicken are served with an oil-based scallion and ginger sauce and a side of sliced red chilies.

This version is designed to be cooked for an easy weeknight dinner plus it can be scaled up to accommodate more people. Not only does it cook up quickly in one pot, it also makes for great leftovers and meal prep. Be sure to get chicken thighs with the skin and bone in tact - this gives the dish the best flavor. I recommend serving this with the Ginger Scallion Sauce and my Soy Sauce Pickled Chilies. Thank you to i am a food blog for the inspiration!

Serves Two

Ingredients for Soy Sauce Pickled Chilies

• 10-12 Serrano chilies, thinly sliced

• 1/2 cup soy sauce

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled

• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Ingredients for Ginger Scallion Sauce

• 2 bunches of scallions, green parts only

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

• 1/3 cup vegetable or canola oil

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Ingredients for Chicken & Rice

• 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic

• 1 cup Jasmine rice, washed

• 1 1/2 cup chicken stock

• 2 whole scallions

• Kosher salt to taste

• Thinly sliced cucumber, for garnish

• Cilantro, for garnish

Directions for Soy Sauce Pickled Chilies

1. To make the soy sauce pickled chilies, combine all of the ingredients in a glass container and allow to sit out for at least an hour before using. For best results, marinate overnight.

Directions for Ginger Scallion Sauce

1. Thinly slice the green parts of the scallions and transfer to a heatproof bowl either glass or metal-based. Add in the finely chopped garlic and ginger.

2. Heat the oil in a small sauce pot until smoking. Pour over the aromatics and add the kosher salt.

3. Set aside to sizzle and marinate while you prepare the chicken & rice.

Directions for Chicken & Rice

1. If you have time, place your chicken thighs in a container to brine overnight. You can make a quick brine by mixing one tablespoon of kosher salt for every cup of water. If not, remove the chicken thighs from the fridge and hour before you’re ready to cook to bring to room temperature.

2. Remove the skin from the chicken thighs. Heat the oil in a high-sided sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the chicken skins to render some of the fat for the rice. Once golden brown, remove the chicken skins and enjoy as a cook’s snack!

3. Sauté finely chopped ginger and garlic in the chicken fat for two minutes. Then, add in the washed rice and sauté until translucent, about three minutes. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock - rubbing the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to remove all of the fond.

4. Add the chicken thighs on top of the rice along with the scallions. Once the entire mixture is up to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. After, cut the heat and allow to rest with the lid on for another ten minutes.

5. To plate, remove the bones and slice the chicken thighs. Then, place the sliced chicken thighs on top of a scoop of rice, ladle some of the ginger scallion sauce, and add cilantro and sliced cucumbers.