This is one of my favorite dishes and I’ve always had the occasional craving. Thankfully I’ve picked up how to cook this dish from my friend Edwin during my 1st year of study. I’ve modified it a little bit so it’s easier to do. You don’t need any weighing machines just a lot of “guesstimation” or “agar-ation”.
So first the ingredients. You will need:
1 Whole chicken
Ginger (minimum of 1.5 handfuls depending on the intensity of ginger)
2 Cloves of Garlic
Chicken Stock (I prefer the powdered version)
Pandan leaves (optional)
Cucumber
Sesame oil
Dark Soya Sauce (make sure it’s not the thickened/caramelized kind)
Table Salt
Parsley
Spring Onions
Pepper
Rice
Step 1: Preparation
- Wash chicken inside out
- Massage chicken with salt
- Peel 1 clove of Garlic and stuff into chicken
- Remove skin from ginger and stuff 1 handful into chicken (ensure that they are about the size of your thumb)
- If possible, tie up opening of chicken so that stuffing stays inside
Step 2: Boiling of Broth
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Ensure that the pot is big enough to contain the chicken
- Add chicken stock in and stir (taste to determine amount – usually about 1 teaspoon per cup of water)
- Once it starts to boil, turn to medium heat and put chicken in
- Leave chicken in for at 30-45 minutes (you have to leave it in longer if you’re using a hot plate or weak electric stove)
- Ensure that water doesn’t boil so that chicken skin would not tear
While waiting and monitoring the chicken…
- Peel the rest of the garlic and blend it (that will be for later as one of the condiments of course)
- Skin the rest of the ginger and you have 2 options
1. You can chop it into very very tiny pieces
2. You can cut them into thumb sizes
This depends on how much you like ginger. You will be mixing the ginger with the rice so if you really hate ginger, I’d suggest option 2 as you’ll be able to remove the ginger.
- Mix sesame oil and dark soya sauce in a bowl (it should be about a 40-60 ratio)
- Slice cucumbers
- Wash pandan leaves and tie them in knots (2-3 leaves should suffice)
- Wash the rice
Step 3: Removal of chicken
- Before removing the chicken, prepare a pot of (ice) cold water
- Remove the chicken and dunk it into the pot of cold water
- Let it sit for a while
While waiting…Cook Rice
- Cook the rice as per normal except use the chicken broth instead of plain water
- Mix in the ginger
- You may throw in one of two pieces of garlic if you wish
- Put the pandan leaves on top
Step 4: Preparing the chicken
- The chicken should be cool enough for you to take it out of the pot of water
- Take out the stuffing from the chicken
- Chop the chicken (I can’t really show you how but to make it easier, chop the chicken in half then start on the legs and wings)
- After doing the necessary chopping, pour the sesame oil-dark soya sauce mixture over it
- Garnish it with cucumbers and parsley
Step 5: The Rice
- After the rice is done, remove the pandan leaves
- Then you have 2 choices
1. Pour in sesame oil and just mix
2. Remove the rice and fry it in a wok or pan in sesame oil
- Then it is ready to be served
Step 6: The Soup
- Mix in pepper and spring onions in the chicken broth
- You may choose to add in carrots, tofu and/or cabbages for taste
Chilli
Don’t bother trying to make your own chilli. It’s really too much work. Instead, go out to the nearest Asian Supermarket or Grocery store and get a bottle.
Serve chicken, rice, chilli and garlic paste.
Enjoy!
