~1201 cal · 109g protein · 107g carbs · 32g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Sliced poached chicken over glossy rice with chili and ginger sauces
🇸🇬 Singapore
Brought by Hainanese immigrants and perfected in Singapore’s hawker centres, chicken rice looks simple and hides everything in technique: the gentle poach, the ice bath for jelly-soft skin, and rice that tastes of the whole bird.
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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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1 (about 3.5 lbs) whole chicken
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2.5 cups jasmine rice
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4 + 2 tbsp ginger, thick slices + grated
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4 scallions
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6 cloves garlic
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2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
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2 tbsp light soy sauce
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4 fresh red chilies
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1 lime (for the chili sauce)
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1/2 cucumber, sliced, to serve
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generous salt
Instructions
1
Submerge the chicken (or tofu and mushrooms) in just-boiling water with ginger slices and scallions. Return to the barest simmer, cover, then cut the heat and let it poach 45 minutes (20 for the plant version).
2
Plunge into iced water 10 minutes — this sets the silken texture. Keep every drop of the poaching stock.
3
Fry the garlic and half the grated ginger in sesame oil, add the rice, then cook it in the poaching stock.
4
Blitz chilies, remaining ginger, lime, salt, and a splash of stock into the chili sauce.
5
Slice, dress with soy and sesame oil, and serve over the rice with chili sauce, cucumber, and a cup of the broth.
Singapore hawker tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
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Singapore. Hawker centres where chicken rice is a national referendum.
🗺️
Singapore. A city-state that treats hawker food as heritage.
🌍
Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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