Hainanese chicken rice, known as khao man gai or khao mun gai in Thai, is popular dish not only in Thailand, but in many Asian countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Each country serves it slightly differently, with different sauces, but the heart of it is the same: tender-poached chicken served over rice that has been cooked in chicken fat and chicken broth.
This recipe is the Thai version, of course, and it's a dish near and dear to my heart because my grandmother is from Hainan, and this is her signature dish that she makes every time I see her. So if you're looking for authentic Hainanese chicken rice recipe, from an actual Hainanese grandma, this is it right here.
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What is Hainanese Chicken Rice (khao man gai)?
Known as khao mun gai or khao mun gai in Thai, this dish originated on the Chinese island of Hainan (obviously!), which is off the coast of Southern China. There are many Hainanese immigrants in Southeast Asia due to the island's proximity. And indeed, my mother's side of the family are Hainanese immigrants to Thailand!
Hainanese chicken rice is made by first poaching a whole chicken. Then the chicken cooking liquid, which will have turned into tasty chicken broth, is used to cook the rice. The rice is also first sauteed in rendered chicken fat that you get from trimming excess fat from the chicken.
In my family, we make khao man gai usually during Chinese New Year or Qingming festival (Tomb-Sweeping Day) because these are days when we poach whole chickens to offer to our ancestors. Once the ancestors have had their share, we bring the chickens home and make delicious Hainanese chicken rice!
Khao Mun Gai in Thailand
Khao mun gai is the epitome of Thai street food. You can find them sold by street vendors, mom-and-pop restaurants, and food courts. It's cheap, fast, delicious, truly the food of the people. It was even featured in my Top 5 Rice Dishes in Thailand video!
Since it was brought into Thailand by Chinese immigrants, you'll find it more in areas with a large Chinese communities, such as Bangkok. But because of its popularity, it is available just about anywhere in the country so you will definitely come across one.
Khao man gai in different countries vary slightly, but most notably the sauce that's served with khao man gai in Thailand is unique. Ours is made from ginger and fermented soybean paste (taojiew), and in my opinion, I think it really is the best pairing with poached chicken!
As you'll see below, in my household we actually serve 2 different sauces with this dish, the classic taojiew one, and one that my grandmother created herself!
Ingredients and Notes
Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make khao man gai and important notes about them. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.
This recipe is the traditional method that uses a whole chicken, and it does take time. If you are looking for something easier and quicker, check out my Quick & Easy Hainanese Chicken Rice Recipe that can even be done in a rice cooker!
THE POACHED CHICKEN
- Whole chicken, preferably on the smaller side. If you can get free-range chicken it would also be better for this recipe as they tend to be smaller and more flavourful. If you are shopping at an Asian grocery store, you may find smaller whole chickens with head and feet attached, with the skin slightly more yellow, and these are THE perfect chicken for this recipe!
- Cilantro roots, or 6 cilantro stems
- Garlic, smashed until broken
- Onion, roughly chopped
- Daikon, cut in big chunks. This wasn't used in my original video but daikon makes for a super sweet, tasty broth and I highly recommend it!
- White pepper, ground or crushed
- Ginger, sliced
- Fine grain salt, I specify fine grain for accuracy in measurements. If you're using coarse grain salt, you'll need to measure out a bit more.
- Green onions and/or cilantro, for garnishing the broth for serving, if desired.
THE RICE
- Jasmine rice
- Chicken fat trimmings, you just need to trim these off the chicken before poaching. There's usually a lot of fat around the neck.
- Chicken broth from poaching the chicken, you don't need to buy this!
- Garlic, chopped or pounded in a mortar and pestle
- Cucumber slices, for serving.
SAUCE OPTION 1: The Classic Nam Jim Taojiew
If you only make one dipping sauce, this is the one to make. This is the classic Thai dipping sauce that every khao man gai vendor serves in Thailand.
- Ginger, just wash the ginger well and no need to peel
- Thai chilies, put as much or as little as you wish depending on how spicy you want it to be
- Tao Jiew (Thai fermented soybean paste) which comes in a glass bottle and in export market this will usually be Healthy Boy Brand. It has the same colour as miso. You can also substitute an equal amount of miso paste of Korean doenjang.
- Sugar
- Black soy sauce, or dark soy sauce. Thai black soy sauce gives it a rich molasses flavour and a dark colour, but it isn't very salty. You can also use Chinese dark soy sauce instead, but because it's saltier, I'd reduce the amount of regular soy sauce. If you have sweet soy sauce, you can also use it and reduce the amount of sugar. Read more about different types of soy sauce here.
- Soy sauce, whatever your regular soy sauce is fine.
- White vinegar, or another type of mild-flavoured vinegar such as white wine vinegar or rice vinegar.
- Chopped cilantro, optional
SAUCE OPTION 2: Grandma's Signature Spicy and Sour Dipping Sauce
You won't find this sauce sold at any khao man gai vendors in Thailand, but my grandma always makes 2 different sauces. For many years I thought that this sauce was the "Hainanese style" that she made back in her hometown. But I just found out from my aunt, during my most recent trip home (2024), that in fact my grandma made it up!
Apparently one day she made the classic sauce, and people said it wasn't good, so she went back into the kitchen and came out with another sauce that she just made up on the fly. And people LOVED it. Since then she's been making two sauces. I find a mix of the 2 makes for the perfect combo, and I always have the 2 together!
- Garlic
- Thai chilies
- Cilantro, stems and leafy parts separated and chopped.
- Soy sauce
- Lime juice
- Sugar
*In the video I put ginger in this sauce, but I misremembered. This sauce only has garlic!
How to Make Hainanese Chicken Rice
Here is an overview of all the steps to make this recipe. See the recipe card below for all the details and ingredient amounts. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.
- If your chicken comes with the head and feet, cut off the neck, feet, and wing tips and add to a stock pot large enough to put the chicken into. And onions, daikon, garlic, ginger, cilantro roots and white peppercorns. Add enough water to generously submerge all ingredients and simmer for 20 minutes to render a stock.
- Meanwhile, trim excess checking fat from the chicken (lots around the neck and butt areas) and add these trimmings to a wok or to the pot you will use to cook the rice. Set it aside for now.
- Once the stock is ready, season with 1 tablespoon of salt and fill the pot about ⅔ full with cold water. Add the chicken to the pot and add more water as needed to keep the chicken submerged.
- On medium high heat, bring the temperature of the water up to about 170°F. If you don't have a thermometer, the water should have lots of steam coming off the top but it is should not be bubbling. Reduce the heat to maintain this temperature and cook until the chicken's internal temperature is at least 175°F at the thickest part of the thighs, and 165°F at the thickest part of the breast. This should take about 40-50 minutes, but it will vary according to the size of the chicken.
- While the chicken is cooking, make the rice by first washing the rice a few times, and drain. In a wok or the pot you're using the cook the rice, saute the chicken fat trimmings over medium heat until you have at least 2 tablespoon of rendered chicken fat.
- Remove the chicken bits from the oil and discard, then add the garlic to the chicken fat and saute until the garlic is golden.
- Add the washed-and-drained rice and stir until the rice is thoroughly heated through, about 2 minutes. If you're sauteing the rice in a wok, transfer the rice to the pot you'll use to cook the rice or the rice cooker. Leave it here for now while the chicken finishes cooking.
- Once the chicken is done cooking, remove it from the broth and allow to cool. Taste the broth and add more salt as needed to make it taste like a lightly-seasoned but still delicious soup. Use the broth to add to the rice, and stir the rice over medium high heat until it starts to simmer.
- Once the water is simmering, cover the pot and reduce the heat to LOW and let the rice cook slowly until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 15 - 20 minutes. Meanwhile, make the sauces (instructions below).
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, and the rice and sauces are ready, carve the chicken. If you need guidance for carving the chicken, watch this video: How to carve a chicken.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. The thighs will be a bit harder as you'll need to cut around the bone first before cutting the meat.
- Serve the chicken over rice with the sauces and some cucumber slices - the chicken can be room temp, but the rice should be hot. It's traditional to serve the remaining chicken broth on the side as well!
The sauces are both made in a mortar and pestle. If you don't have one you can finely mince everything, but you will be able to get flavours out of the herbs better by pounding in the mortar and pestle. If you're making a large amount you can also make them in a blender.
For the Classic Dipping Sauce
- Pound together the ginger and chilies into a rough paste. Then add fermented soybean paste, sugar, black soy sauce, regular soy sauce, and vinegar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in chopped cilantro, if desired.
For the Spicy & Sour Dipping Sauce
- Pound together garlic, chilies, and cilantro stems into a rough paste, then add the sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice. Stir to dissolve the sugar and then stir in chopped cilantro leaves.
FAQ
As mentioned, different countries have different sauces to go with Hainan chicken rice. In Singapore, for example, they serve it with a sauce similar to the Thai sweet chili sauce. In Hong Kong, they serve it with a ginger scallion oil made by pouring hot oil over some finely chopped ginger, green onions and salt. You can definitely try them out!
This is one dish I do not recommend using a pressure cooker for. Yes it take time, but the low temperature cooking is key to getting the best Hainanese chicken with tender, juicy meat. High heat will squeeze all the juices out of the chicken and leave you with tough and dry meat. If anything, sous vide is your best bet!
If you're looking for a faster way to make this dish, check out my Easy Hainanese Chicken Rice Recipe!
Classic Hainanese Chicken Rice (khao man gai)
Ingredients
The Chicken
- 1 whole chicken, preferably small
- 2 Cilantro roots, or 6 cilantro stems
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ onion, rough chopped
- 3 -inch section daikon, peeled and cut in chunks, optional
- ½ teaspoon white peppercorns, crushed, or ground white pepper
- 2 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon fine grain salt
The Rice
- 2 cups jasmine rice, uncooked
- 2 ⅔ - 3 cups chicken broth, from cooking the chicken
- 2 tablespoon chopped garlic
Sauce 1: The Classic Dipping Sauce (Nam Jim Tao Jiew)
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
- 2 Thai chilies
- 3 tablespoon Taojiew (Thai fermented soybean paste), or substitute miso or doenjang thinned out with a little water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1-2 tablespoon black soy sauce, see note 1
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 sprigs cilantro, chopped, optional
Sauce 2: Spicy & Sour Dipping Sauce (My Grandma's Signature)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 red Thai chilies, or to taste
- 3 sprigs cilantro, stems and leafy parts separated and chopped
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 teaspoon sugar
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Notes
- The "blackness" of Thai black soy sauce varies greatly between brands, so start out with 1 tablespoon and go from there. If you're substituting Chinese "dark soy sauce" for this, use only 1 tablespoon and reduce the amount of regular soy sauce by ½ Tbsp. See this video on the differences between dark and black soy sauce.
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video to ensure success. If you enjoy them, consider subscribing to the YouTube Channel to not miss an episode. Thank you!
Subscribe to my YouTube ChannelInstructions
- If your chicken comes with the head, neck and feet, chop them off along with the wing tips and add to a stock pot large enough to put the chicken into. Add onions, daikon (if using), garlic, ginger, cilantro roots and white peppercorns. Add enough water to generously submerge all ingredients. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes to infuse the herbs.1 whole chicken, 2 Cilantro roots, 4 cloves garlic, ½ onion, ½ teaspoon white peppercorns, 2 slices ginger, 3 -inch section daikon
- Meanwhile, trim excess fat from the chicken (lots around the neck flap and around the chicken cavity opening). Add these fat trimmings to a wok or the pot you will use to cook the rice. Set it aside for now.
- Once the stock is ready, season with 1 tablespoon of salt and fill the pot about ⅔ full with cold water. Add the chicken to the pot and add more water as needed to keep the chicken submerged.1 tablespoon fine grain salt
- On medium high heat, bring the temperature of the water up to 170°F (77°C). If you don't have a thermometer here's what to aim for: the water should have lots of steam coming off the top but is not simmering (no bubbling!).
- Once the temperature is reached, reduce the heat to medium-low, or whatever is needed to maintain the temperature there. Taste the broth and add more salt as needed until it tastes like a nice-but-mildly-salted soup.
- Cook until the chicken is done, flipping the chicken halfway through and keeping an eye on the heat to make sure the water is not simmering. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F at the thickest part of the breast, and 175°F at the thickest part of the thighs. This takes about 40-50 minutes, but timing varies depending on the size of the chicken. Note: Cooking time starts AFTER water temperature has reached 170°F.
- When the chicken is done, use tongs to remove it from the stock and let cool. Make the rice and the sauces while the chicken cools.
For the Chicken Rice
- Wash the rice a few times until the water runs mostly clear. Drain well.2 cups jasmine rice
- Heat the collected chicken fat over medium heat until you've got about 2-3 tablespoon of rendered chicken fat. If for some reason you do not have enough rendered fat, you can supplement with vegetable oil. Remove the solids and discard.
- Add the garlic to the chicken fat and saute until the garlic is golden. Add the rinsed rice, turn the heat up to high and toss until it is heated through, 2-3 minutes. If the rice is in a wok, transfer it to the rice cooker or whatever pot you're using to cook the rice. Hold the rice here until the chicken is done cooking, if it isn't already.2 tablespoon chopped garlic, 2 ⅔ - 3 cups chicken broth
- Once the chicken is done, take 2 ⅔ cups of chicken cooking water and add it to the rice. Over medium high heat, stir the rice occasionally until water is bubbling and the fat is mixed into the liquid and no longer floats on top. Cover and cook on LOW heat until rice is done, about 15 minutes. (If using a rice cooker, you can just let it go until it's done.) Make the dipping sauces while the rice cooks.
For the Classic Dipping Sauce:
- Pound together the ginger and chilies into a rough paste. Then add fermented soybean paste, sugar, black soy sauce, regular soy sauce, and vinegar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in chopped cilantro if using.2 tablespoon finely chopped ginger, 2 Thai chilies, 3 tablespoon Taojiew (Thai fermented soybean paste), 1 tablespoon sugar, 1-2 tablespoon black soy sauce, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 2 sprigs cilantro
For the Hainanese Dipping Sauce:
- Pound together garlic, chilies, and cilantro stems into a rough paste. Add the sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Stir in chopped cilantro leaves.3 red Thai chilies, 3 sprigs cilantro, 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 tablespoon lime juice, 2 teaspoon sugar, 4 cloves garlic
Assembly
- Taste the remaining broth and adjust seasoning as needed; we always serve a bowl of broth alongside the rice. You can add some chopped green onions or cilantro to the broth also if you wish.
- Carve the chicken, debone the thighs and drumsticks, and slice them into thick slices. You can follow this video for instructions: How to carve a chicken.
- Serve the sliced meat over the rice, along with some sliced cucumber on the side, and a bowl of chicken broth as a palate cleanser. Don't forget the sauces! I like to use both sauces in combination.
Noah says
My Thai in-laws love when I cook your recipes. I’m making kao mun gai for the first time. I think we usually eat it with the Hainan style sauce. One thing that confused me is the recipe card doesn’t call for any ginger in the sauce. I’m glad I watched your video because it shows 2 tablespoons of ginger is included. I just thought I’d give you a heads up since it looks like that might be missing from the recipe!
Thank you. I love your website and cooking videos!
Chen says
thank you for the recipe Pailin. it was 10/10 !
Michael says
Hello, can green Thai chilies be used instead of red Thai chilies for sauce 2 (spicy and sour dipping sauce)?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Yes, but that will change the flavour and green and red chilies do not taste the same. I prefer red.
Junaidi says
Hi Pailin, long time viewer here. Ive noticed a problem when cooking the rice in a rice cooker with the hot broth. Heat tricks the rice cooker metal element and itll think the rice is done and stops the cooking. So i have to wait for the broth to cool first. But thats just my rice cooker model, others may have a different experience.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
I haven't had that issue before on a few different models...it seems odd that it should trigger the rice cooker to go off so quickly!
Dani D says
Wow. This was truly amazing. I cannot believe the texture of the chicken. Literally melts in your mouth. We have loved every recipe so far. Thank you!
Pailin Chongchitnant says
So glad to hear, thanks for the review!
Steve says
We made this today and loved it, wondering “is this dish ever served without the sauce(s)?”, as that would be a far more… mellow flavor. We made the classic sauce to serve with it, and were blown away.
PK says
Great true recipe. It's important to scale this based on the weight of your chicken. Usually have to triple it because our birds are almost always more than 7 lbs. Delicious.
Nina says
Best Hainanese chicken rice recipe ever. And the video was so helpful the first time I made it. My family love this one and ask for it often.
Hendrik says
I do like this really much, though it is a bit convoluted and takes about 2h to make - and that's with only one sauce. Such a difference from the everpresent fried chicken or cooked-to-bland-straw chicken.
I skin the bird and add the skin to the stock from the get go. Also I simmer the stock for 30', 20' don't really do much.
Robert says
This one takes time. The chicken is cooked low & slow, resulting in a tender, juicy bird. The chicken itself is a bit bland, so the dipping sauce (she gives recipes for 2, you need at least one) is crucial. The rice, cooked in the broth created when cooking the chicken, is nicely flavored.