Singapore Chicken Rice with Red Chilli-Ginger Sauce
Gently poached chicken, fragrant stock rice and the bright red, punchy topping worth making extra for.
Method
1. Set up cleanly
Wash hands. Rinse produce under running water. Prepare ginger, garlic and scallions as listed; keep sauce ingredients and cucumber on a clean board away from raw chicken. Rinse rice in a clean sieve until the water is less cloudy; drain for 5 minutes. Keep thighs refrigerated until step 2; do not rinse or salt-scrub raw poultry. [3]
2. Gently poach the thighs
Bring the 8 cups water, sliced 25 g ginger, 3 crushed garlic cloves, scallions and 2 tsp salt to a boil in the 5-quart pot, about 10 minutes. Lower in the cold thighs with raw-food tongs; all pieces must be submerged. Return to a gentle simmer, then partially cover and poach for an estimated 40–50 minutes, turning once with the raw-contact tongs. Wash hands and clean/sanitize raw-contact surfaces. Before removing any thigh, probe the thickest meat of several pieces, away from bone: each checked piece must reach at least 165°F (74°C). If below, continue cooking and recheck; clean the probe after low readings. Time and color cannot establish safety. [3]
3. Make the broth safe to share
After the chicken reaches 165°F, lift it briefly to a clean dish with clean tongs. Bring the broth to a rolling boil for 1 minute. Using clean utensils, strain out exactly 2 cups (480 ml) for the rice and 2 tbsp (30 ml) for the sauce; cool only the sauce portion in a clean small bowl. Return the cooked thighs to the remaining broth, cover and hold hot at 140°F (60°C) or above while the rice cooks; verify with the thermometer. Do not use warm, raw-contaminated poaching liquid in the uncooked sauce. [3][4]
4. Cook the aromatic rice
During the 7-minute broth-and-rice setup, heat the oil in the saucepan over medium-low heat. Soften the 2 chopped garlic cloves and 10 g chopped ginger for 2 minutes, without browning. Add the well-drained rice; stir for 1 minute. Add the reserved 2 cups hot boiled broth and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, reduce to the lowest heat and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid. Remove from heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. This measured absorption ratio is for rinsed, well-drained jasmine rice, not brown rice.
5. Blend the defining red topping
While the rice cooks, halve the red chillies; retain seeds for a hotter sauce or remove them for gentler heat. Avoid touching your eyes and wash hands after handling chillies. Blend all the chillies, 15 g chopped ginger, 2 chopped garlic cloves, lime juice, sugar, ¼ tsp salt and the 2 tbsp reserved, cooled boiled broth to a finely textured, spoonable red sauce. Scrape down as needed. It should taste sharply citrusy, garlicky and gingery, not like a sweet glaze. Cover and refrigerate until serving; use a clean spoon.
6. Serve warm, with plenty of red sauce
When the rice has rested, fluff it. Lift thighs from the hot broth with clean tongs and remove bones on a clean board; slice the opaque cooked meat and soft skin, retaining all edible meat. Divide rice, chicken and all the sliced cucumber among 4 plates. Spoon about 1 tbsp red sauce directly over each chicken serving; offer the rest alongside. Serve promptly, not after a long room-temperature display. Set aside unused broth for prompt cooling or discard it; it is not an extra required soup course.