White Chicken with Ginger-Scallion Sauce

I was never a fan of White Chicken. Nor was I a fan of ginger. That's why, it's ironic that White Chicken with Ginger-Scallion Sauce will be my first recipe post ever. 

It all started one afternoon when Dear Boyfriend was raving about White Chicken from a certain resto in Downtown. He made me taste the White Chicken and I was honestly intrigued by the flavors. How can something so white be flavorful? Then and there, I decided that I will search for a recipe and try to replicate it at home. 

Searching for the right recipe was no easy feat. There were only a few recipes on it online but they just didn't feel right. So which recipe was "The One"? I found a recipe on White Chicken that I liked, however, I was not partial to the recipe for the sauce... and the search continued. 

Finally, I decided to just combine the three recipes and see how it turns out. Good thing, I had most of the ingredients on hand.

White Chicken.... check!

Hainanese Rice.... check!

Ginger-Scallion Sauce.... check!

With the recipes on hand, let's put the combined recipes to the test!

For the White Chicken, I had to double the recipe since I have a pretty big family with hearty appetites. 

2     whole chickens, dressed

1/4  cup rock salt

20    cups of water

1/2  cup white wine

6      tbsp sugar

2      tbsp salt

6      stalks scallions (spring onions), cut into three

1      bunch of cilantro (though i used Wansoy for this one.. better scent)

4      thumbs ginger, smashed

Rub the chickens generously with rock salt. Rub rub the skin... rub rub inside the cavity, when you feel that you have rubbed salt enough, rinse the chicken thoroughly!

Set aside and start prepping the broth.

Scallions, Ginger, Wansoy Leaves

Bring 20 cups of water to a boil. Add the white wine, sugar and salt.  Let it simmer then add the scallions, wansoy and ginger. Let it boil.

When the broth is boiling, add in the chickens. Cover and let it cook for 30 minutes.

At the 15-minute mark, flip the chickens for even cooking. 

Ahh.... the chickens look glorious! And they smell so good!

The chickens are cooked. Remove the cover and let it sit in the broth for a few minutes.

After 15- 30 minutes or longer if you want it to cool completely... remove the chicken from the broth and let it sit on a strainer. 

Let the chicken rest. It's easier to cut the chicken when it's cooled.

As the chicken is cooling, you can now start with the Hainanese Rice.

Prepare the following:

2     tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or EVOO as Rachel Ray likes to call it)

3     tbsp ginger, cut into matchstick sizes

3     cloves garlic, minced

4     cups rice (you can use the regular rice or you can go with brown rice for a healthier twist)

salt and pepper to taste

2     tbsp sesame oil

6     cups chicken broth 

Heat a pan and add the EVOO. 

Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and ginger. Sauté for 2 minutes until aromatic. 

The scallions on the plate are for garnishing.

Add the rice (ooh... forgot to say that it's best to rinse the rice first before adding it to the pan). Careful though since the rice is wet, some grains might pop out. 

Stir the rice into the mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. For a more fragrant rice, add in the sesame oil (do not add too much coz the flavor is quite strong). Continue stirring for 2-3 more minutes. Careful though that you do not burn it. 

From the pan, move the sauteed rice into the trusty rice cooker. Add in the chicken broth, give it a final stir and close the rice cooker. 

Cook the rice as you normally use a rice cooker. Once the plunger moves to the "Keep Warm" stage, do not open the rice cooker for another 20 minutes. Just let it cook. I know, I know it's tempting... but patience will do wonders!

Here you go!!! Add the chopped scallions for garnishing. Then close the rice cooker once again to keep the scallions warm (this was based on my mom's suggestion) Hehe!

As you are waiting for the rice to cook, you can keep yourself busy by making the oh-so wonderful ginger-scallion sauce. This sauce is so easy to make!

1     cup scallions, chopped

1     cup ginger, grated

1     cup peanut oil

3     pcs bird's eye chili, chopped (optional)

Chop it. Grate it.

Heat your pan with some peanut oil (do not put everything at once!!) 

When the oil is hot, add the scallions, ginger and bird's eye chili if you want the extra kick.

Let the color transform right in front of you. The scallions turn the nicest green. Give it a stir. Let it simmer.

Add the remaining peanut oil. Though I kinda use less than a cup coz I feel that adding to much makes the sauce too oily. It can do with less oil. 

Add salt to taste. Note, taste the ginger and not the oil before adding more salt. Or else, you just might end up with a sauce that is too salty. 

This is how the sauce will look like when cooked. 

So tempting to taste again... and again... and again. 

Now that we have cooked the three recipes, here's the finished product. Oops! I added some asparagus mushroom veggies to complete the meal. =) 

Enjoy!
















*Note: This recipe was adapted from three recipes found online. From the three sites.
http://www.applepiepatispate.com/main-course/chinese-white-cut-chicken/

http://kitschow.blogspot.com/2008/07/112-ginger-scallion-sauce-recipe.html

http://www.asianonlinerecipes.com/hawkers/chicken_rice.php