Poh's Chicken Rice

The Malaysian way to serve chicken rice is with a ginger and spring onion paste and, in the Yeow family, also with Grandma Yeow's delicious garlic chilli sauce. In certain parts of Malaysia, kicap manis is the third, all-important condiment. My mouth is watering as we speak. The only problem with this dish is you can't stop and, if you are a lover of chicken, I doubt you will find another dish that celebrates it quite so thoroughly.

Preparation Time: 30 mins
Cooking Time: 90 mins
Serves: 4

Ingredients
1 whole chicken (free range and organic if possible) with parsons nose and fat surrounding cavity cut away and reserved
3-4 cm ginger, sliced and bashed
5 spring onions knotted together
1 clove garlic, peeled and bashed
2 Tbs shaoxing rice wine
2 Tbs light soy
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
Water to cover the chicken
1 spring onion, sliced finely
1 Tbs deep fried shallots

Method
Stuff all ingredients into chicken cavity then lower chicken, with cavity facing up, into a stock pot. Cover with water and bring to boil. Cover, turn heat off and leave for 30 minutes. Return to a gentle heat and simmer gently, covered for another 45 minutes to an hour. Skim frothy impurities and oil off surface of the stock as it cooks. Strain through sieve to remove bits and bones. Return to pot, add salt, cover and set aside. To test if the chicken is cooked through, lift chicken by one of the legs and if it pulls away easily where the thigh joins the body, it is done. Remove pot from heat. Keep bird in the stock until ready to serve.

The Rice:

Ingredients
3 cups jasmine rice, washed 3 times and drained in a sieve
Parson's nose + fat from cavity
2-3 Tbs vegetable or peanut oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped finely
2 slices of ginger, 5mm thick, bashed
1-2 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
1 tsp salt
4 1/2 cups chicken stock from poaching chicken

Method
To render chicken fat out slowly, heat oil, parson's nose and fat from cavity in a large non-stick saucepan, on low heat. When the pieces of fat have shrunken considerably and a little browned, add the garlic and ginger and sauté until they are both fragrant and slightly golden. Add rice and toast for a few seconds. Add salt, pandan and stock. Stir and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes with lid ajar, until most of the stock has been absorbed and pits dot the surface of the rice. Cover and reduce to the lowest heat possible for another 10 minutes, then remove from heat and rest for an additional 15 minutes before uncovering and fluffing up with a fork or chopsticks. Cover and set aside.

Red Sauce

Ingredients
4-5 red long red chillies, sliced roughly
4-5 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced roughly
1/4 cup white vinegar
1-2 Tbs caster sugar
1 tsp salt

Method
Blitz all ingredients in a blender until smooth. At the end, balance with more vinegar, sugar or salt if required.

Green Sauce

Ingredients
8 stalks spring onions, sliced finely
6-7cm ginger, peeled, grated finely
1 tsp salt
1/4-1/3 cup vegetable or peanut oil

Method
Combine spring onion, ginger and salt in a small bowl. Heat oil in a small saucepan on high heat until smoking and stand back while you pour this over the aromatics and salt as it will spit. To avoid mess, I would recommend sitting your bowl in the sink for this process.

Malaysia Kitchen Australia is a nationwide celebration of Malaysian cuisine – the original fusion food, combining the best native Malay, Chinese and Indian cooking to create new, vibrant flavours and dishes.

Assembling the dish
Remove chicken from the stock, (remove skin if you wish) debone, slice into 2cm wide pieces and arrange neatly in a pile on a dinner plate. Reduce stock on a boil for 5-10 minutes. Season further if required.

Serve about 1 cup of broth in 4 individual bowls, garnish each bowl with chopped spring onions and deep fried shallots. Press rice into a small rice bowl, then invert on individual dinner plates. Place all other elements at the centre of the table to share.

Spearheaded by Poh Ling Yeow and other top Malaysian chefs around the country, the Malaysia Kitchen Australia campaign is all about encouraging Aussies to embrace delicious Malaysian cuisine – the vision is that Australians from all walks of life will be familiar with a menu of Malaysian dishes, want to seek out their unique flavours in restaurants and know how to cook them at home.