Hainan Chicken Rice

Sorry I’ve been MIA again – we’re still settling in.  I’ve also started job searching, having left my job in DC after we moved out of state.  It’s tough to get back into a job search after having a job that I loved for the past few years.  I went on my first interview today and am still a jumble of nerves waiting to hear back about it … but I can only give it my best shot, and we’ll see how it goes!

But, even with everything going on, there has still been a lot of cooking and baking going on here.  This was one of our recent dinners – hainan chicken rice with three dipping sauces (a chili dipping sauce, a sweet soy sauce, and a ginger-scallion sauce).  My mom made this all the time while I was growing up.  I remember thinking as a kid that while it wasn’t really anything special, it tasted awfully good for just a boiled chicken!  I loved that ginger-scallion sauce too.  I would watch my mom mince up the ginger with her cleaver and marvel at how good she was at cooking.

This was my first time making this dish on my own, and the first time I’ve had it since leaving my parents’ house to go to college.  It’s a gently poached whole chicken, served chilled/at room temp.  The rice is steamed in the broth from the poached chicken, and the broth is served on the side as well.  I was pleased that my ginger-scallion sauce tasted just like my mom’s.  I think she would have been proud of me.    I never appreciated the fact that my mom put a home-cooked meal on the table every night until I started doing it myself after getting married.  So much work and love goes into every meal.  After I got married, my mom shared with me that she had no idea how to cook when she first got married.  She learned how to make one dish and made that dish every night for awhile, until she was brave enough to experiment.  I never would have guessed – I always thought, with how awesome her food was – that she grew up in the kitchen.  I couldn’t imagine a time that she didn’t know how to cook.  It’s funny to see our parents in a different light, and I love to hear her stories.

I followed Chubby Hubby’s post here for the chicken, rice, broth, and chili sauce; but I made the scallion ginger sauce from what I remember from my mom’s kitchen.  It’s super easy and simple, but so tasty.  The hot oil becomes infused with the spicy ginger and fragrant scallions.  It’s pretty strong and may be an acquired taste.  My husband definitely wasn’t crazy about it, but he doesn’t really like ginger.  And, well, you just can’t be afraid of using that oil … I usually don’t really dip my chicken into my oil (forever a bit too calorie conscious for it), but I use my chopsticks to pick up the scallion and ginger and let the excess oil drip from it before putting it on my chicken.  However, I encourage you to just dip!  I did when I was a kid. 

Scallion Ginger Sauce

• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 2 T finely minced fresh ginger
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• salt to taste

In a wok or saucepan, put the peanut oil over medium heat.  Meanwhile, combine the scallions and ginger in a small bowl.  Add a pinch of salt.  When the oil is hot, pour it over the scallions and ginger.  Taste, and salt as needed.