Meals · High Protein
Hainanese Chicken Rice: 60g Protein, 605 Calories (Steam-Poach Method) (60g Protein)
This Hainanese Chicken Rice delivers 60 grams of protein and 605 calories per serving. Chicken breast is steam-poached in ginger-scallion liquid over a covered pan, then served over jasmine rice cooked in the aromatic cooking broth with garlic and chicken fat. Three table sauces finish the dish: chili-ginger, dark soy, and scallion oil.
Nutrition per serving
- Protein
- 60 g
- Calories
- 605
- Carbs
- 62 g
- Fat
- 13 g
Nutritional values are estimates based on standard ingredient data and may vary by brand or preparation method. This information is for general reference only and is not a substitute for professional dietary advice. Consult a healthcare provider or registered dietitian for personalized nutrition guidance.
Ingredients
- 16 oz (2 large breasts) chicken breast, boneless, skinless — 2 large breasts, about 8 oz each, Use room-temperature breast for even cooking. Pat dry before searing.
- 3/4 cup dry jasmine rice — rinsed 2-3 times until water runs mostly clear, 3/4 cup dry yields about 1.5 cups cooked
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger — peeled, cut into 4-5 coin-sized slices, Used in both poaching liquid and rice
- 5 cloves garlic — 3 cloves smashed for rice, 2 cloves minced for chili sauce
- 4 stalks scallions — 2 stalks tied in knot for poaching, 2 stalks thinly sliced for scallion oil, Green and white parts both used
- 1 tbsp olive oil — For searing the chicken. Neutral oil (avocado, canola) also works.
- 1 tsp sesame oil — Toasted sesame oil for the scallion oil sauce. Add after cooking, not during.
- 2 tbsp soy sauce — Used in the dark soy dipping component and rice seasoning
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce — Adds depth to the rice and as optional drizzle
- 1 tbsp sriracha — For the chili-ginger dipping sauce. Adjust to heat preference.
- 1/2 medium cucumber — thinly sliced, for garnish, English cucumber preferred. Cut on a bias for presentation.
Steps
- Season the chicken breasts on both sides with a pinch of salt and white pepper (or black pepper). Pat dry with paper towels. Dry surfaces sear better than wet surfaces.
- Heat a wide, lidded skillet or saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and let it shimmer, about 1 minute. Place the chicken breasts flat in the pan without crowding. Sear undisturbed for 2 minutes until the bottom is golden. Flip and sear the second side for 1.5 minutes.
- Add 1/2 cup water to the pan along with half the ginger slices and the 2 knotted scallion stalks. The water will hiss when it hits the hot pan. Immediately cover with a tight-fitting lid. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook covered for 6 minutes.
- Turn the heat off completely. Keep the lid on. Let the chicken rest in the covered pan for 8 minutes. The trapped steam finishes cooking the breast to 165F using residual heat, which is the steam-poach step. Lifting the lid releases the steam and stalls the process. After 8 minutes, insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part. It should read 165F. If not, return the lid and let rest 3 more minutes.
- Remove the chicken to a cutting board. Pour the aromatic cooking liquid from the pan through a strainer into a liquid measuring cup. Discard the cooked ginger and scallion. You should have roughly 1/2 cup of ginger-scallion broth.
- Rinse the same skillet and set over medium heat. Add the cooking liquid from the chicken plus enough water to total 1.25 cups (the water-to-rice ratio for jasmine rice). Add the 3 smashed garlic cloves, remaining ginger slices, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon oyster sauce. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the rinsed jasmine rice. Stir once to prevent sticking. Cover and cook on low heat for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let steam covered for 5 more minutes. The rice absorbs the ginger-garlic broth directly, which is the chicken fat rice concept: all the rendered cooking fat and aromatics from the chicken transfer into the rice.
- While the rice cooks, make the three table sauces. Chili-ginger sauce: mix the sriracha with 1 teaspoon minced ginger and the 2 minced garlic cloves, plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce. Scallion oil: heat the sesame oil in a small pan over medium heat for 30 seconds until fragrant, then pour over the thinly sliced scallions. Dark soy dipping: pour the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce into a small dish for dipping.
- Slice the chicken breast across the grain at a slight angle. Cutting across the grain (perpendicular to the long muscle fibers) shortens those fibers, which makes the meat feel more tender when chewing. Fluff the rice with a fork.
- Divide the rice into 2 bowls. Arrange the sliced chicken over the rice. Fan cucumber slices alongside. Spoon the scallion oil over the chicken. Serve the chili-ginger sauce and dark soy on the side for dipping.
Why This Works
Traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice uses a whole chicken submerged in a large pot of water, poached at a gentle simmer, then finished in an ice bath. That method produces silky, barely-cooked thigh meat and relies on the gelatinous collagen from the carcass to enrich the rice-cooking broth. Our version solves two problems with the traditional approach: the protein yield per serving is higher with breast (23g protein per 100g raw vs. 17-18g for bone-in skin-on), and a full submersion poach requires a pot large enough to submerge the whole bird.
The steam-poach method replaces submersion with a covered skillet. The initial 2-minute sear adds Maillard browning (the crust you don't get from a traditional pale poach), and then the covered-pan steam environment at 212F carries the internal temperature to 165F without the risk of the prolonged simmer that toughens lean breast. The cooking liquid captured from the sear-and-steam step carries the ginger and scallion aromatics directly into the rice, approximating the enriched broth of the traditional method.
The Hainanese Tradition
Hainanese Chicken Rice originated on Hainan Island in China and became the national dish of Singapore through the Hainanese immigrant community in the 19th century. The defining characteristic is that the rice is cooked in the same liquid used to cook the chicken, often with rendered chicken fat added to the rice pot. Woks of Life and Serious Eats (J. Kenji Lopez-Alt) both document the ice bath finish for the traditional version: transferring the poached whole chicken directly from the simmering water into an ice bath stops carryover cooking and tightens the skin to produce the characteristic silky, slightly gelatinous texture.
Our version does not use an ice bath, because seared breast doesn't develop the same collagen-rich skin as a whole poached bird. The three-sauce presentation (chili-ginger, dark soy, scallion oil) follows the classic Singaporean service format documented in both sources. Three specific differences from the traditional method: (1) chicken breast instead of whole chicken for higher protein-to-calorie ratio, (2) steam-poach in a covered skillet instead of full submersion to reduce equipment requirement, (3) sriracha-based chili sauce instead of fresh-chili paste.
The Rice Step
The rice is the part of this dish that cooks instructors rarely explain clearly. The goal is jasmine rice that tastes like it absorbed something, not plain steamed rice placed under chicken. That happens only if the rice cooking liquid carries enough flavor.
In this recipe, the cooking liquid is the strained broth from the steam-poach step (ginger, scallion aromatics, the fat released from the chicken during searing) plus soy sauce and oyster sauce. This is not a lot of liquid, which is intentional: 1.25 cups total for 3/4 cup dry jasmine rice keeps the rice-to-liquid ratio at 1:1.67, the correct ratio for jasmine. The rice absorbs the full volume of the flavored liquid. Any more liquid and the flavor dilutes. Any less and the rice is underdone.
Fluffy rice after the 5-minute covered resting step (heat off, lid on) is the steam equalization phase: the moisture redistributes throughout the pot and the starch fully gelatinizes. If you open the lid during this window, you will see wet patches on top and dry clumps at the bottom.
Make It Your Own
Chicken thighs (boneless, skinless) work with this method. Thighs have more intramuscular fat (about 9g fat per 100g vs 3g for breast), so the skillet will retain more fat in the cooking liquid, which enriches the rice further. Protein drops to roughly 21g per 100g raw, so per-serving protein falls from 57g to approximately 48g with the same portion.
For a more traditional sauce, blend fresh red chilies with garlic, ginger, lime juice, and sugar instead of using sriracha. The Woks of Life version uses 6 red chilies, 4 garlic cloves, and a 1-inch knob of ginger blended with chicken broth to thin it.
The cucumber garnish is not optional in Singaporean service. It provides temperature contrast against the warm chicken and rice, and its mild bitterness balances the savory sauces.
Sources Research-Backed
Frequently Asked Questions
What is steam-poaching and how is it different from boiling?
Steam-poaching uses steam trapped in a covered pan rather than submerging the protein in liquid. You add a small amount of water (or broth) to a hot pan with the already-seared chicken, cover tightly, and the water immediately converts to steam at 212F. The chicken cooks in that moist steam environment rather than in liquid. The advantage: you preserve the seared crust from the initial sear step, which you lose if you boil the chicken. You also use far less water, which concentrates the flavor of the cooking liquid.
Why does the chicken cook with the heat turned off?
After 6 minutes covered on medium-low heat, the internal temperature of the breast is around 145-155F. Turning the heat off and keeping the lid on allows the residual steam in the pan (still at 212F) to carry the internal temperature to 165F without the continued direct heat that would push it past that target. Chicken breast above 165F is safe but begins to dry out because the muscle proteins contract and push out moisture. The heat-off approach is more precise than trying to dial in an exact burner temperature.
My rice came out sticky and clumped. What went wrong?
Three common causes: (1) You didn't rinse the rice. Jasmine rice has surface starch that causes clumping; rinse until the water runs mostly clear before cooking. (2) You opened the lid during the 5-minute resting phase. The steam needs to equalize. (3) The liquid ratio was off. For this recipe, 3/4 cup dry jasmine rice needs exactly 1.25 cups total liquid. Measure the strained cooking liquid from the chicken and add water to reach that total.
Can I substitute chicken thighs?
Yes. Boneless, skinless thighs work with the same timing. They are more forgiving than breast because their higher fat content (about 9g fat per 100g vs 3g for breast) keeps them moist even slightly past 165F. Per-serving protein will drop from 57g to roughly 48g with the same 16 oz portion. The cooking liquid will contain more rendered fat, which enriches the rice.
What is the ice bath step and do I need it?
In traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice, the poached whole chicken is plunged into an ice bath immediately after cooking. The rapid cooling contracts the skin and produces the characteristic silky, slightly gelatinous texture. For this recipe using seared breast, there is no skin to tighten, and an ice bath would cool the breast too much for immediate service. Skip it. The steam-poach resting method keeps the breast tender without the ice bath.
How do I know the chicken reached 165F?
Insert an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the breast, not touching the pan. The target is 165F. If you don't have a thermometer: pierce the thickest part with a sharp knife and hold it there for 3 seconds. Pull it out and touch the flat of the blade to the inside of your wrist. If it feels distinctly hot (not just warm), the chicken is done. The juices at the pierce site should run clear, not pink.
Can I make this ahead for meal prep?
Yes. Cook the full recipe and portion into 2 containers. Store rice and chicken separately if possible to prevent the rice from absorbing moisture from the chicken and becoming soggy. Reheat rice with a splash of water covered in the microwave (1 minute). Chicken reheats well covered with a damp paper towel (30 seconds). Store sauces in separate small containers. Holds 4 days refrigerated.
The traditional version uses chicken fat in the rice. Am I missing something here?
Traditional Hainanese Chicken Rice renders chicken fat from the skin of the whole bird and uses that fat to toast the garlic and ginger before adding the rice. Since we're using skinless breast, the fat source is the small amount of olive oil from the sear plus whatever intramuscular fat renders out during cooking. That fat transfers into the cooking liquid you use for the rice. It's a smaller fat contribution than traditional, but the ginger and garlic aromatics still transfer into the rice, which is the critical flavor step.
