Hai Nam Chicken Rice

Here another dishes that is widely enough and enjoy in many Asian culture. Even though there were some changes that were made passing down from generation to generation and culture to culture, but we can all agreed that it was originated from a region in China call Hai Nam. Or at least this is what it is called in most restaurant and people that I know that makes this dish. Simple as it is, yet the chicken is burst with flavors that compliment the chicken very nicely. My guess is that this is Asian comforting food, or at least it is for our house.

The taste though is very similar, but the ingredients and the sauce might be a bit different. I noticed the Vietnamese and Cambodian version they used broken rice. It actually very good this way too! And they would accompany this dish with some pickle carrot and diakon. As for the sauce they would use the sweet and sour fish sauce.

My version is the Chinese version, the one that you can find in Chinese restaurant.
Although it is easy to make, but it is time consuming. The longest would be steaming the chicken and then cooking the rice. Too bad there no way to shorten the process, unless you used the can chicken broth to cook the rice and steam the chicken at the same time, but it will defeat the whole purpose of this awesome dish. So take the long way, and I guarantee you that you will appreciate it more. So will your family and their health! I know my kids did, because once in awhile they would ask me to make it for them.


Ingredients:

1 Whole chicken 4-6 lb (organic best flavor)
1 Cup finely chopped scallion
1 Tbsp powder or cube chicken soup based
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3 Garlic glove, minced
1 Tsp of ginger minced
1 Tbsp kosher salt + ½ Tsp of salt
½ Tsp black pepper
4 Cup of jasmine rice uncooked, clean

Dipping sauce:

1 Tbsp of vegetable oil
1 Tbsp of ginger, minced
1 Tbsp of scallion, minced
1 Tbsp of cilantro, minced (optional, can used whole to eat as a vegetable)
1 Tsp of sugar

Mix everything together and set aside

Methods:

1. Clean and towel dried the chicken.
2. Take the minced ½ Tbsp of the salt, ginger, scallion, and garlic and spread it evenly under the chicken skin. Let it sit for 30 minutes or more.
3. In a steamer, add the rest of the salt in enough (10 cups or more) water to steam the chicken. Put it in top tray and steam for 45 minutes.
4. When the chicken is cooked. Remove the water or juice from the chicken steam bottom part and pour it on top of the clean rice in the rice cooker. With your index finger, measure up to the first notch on your finger for nice firm rice. If you like it soft then go past that a little.
5. Press cook and wait.
6. Meanwhile, when the rice is almost done. Sautee the finely chopped scallion in the 2 tbsp of vegetable oil by heating the oil to hot, add the scallion and remove from the stove.
7. Pour the hot oil and scallion on the cook rice with the ½ tsp of salt and mix well.
8. Serve by chopping the chicken to desire size and arrange it around the rice with some cucumber and cilantro. And the dipping sauce on a side.
9. If you still have some juice left, make it into soup by adding some cilantro and white pepper.

Serve hot.