HOI AN CHICKEN RICE

COMPLIMENTARY RECIPE

“In almost every corner of Hoi An you can see vendors selling chicken rice. The most common style of chicken rice is torn with your fingers, as Luke does with his dish.” - SBS Food

SERVES 4-6

INGREDIENTS

1 chicken (about 1.7 kg)
1 onion, peeled and halved
4 red Asian shallots, peeled and halved
4 cm piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
60 ml (¼ cup) fish sauce
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp ground turmeric
lime wedges, to serve
CHICKEN SEASONING
1 tsp sea salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
juice of 3 cumquats
GINGER RICE
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
15 g ginger, peeled and julienned
400 g (2 cups) Jasmine rice, washed twice and drained
1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken stock
SALAD
100 g carrot, shredded
100 g green papaya, shredded
100 g white onion, sliced
2 tbsp fried garlic chips
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground white pepper
2 tbsp Hoi An chilli sauce or Sriracha chilli sauce, plus extra to serve
juice of 3 cumquats
1 small handful Vietnamese mint leaves

METHOD

Place the chicken in a large saucepan with 5 litres cold water. Add the onion, shallots, ginger, fish sauce, salt and turmeric. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 20 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it sit for another 20 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the broth, set aside to cool and strain the broth. Use your fingers to tear the chicken into strips and place in a bowl. Add the chicken seasoning ingredients and toss to combine well.

Meanwhile, for the ginger rice, place a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, garlic and ginger and fry for 2 minutes or until light brown. Add the rice and stir-fry for 3 minutes or until well coated. Add 1.5 litres of the reserved strained stock and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the rice to stand covered for another 10 minutes.

For the salad, place the shredded carrots, green papaya and onion in a bowl of iced water for 10 minutes to crisp them up. Drain well.

Combine the remaining salad ingredients in a bowl, add the drained salad ingredients and gently toss.

Divide the chicken, rice and salad between serving plates and serve with lime wedges and extra chilli sauce.