Hainanese Chicken Rice (Com Ga Hai Nam)

Tonight we will talk about "Com Ga Xiu Xiu", which can be translated loosely into "chicken rice." While it is common called "com ga xiu xiu," another name for this dish is "Com Ga Hai Nam" (Hainanese chicken rice).  It is named after an island, Hai Nam, off the coast of China.  Anyway, I love to eat chicken and I've experienced many different ways to cook it --deep fried, steamed, boiled, stir fried, broiled, etc.  And I find that chicken tastes good regardless of how you cook it.  With that being said, tonight I will blog about how to cook it by boiling it.   I got this recipe from my sister a while ago after I posted a comment on Facebook about my craving for com ga Hai Nam.  The recipe takes a little work on the preparation part, but it will be all worthwhile when you chow down on it.  So let's get cooking!!!

Ingredients:

1. What you need is-----Duh! Chicken!!! --ONE WHOLE CHICKEN that is!
2. Rau ram (Persicaria odorata, the Vietnamese coriander)
3. Minced Ginger
4. White part of green onion (minced)
5. 1 whole white onion
6. Minced Shallot, sliced shallot ( for hanh phi aka saute shallot)
7. Rock sugar, salt, fish sauce
8. Jasmine rice (or any medium sized grains)
9. Shredded green onion (mix with rau ram) 

Now that you've gathered all the ingredients, it's time to make a chicken masterpiece!!!

• Boil water in large pot, once boiled add chicken, salt, rock sugar, whole onion.
• Cook for 45 min, remove chicken let it cooled then shred it or chop it up to smaller pieces
• Reserve the broth, rinse the rice, in an empty pot, add oil, then minced shallot and ginger till slightly brown, add rice and mix well. 
• Season with some salt, bot nem (seasoning powder), sugar and pepper to taste.  
• Add broth to the pot, enough to cook the rice like cooking steam rice ( about 1 inch of broth from rice surface). 
• Cover and cook the rice, mix every now and then to fluff up the rice. 
• Now, you can use a rice cooker instead.  I find it more convenient and save you some hassles with the possible burnt rice at the bottom on the pot.  
• Make nuoc mam gung (fish sauce with ginger) with minced garlic, ginger, red pepper, lime juice or vinegar, sugar, little water and fish sauce. 
• In a small pot add oil, minced ginger and mince white part of green onion, sauté till tender season with bot nem, salt. 
• Plate up rice, chicken, some of  the sauté Ginger and green onion, rau ram on the side, hanh phi and nuoc mam gung on top. 

Note: left over broth can be cook with cai be xanh and some slices of Ginger for soup to eat with rice