We Cooked Hainanese Chicken Rice Using Lawrence Wong’s Recipe, Here’s What Happened

Even though the Beijing-based Singaporean actor loves chicken rice, it was never on his to-cook list — he prefers no-frills dishes like simple stir-fries. But last year, he joked about cooking for his colleagues in China and the next thing he knew, he was searching for chicken rice recipes online and getting his hands dirty in the kitchen. “I wanted to do something that is representative of Singapore, so I [decided on] Hainanese chicken rice,” he explains. The dish was a hit with his colleagues. Lawrence was pretty pleased with his first attempt as well and has been working on further improving his chicken rice cooking game when he was back in Singapore during the Circuit Breaker.

During our chat, we learned about the 31-year-old’s Hainanese chicken rice preferences. He only eats the poached (not roast) variety — his favourite parts are the thigh and breast — and offal like liver or gizzard are no-nos. And while a succulent chicken is the key component of the dish, the garlicky chilli and aromatic, fluffy rice are the “main draws” for him. “I think plain rice is a bit boring, so I love the flavourful rice [that is cooked with chicken stock]. My favourite part of chicken rice is mixing the chilli with the rice and eating it together. It would be great if I could have chicken rice every day, but it’s so fattening,” he laments.

When he wants a quick fix in Singapore, he goes to Boon Tong Kee, where he can not only indulge in chicken rice, but also local dishes like sambal cuttlefish with kang kong and steamed egg. But don’t expect his “simplified” version to taste like those from restaurants.

“It's too difficult to replicate the [restaurant-style] taste [but] the texture of my chicken is quite smooth. The flavour of the rice is also not as strong, but you can definitely smell the fragrance of the chicken and the garlic, so I am pretty happy with it,” he shares, before admitting that his chilli sauce needs some improvement. “Perhaps I'll put some lime juice in the chilli next time.” The trick to getting juicy and tender chicken is to massage and marinate the chook with salt, says Lawrence. And when it’s cooked, immediately run it under cold water so it doesn’t overcook. This also gives the skin a firm texture.

Putting it to the test… here’s our verdict

Inspired, we decided to give Lawrence’s recipe a try, following it to a T. To be honest, his recipe was a lot more involved than what we’re typically used to, but still definitely simpler compared to many of the other chicken rice recipes we found online. His instructions for cooking the bird, for example, require far fewer steps than in most other recipes. So to our surprise — the results exceeded our expectations. Our family was surprised by how tender the chicken turned out — even the breast meat was juicy. The chilli sauce, on the other hand, had nothing going for it; it was all heat and no nuance. Also, the rice was not as aromatic and flavourful as we’d have liked (perhaps because it didn’t require pre-frying in chicken fat or adding pandan leaves). Still, the tender, tasty chook definitely satisfied most of our craving. And Lawrence did say that his was a simplified version of a traditional Hainanese chicken rice recipe.

Serves 4

For the chicken:

2 ginger slices, 1/4-inch thick

4 cloves garlic

2 stalks spring onion, cut into 1-inch sections (both green and white parts)

1 whole chicken, around 1.4kg

1½ tbsp salt

*Optional: coriander, for garnishing

For the sauce:

1 tbs sesame oil

2 tbs light soy sauce

For the rice:

1 tbs sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 cups of rice, washed and drained

1 tsp of salt

Chicken broth (liquid from cooking chicken)

For the chilli sauce:

1/3 chilli padi

2/3 large red chilli

a 1/4-inch thick slice ginger, finely minced

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 tbs cooking oil

a pinch of salt

For the chicken:

1. Rub salt thoroughly all over the skin and cavity of the chicken. Stuff ginger, garlic, and spring onions into cavity.

2. Place chicken in a pot large enough to fit it, then pour enough water to submerge chicken fully. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once water comes to a boil, turn heat to low, skim off scum from the surface and cover the pot. Allow chicken to simmer for about 25 minutes.

3. Once the chicken is cooked through (check by inserting a chopstick into the fleshiest part of its thigh and see if the juices run clear), remove it from the pot and run it under cold tap water for 10 seconds. This stops the cooking process and ensures that the meat remains tender and silky. Drain chicken thoroughly and set it aside. Do not discard the remaining chicken broth as you will need it to cook the rice.

4. Prepare sauce for the chicken by mixing soy sauce and sesame oil in a small bowl.

5. To serve, chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces, drizzle sauce over and garnish with coriander leaves, if desired.

For the rice:

1. Place frying pan with sesame oil over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté briefly. Ensure garlic doesn’t burn.

2. Add drained rice and stir-fry for two minutes until fragrant.

3. Transfer to rice cooker and add chicken broth (substituting it for the amount of water you’d usually use to cook white rice). Cook according to rice cooker’s instructions.

4. When rice is cooked, fluff it up with a rice paddle and serve with chicken.

For the chilli sauce:

1. Blend all the ingredients together in an electric blender until smooth, and dish out into saucers. Serve with chopped chicken, rice and leftover soup on the side.

Photos: Ilsa Chan