Hainanese Chicken Rice

I was thinking of what to make for dinner and I wanted to avoid a repeat of the past dinners. We had Grilled Liempo last night and Beef Pochero the night before that, so I knew it was time for chicken! Hainanese Chicken Rice is one of my favorite chicken recipes. It is full-flavored but really simple to make.

I am partial to the thigh as the best part of the chicken. For me, it is the most flavorful. At home, almost every one else seems to thinks so too. So whenever we cook an entire chicken, it is always a mad dash to get the thigh. So when I decided to make Hainanese Chicken for dinner, instead of the whole chicken that's often used, I chose the thighs. I figured I can please the entire family, as well as cut the cooking time.
Here's the recipe for Hainanese Chicken Rice. We're a big family, so this recipe serves 8.

Hainanese Chicken Rice
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
     8 chicken thighs, cleaned thoroughly and dried
     8 cups water
     3 chicken bouillon cubes
     2 leeks
     1-inch piece of ginger, chopped
     1 onion, whole
     5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
     fish sauce, to taste
     
For the rice:
     3 cups rice, uncooked
     reserved stock



For the sauce:
     4 tablespoons peanut oil
     2 leeks, sliced thinly
     5 cloves garlic, grated
     1-inch piece of ginger, grated
     salt
    
Procedure:
1. In a pot, combine the water and bouillon cubes. Add the leeks, ginger, onion and garlic. Season with fish sauce. Bring to boil.
2. Add the chicken to the pot then lower the heat. Cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. When the chicken has cooked, place in an ice bath to tighten the skin. Reserve the stock.
3.  In a new pot, add the rice to 5 to 6 cups of the stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until cooked.
4. While the rice is cooking, make the sauce. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
    
I placed the finished sauce on top of each chicken thigh.

Hainanese Chicken

Happy cooking!