Sous Vide Hainanese Chicken

This Sous Vide Hainanese Chicken is one of my most requested dishes by friends and family. It has the juiciest, most tender pieces of chicken served with two incredibly aromatic sauces. I kid you not, this is literally all my friends and family's favorite dish.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 20

Ingredients

Chicken and Rice

▢ 1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds)
▢ 2 cups uncooked rice
▢ 2 ¼ cups chicken stock (or water)

Ginger-scallion Sauce

▢ 5 tablespoons neutral oil (like canola, soy, corn, or vegetable)
▢ 50 g ginger (about one 5-inch knob, minced)
▢ 75 g scallion (about 6 scallions, green and white parts separated, thinly sliced)
▢ 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
▢ ½ tablespoon coarse kosher salt

Instructions

Sous Vide Chicken

Preheat the water bath to 150°F (66°C).
Lay the chicken on a cutting board with its stomach down. Use kitchen shears to remove the backbone and make a small slit on the underside of the breastplate. Flip the chicken and press down firmly to flatten it.
Trim away excess fat and skin around the chicken and set aside.
Seal the chicken in a vacuum-sealable or large ziplock bag and cook in the water bath for 3-4 hours.
Meanwhile, place the trimmed fat and skin in a small pot with ½ cup of water. Boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the water evaporates and fat is rendered. You should have about 3 tablespoons of fat.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the chicken rice and sauces.

Chicken Rice

Rinse rice under cold water until it runs clear. Allow it to drain in a strainer over a bowl for about 5 minutes.
Heat chicken fat in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add rice and saute for 3-5 minutes until slightly opaque. Stir in chicken stock.
If you have a rice cooker, add everything and use the white rice setting. If you don't have a rice cooker, continue cooking in the pan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 10-15 minutes. Add extra stock or water as necessary.

Ginger-scallion Sauce

Heat oil in a wok over high heat until slightly smoking. Add the ginger and cook for 15 seconds. Then, add the scallions and cook for another 15 seconds. Remove from the heat and stir in salt and toasted sesame oil. Transfer to a small bowl.

Fish-fragrant sauce

Heat oil in a wok over medium-low heat. Add Sambal Oelek and saute for 3 minutes until the oil is bright red, then turn off the heat. Add the remaining ingredients, mix well, and transfer to a small bowl.

Serving

Remove the bag and submerge it in a tub of cold water for 15 minutes to cool down.
Place the chicken on a cutting board. First, cut the wings and legs from the body. Then, cut each wing into the flat, drummette, and wingette. Separate the legs into the thigh and drumstick. Cut the drumstick into two pieces and cut the thighs into three parts. Slice the chicken breasts into two-inch pieces.
Serve immediately with rice and sauces on the side.

Notes

Storage: Store leftover rice, chicken, and sauces in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

Did you make this?Let me know how it was!