Deutsch Cơm Gà Hải Nam is a variation of Hainanese chicken rice when it made its way to Vietnam. Apart from the succulent chicken poached with aromatics, and fragrant rice prepared in chicken broth, it stands out with the special zesty ginger fish sauce accompaniment.
Cơm Gà Hải Nam (Vietnamese-style Hainan chicken rice)
Chicken and rice are a popular combination in cuisines worldwide. Even in Vietnam, there are numerous variations of chicken rice originating from different regions, such as Cơm Gà Hải Nam (Hainan Chicken Rice) from Saigon in the South, and Cơm Gà Hội An and Cơm Gà Nha Trang (Hoi An and Nha Trang Chicken Rice) from the central regions.
Cơm Gà Hải Nam was introduced to Southern Vietnam by Chinese immigrants from Southern China, particularly from Hainan Island. Once in Vietnam, people adapted it with local ingredients to create a Vietnamese rendition of Hainanese Chicken Rice.
The main differences that set this chicken rice apart are the ginger fish sauce dipping and the poached chicken with its turmeric-yellow skin. Additionally, various Vietnamese local herbs like lemongrass and lime leaves are incorporated into the poaching liquid for the chicken.
However, the recipe remains quite straightforward to prepare, and it’s definitely worth attempting, especially if you’re a fan of Hainan Chicken Rice (like me) – I assure you.
By the way, if you’re interested, you can also find an Instant Pot version of Hainanese Chicken Rice, which leans more towards the Singaporean/Malaysian flavor profile.
If you love chicken, try these Asian chicken recipes:
🍗 Ingredients
For the chicken rice:
Chicken: You can opt to use half a chicken or 2 chicken leg quarters, similar to what I did.
Turmeric or turmeric powder: Poached chicken with yellow skin is a standard in Vietnamese cuisine (funnily enough, I used to assume that chicken naturally had yellow skin until I tried poached chicken while traveling abroad).
The native chicken breed in Vietnam naturally possesses yellow skin, but Vietnamese cooks often apply additional turmeric to the poached chicken’s skin to enhance its color.
Jasmine rice: In Vietnam, we often cook rice in a rice cooker; however, I have a shortcut to cook Jasmine rice with microwave with just less than 15 minutes.
Aromatics (onion, ginger, lime leaves, scallions, lemongrass): These ingredients are essential for creating the fragrant liquid used to poach the chicken. If you have pandan leaves and cilantro roots on hand, you can also add them.
Seasonings: chicken powder and salt.
Garnish: sliced cucumber and sliced tomato.
For the dipping sauce:
- Minced ginger
- Chili
- Fish sauce
- Sugar
- Chicken broth (or water)
- Vinegar
- Sautéed scallions (only the white part) (optional)
Or try this nước mắm chấm (garlic – chili fish sauce) if you don’t like ginger:
📝 Instructions
Poach the chicken:
- In a large pot, pour water and add the aromatics, including onion, ginger, lime leaves, scallions, lemongrass, turmeric powder, salt, and chicken powder.
- Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes to extract the flavors from the aromatics.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting. When the water is barely bubbling, gently add the chicken legs.
- Cook the chicken on low heat for 20 minutes, keeping the lid on. Then turn off the heat and let the chicken sit for an additional 15 minutes.
- To check if the chicken is cooked, use a chopstick to prick the thickest part of the chicken. The chicken is fully cooked when no bloody water comes out.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and wrap it in plastic wrap.
- You can save the chicken broth for making soup.
Cook the rice:
- While the chicken is cooking, you can prepare the rice. Rinse the rice with water and drain it thoroughly.
- In a pot, add 3 tbsp cooking oil (or rendered chicken fat). Add the white part of the scallions and sauté until fragrant and the scallions turn slightly golden.
- Remove the scallion part and set them aside for making the dipping sauce.
- Stir-fry the Jasmine rice with the scallion oil and turmeric powder until the rice becomes translucent.
- Transfer the rice to a rice cooker. Pour in the chicken broth (use slightly less liquid than usual as the rice is already partially cooked) and cook.
Make Nước Mắm Gừng (Vietnamese Ginger Fish Sauce):
- Combine all the ingredients for the sauce (fish sauce, sugar, minced ginger, chili, chicken broth, vinegar, and sautéed scallions).
Serve and enjoy:
- You could debone the chicken legs and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
- Enjoy Cơm Gà Hải Nam alongside sliced cucumber, sliced tomato, and the ginger fish sauce.
🌟 Helpful Tips
- Choose high-quality organic or free-range chicken.
- It’s even better if you have some chicken fat to sauté the rice, as it enhane the rice’s flavor. (though cooking oil works just fine as well).
- If you don’t your chicken with yellow skin, you can skip the turmeric powder.
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Cơm Gà Hải Nam (Vietnamese-style Hainan chicken rice)
Equipment
- 1 stock pot
- 1 rice cooker
Ingredients
Chicken Rice
- 2 chicken leg quarters
- 2 cup water (500ml) (just enough to cover the chicken in the pot)
- 1 onion (quartered)
- 1 stalk lemongrass (slightly pounded)
- 1 large piece ginger (3inch or 7cm) (sliced)
- 2 Kaffir leaves
- ½ tbsp turmeric powder
- ½ tsp Salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 tsp Chicken powder (adjust to taste)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- ¼ tsp turmeric powder (for cooking rice)
Ginger Fishsauce:
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2½ tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp chicken broth (or water)
- ½ tsp vinegar
- 2 slice ginger (15g) (minced)
- 1 Thai Bird's eye chili (minced)
- Sautéed scallion stem (saved from sautéing the rice)
Instructions
Poaching chicken:
- In a pot, add water along with all the aromatics and seasonings: onion, ginger, lime leaves, scallions, lemongrass, turmeric powder, salt, and chicken powder.
- Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, allowing the aromatics to infuse their flavors.
- Reduce the heat to the lowest setting. When the water is gently bubbling, gently introduce the chicken legs.
- Poach the chicken over low heat for 20 minutes with the lid on. Afterwards, turn off the heat and let the chicken rest for an additional 15 minutes.
- To check if the chicken is done, use a chopstick to pierce the thickest part. It's fully cooked when no pink juices come out.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and wrap it in plastic wrap. Keep the chicken broth.
Cooking chicken rice:
- While the chicken is simmering, you can prepare the rice. Rinse the rice with water and drain it well.
- In a pot, heat 3 tablespoons of cooking oil (or rendered chicken fat). Add the white part of the scallions and sauté until they become fragrant and slightly golden.
- Remove the scallions and set them aside for making the dipping sauce later.
- Stir-fry the Jasmine rice with the scallion-infused oil and turmeric powder until the rice turns translucent.
- Transfer the rice to a rice cooker pot and add the chicken broth (use slightly less liquid than usual because the rice is already partially cooked). Cook the rice.
Preparing the ginger fish sauce:
- Mix together all the sauce ingredients – fish sauce, sugar, minced ginger, chili, chicken broth, vinegar, and the sautéed scallions.
Serving
- Debone the chicken legs and cut them into bite-sized pieces (optional).
- Serve Cơm Gà Hải Nam with slices of cucumber, tomato, and the ginger fish sauce. Enjoy!!
Notes
- Opt for high-quality organic or free-range chicken.
- Using chicken fat for sautéing the rice. It can enhance the flavor.
- If you don’t need your poached chicken with yellow skin, you can omit the turmeric powder.
