Khao Man Gai (Thai Hainanese Chicken Rice)
Silky poached chicken, rice cooked in the chicken stock and fat, and a punchy fermented soybean, ginger and chilli sauce.
- Region
- Central Thailand
- Condiments
- Thai Soy Sauces
- Vegetables
- Bird’s Eye Chilli, Pandan Leaf, Garlic, Ginger, Coriander Leaves
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (about 1.5 kg)
- 5 cm ginger, sliced, plus 3 cm finely grated for the sauce
- 4 spring onions, plus 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tsp salt
- 400 g jasmine rice, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 3 tbsp chicken fat (trimmed from the bird) or neutral oil
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (for the rice)
- 3 pandan leaves, knotted (optional)
- Sauce: 3 tbsp fermented soybean paste (tao jiew)
- Sauce: 2 bird’s eye chillies and 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Sauce: 1 tbsp white vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- To serve: sliced cucumber, coriander, and a light soup made from the poaching stock
Instructions
Khao man gai is Thailand’s version of Hainanese chicken rice, sold from glass-fronted carts all over Bangkok. Everything comes from the one chicken: the meat is poached, the stock seasons the rice, and the fat makes it glossy.
Method
- Trim the excess fat from the chicken and keep it. Rub the chicken all over with salt, rinse, and put it in a pot that just fits it. Add the sliced ginger, spring onions, smashed garlic and enough water to cover.
- Bring slowly to a bare simmer, then turn the heat to its lowest setting and poach for 35–40 minutes, without letting it boil. The chicken is done when the juices at the thigh run clear (74°C).
- Lift the chicken out and plunge it into iced water for 5 minutes to firm the skin. Keep the stock.
- Render the chicken fat in a pot over low heat for 5–8 minutes, then discard the solids. Fry the chopped garlic in the fat until pale gold, add the drained rice and stir for 2 minutes until every grain is coated.
- Add 550 ml of the hot chicken stock, ½ tsp salt and the pandan leaves. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 15 minutes. Rest, covered, for 10 minutes.
- Make the sauce by stirring together the soybean paste, grated ginger, chillies, garlic, vinegar, sugar and dark soy sauce. Taste and add a splash of stock if it is too thick.
- Carve the chicken into slices. Serve over the rice with cucumber, coriander, the sauce, and a small bowl of hot seasoned stock on the side.
Cook’s tips
- A gentle poach is the whole secret: if the water boils, the meat tightens and dries out.
- Season the leftover stock with a little salt and white pepper, add some winter melon or daikon, and you have the soup.
Aroy Mak Mak
Aroy Mak Mak is a small team writing about the food of Thailand and its neighbours: recipes you can cook at home, guides to the ingredients behind them, and places worth travelling for. The name means "very delicious" in Thai. Every recipe on the site lists its ingredients, timings and method in full, explains the techniques that matter, and suggests substitutes for ingredients that are hard to find outside Thailand. The guides to regions, condiments, vegetables and fruits explain what things are, how they are used and how to buy and store them. Place pages are researched from current sources, including the latest Michelin Guide Thailand, official websites and maps, and give addresses, opening hours and what to order. Where a detail could not be confirmed, it is left out rather than guessed.