Chicken Rice

A. Chicken:
1.8 kg (3 12 Ib) whole chicken
6-8 cloves garlic, crushed
6 cm. ginger, crushed
4 stalks spring onions
2.7 litres (96 fl oz) water
1 teaspoon salt

Cooking Chicken:

1. Wash chicken and rub some salt over it. Stuff chicken with above ingredients.
2. Let water with 1 teaspoon salt boil rapidly over high heat.
3. Add the chicken, cook uncovered, until water re-boils for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to very low, cover and let simmer for 25 - 30 minutes. (Do not remove lid throughout cooking time).
4. Remove chicken immediately and immerse in a basin of cold water for 5 minutes. (Keep the liquid in which the chicken was boiled (stock).
5. Transfer chicken to a large plate and brush it immediately with sesame seed oil (must be Chinese sesame oil, NEVER Indian till seed oil).
6. Allow chicken to cool before cutting it into pieces. Arrange on a serving dish.

B. Decoration and Garnish:
2 cucumbers, sliced
2 big tomatoes, sliced
2 shallots, diced

Decorate Chicken with Cucumber and Tomato and garnish with shallots

C. Rice
625 g (22 oz) Long Grained Rice (not Basmati)
115 ml (4 fl oz) cooking oil
995 ml (35 fl oz) chicken stock
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon monosodium glutamate (msg) or 1/2 spoon sugra 6 screwpine leaves, tied in a knot

1. Wash rice until water runs clear. Drain.
2. Add chicken stock (adjust more as required), screw pine leaves, salt and msg or sugar to the rice (in the Rice Cooker) Pour the oil over the rice and cook until done. Loosen and fluff up rice with a chopstick before serving.

D. Chilli & Ginger Sauce:
6 Big Medium Red Chillies OR 1 Red Capsicum and 8 Small (Hot) Red Chillies
2 thumb-sized ginger (peel and slice up across the grain roughly)
110 ml (4 fl oz) chicken stock
Salt 2 teaspoons
1/2 teaspoon MSG (optional)
3/4 teaspoon sugar
2-3 tablespoons lime juice

Blend all above ingredients (C) into a rough paste and serve as accompaniment to chicken rice.

E. Soup
Use the balance stock to make a soup. You can add anything you prefer to do this. I usually add the following to the stock.

3 Chinese mushrooms - Soaked (to soften) and slice finely
1 cup of finely diced soft tofu.
1 spoon (or more) of Tom Yum paste (bought from Asian shops)
and when soup is boiling, pour in (very slowly) whilst stirring briskly) a beaten egg.
Adjust taste with light soy sauce or salt.

Serve
Serve rice on plate with the chicken dished on side of rice. Serve soup in separate soup bowl.

Note:
When cooking 625g - 1.2 kg 22 oz - 43 oz) rice, using an electric rice cooker, wipe moisture from underside of the lid of cooker; on completion of cooking, to prevent rice from going soggy.

(Serves 8)