Shortcut Hainanese Chicken Rice with Rotisserie Chicken

Hainanese chicken rice is a deceptively simple dish that packs a huge amount of flavor. While the chicken is typically boiled, it takes a good amount of skill and patience to pull off a moist boiled chicken — patience sometimes I don’t have.

I was having a craving for this homey dish one day when I realized that things I like most about it aren’t really the chicken at all. My favorite parts are the chicken fat rice, which is truly one of life’s best simple pleasures, and the ginger scallion sauce. Then I realized I could use the king of all weeknight dinners to get me the rest of the way to this dish, or at least close enough: the Costco rotisserie chicken.

Of course it goes without saying that any brand of rotisserie chicken will work here but there’s just something about the combination of those juicy chickens (rip the chicken boxes) and those Costco prices that can’t be beat.

The chicken in Hainanese chicken rice is generally served cool or room temperature, so I like to buy a rotisserie chicken, toss it in the fridge, and make this recipe the next day. Allowing the chicken time to chill fully also means the fat, gelatin, and skin will firm up more, making them easier to transfer to the rice cooker for the chicken fat rice. One other tip is that since fat/collagen can be hard to grab and handle, use a bench scraper or a flat knife like a cleaver if you have one to scoop the good bits off your cutting board — you definitely don’t want to accidentally leave any of that gold behind.

All told, this recipe comes together in under half an hour (with way less active time) and almost no “real” cooking on the stove. It also requires only 6 or 7 “real” ingredients! That makes this a perfect weeknight dinner and/or a great hack to keep in your back pocket when it’s just too damn hot to cook in the kitchen.

Shortcut Hainanese Chicken Rice

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

While traditional Hainanese chicken rice is a delicate, balanced dish centered around moist, boiled chicken, this weeknight version utilizes the all-powerful grocery store rotisserie chicken. This recipe contains 3 parts for a (nearly) complete meal: delicious chicken fat rice, addictive ginger scallion sauce, and the rotisserie chicken itself. Just add veggies.

While you can use a completely fresh rotisserie chicken, I much prefer letting the chicken chill in the fridge for at least a few hours, but ideally overnight, before cooking this meal so the fat is coagulated and the meat is easier to cut.

Print Recipe

Equipment

• 1 rice cooker

Ingredients

• 1 rotisserie chicken store-bought, ideally chilled for several hours or overnight
• 3-4 cups uncooked jasmine rice
• 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder see notes
• 1 inch ginger root more if your ginger is scrawny
• 2 green onions
• 1 tsp kosher salt plus more, to taste
• 1/2 cup neutral oil see notes
• 2 tsp sesame seeds OR drizzle of sesame oil, optional

Instructions

Make the chicken fat rice

• In the bowl of your rice cooker, rinse and drain the rice until the water runs clear.
  3-4 cups uncooked jasmine rice
• Carefully scrape any obvious solidified chicken fat/collagen (the jelly-like stuff) into the rice cooker on top of the rice — be sure to move the chicken and check underneath! Remove the chicken wings and add those, too. Then remove as much of the chicken skin as you can and add that as well.

  Add the bouillon powder on top (no need to mix). Add the appropriate amount of water according to your rice cooker's directions, then cook on your normal white rice setting.
  1 rotisserie chicken, 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder
• While the rice is cooking, leave the chicken out at room temperature to warm up a bit (though be mindful that you shouldn't leave your chicken out for longer than about an hour before serving—at which point you have about another hour to eat it—per food safety rules).
• Once cooked, remove and discard the skin and wings, and give the rice a good mix to fluff it up.

Make the ginger scallion sauce

• Thinly slice your scallions and place them in a medium sized (larger than you think, to catch splatters), heat proof bowl. Peel, then finely mince your ginger and add it to the same bowl. Add the salt.
  1 inch ginger root, 2 green onions, 1 tsp kosher salt
• Heat neutral oil in a small pot on the stove until it shimmers. You can test if it's done by dropping in one small piece of green onion. If it sizzles aggressively it's ready.
  1/2 cup neutral oil
• Remove oil from heat and immediately, but very carefully/slowly, pour the hot oil over the ginger and scallions. THE MIXTURE WILL SIZZLE, POP, AND SPLATTER A BIT so exercise caution.
• Quickly add the sesame seeds while the mixture is still hot and gently stir to combine (or add a small amount of sesame oil instead — about 1/2 tsp).
  2 tsp sesame seeds
• Once cooled, taste the sauce and add more salt if needed.

Assembly

• Using a meat cleaver, neatly chop the chicken, bones and all. Or, if you don't have a meat cleaver or don't like bones, feel free to carve the chicken the "American" way. Arrange on a platter.
• To serve: scoop some chicken rice into a bowl, then arrange some chicken on top. Drizzle generously with ginger scallion sauce.

Notes

• I prefer Chinese branded chicken bouillon powder like Lee Kum Lee when available, but American style should also work. If you don't have either, add an equal amount of salt instead. Alternatively, swap some or all of the cooking water for the rice with chicken stock.
• It's best to use a high smoke point oil for this recipe — my preference is grapeseed. Canola or vegetable oil also work. Please do not use sesame oil or olive oil, which both have low smoke points and overpowering flavors.