Sesame Chicken and “Rice” with Fiery Ginger and Chile Sauce
This is the type of meal you’ll want to share with those you love. Not only because it’s nourishing and delicious, but also because you don’t want to be the only one in the house who’s breathing out fiery chile and garlic. The aromatic chile sauce that gives this dish its fiery kick is served on the side and can be used in moderation, but we guarantee you’ll find yourself generously spooning it over your plate, unable to resist its bold, addictive flavor.
This isn’t to say that Sesame Chicken with Cauliflower Rice is a recipe only for the brave hearted. This traditional dish, typically called Hainanese Chicken and served with regular rice, is a simple and mild combination of flavors. It was Peter Yong’s favorite dish at a local restaurant and we’re glad he “Primalized” it and shared the results with all of us for the Primal Blueprint Reader-Created Cookbook Challenge.
The chicken and cauliflower that make up the heart of the meal are simmered in a soothing ginger and scallion-infused broth. After simmering, the chicken is plunged into an ice bath to halt the cooking process and seal in the moist, gelatinous texture. A post-bath massage with toasted sesame oil adds enough flavor to the chicken that you could simply dig in and eat at this point… but the real soul of the dish would be missing.
The exact ingredients that create the sauce served with Hainanese Chicken vary from cook to cook. We find Peter’s version, a bold blend of tart lime, spicy ginger and loads of garlic, irresistible. The real fire in the sauce comes from delicate-looking little peppers that are fiercer than they let on. A lot of heat and flavor is packed into a small Thai chile pepper. Removing the seeds from inside the pepper tones down the spiciness a little, but be careful – if you touch the seeds with your fingers then inadvertently wipe your eyes, you’re in for a world of hurt.
Even with the seeds removed, one Thai chile will add noticeable tongue-tingling spiciness to the sauce. Two chiles will make you sweat. If you can’t find Thai chiles, other types of hot peppers can be substituted. Habanero peppers will be a little spicier, and jalapenos a bit milder.
Regardless of how spicy you choose to make the sauce, it brings a welcome kick of flavor to the mild chicken and cauliflower and transforms the dish from simple to spectacular. If there happens to be any leftover sesame chicken, it’s fantastic in a salad the next day with, of course, just a little bit of Peter’s spicy chile sauce drizzled on top.
This dish can be served warm or cold and makes enough to feed four.
Ingredients:
Chicken
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cloves peeled garlic
- 4 slices ginger
- 4 whole scallions
- 2 tablespoons dark sesame oil, or more to taste
Cauliflower rice
- 2-3 cups cauliflower rice (cauliflower grated in the food processor)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 5 peeled and minced shallots
- 5 peeled and minced garlic cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Chile sauce
- 2 fresh Thai chilies, with seeds removed
- 3 tablespoons peeled and finely chopped ginger
- 3 tablespoons peeled and finely chopped shallot
- 3 tablespoons peeled and finely chopped garlic
- 3 to 4 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Garnish:
- sliced tomatoes
- sliced cucumbers
- chopped parsley
Directions:
To prepare the chicken, wash and remove innards. Rub the chicken with salt. Crush garlic and ginger slightly with the flat of a knife and stuff the inside of the chicken with garlic, ginger and scallions.
Bring 12 cups of water (or enough to just cover the chicken) to a boil in a large pot. Add the chicken with breast side down. Simmer covered for 15- 20 minutes then turn the chicken and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes until done.
Remove chicken, draining any liquid back into the pot and reserving the stock. Plunge the chicken into ice water.
After 5 minutes, remove and drain the chicken, then rub with sesame oil and let cool to room temperature.
Prepare the sauce by blending chiles, shallots, garlic and ginger in a food processor until a paste.
Transfer into a bowl and stir in 1/2 cup of the reserved chicken stock while it’s still boiling hot. Add lime juice, vinegar and salt. Stir to combine and let sit while preparing the rest of the meal.
To make the cauliflower rice, process about 1/2 of a medium sized head of cauliflower in a food processor until the texture is rice like. Heat coconut oil in a saucepan. Once hot, add shallots and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant and soft. Add cauliflower rice and stir-fry another 3 to 4 minutes. Add salt and 3 cups of the reserved chicken broth. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil until the liquid evaporates to the level of the rice and steam holes appear. Turn heat to low and simmer for 30-40 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
Chop chicken into bite size pieces. If you have a sharp knife or cleaver you can just chop up the meat up with the bones. Add salt and more sesame oil if desired. Serve over the top of the cauliflower rice and garnish with tomatoes, cucumbers and parsley. Drizzle the chile sauce on top.
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Posted By: Worker Bee
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Mark… you put me in a predicament. My family was going to spatchcock a whole chicken last Sunday. But, it of course downpoured so we stuck it in the oven. My mother bought another whole chicken so we could spatchcock it this time.
But, of course, you HAD to throw something like this at me. This looks to damn amazing to NOT make tomorrow…
So, I ask you, or anyone else… Should I make this or should we spatchcock the whole chicken for tomorrow? Here is the link to help you decide: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/aromatic-whole-grilled-chicken/
Wow, this recipe is wonderfully done! The end result definitely justifies all the work needed to make this :0)
Thanks a bunch for sharing this!
Oh, yum! Making this tonight. Done deal.
Everything seems to require a food processor nowadays … Any recommendations for this stubborn primal newbie? A grater?
Buy a food processor.
I didn’t feel like busting mine out for this so I used a grater for the cauliflower (worked fine and really didn’t take that long) and then used a blender for the chile sauce. I added about a tablespoon of broth to the chile, ginger, etc to blend it to a paste then continued the directions. It turned out just fine. Actually, it’s amazing.
Oh, and that refering to that great sounding rice substitute … Not the chile paste.
Old fashioned food processor for “ricing” vegetables: a sieve and a spoon. Actually, you can find a hand operated kitchen implement called a “ricer” which has a hand crank you rotate. But a sieve with a spoon works fine. Just crumble the cauliflower and cook according to the directions. Then drain the cauliflower very thoroughly and place it into a large sieve. Use a big spoon to push the cauliflower through the sieve. Let drain some more before serving.
You can just grate the cauliflower with a hand or box grater – I often do this to save having to get the processor out (and clean it afterwards!)
Recipe sounds delicious, I’ll be trying it soon!
Looks okay, but why do we need to bother with a “rice substitute”? I personally detest cauliflower (no lectures, please, I’ve tried it all kinds of ways, just can’t stand the stuff) and don’t see any reason why we should need to “dress up” or “fluff up” some perfectly good chicken with anything. Is it just that old impulse to put carbs on the plate being redirected into something more “healthy”? It would make just as much sense to put shredded green beans or mushrooms under it, but they wouldn’t look like “rice”. Do we have to fool ourselves into thinking we’re eating “rice”?? Seems silly to me.
Anyway, the chicken sounds great just as it is without anything else.
Get over it? It does look like rice, and many people including myself think its a great accompaniment to dishes like these. If you don’t like it, don’t make it!
I’ll be trying it soon, looks great.
Looks so yummy. I love the recipes on this site.
Ok, you had my husband until you used the word “gelatinous” to refer to the cooked chicken. Now he’s completely turned off. The only thing he likes to eat that is “gelatinous” is Jell-o. A little clarification, please? Or should those of us who are squeamish simmer the bird a bit longer, or finish it off in the oven?
I roasted Cornish hens and just set them on top of the “rice” and topped it with the sauce and garnish. Tasted much better in my opinion than boiling
The tip about grating cauliflower is a good one – thank you!
If you would appreciate someting starchy with the chicken, make the cauliflower “rice” and by all means use a grater if you are only making a little bit for a few servings!
Gelatinous means that the marrow has started to cook out of the bones, uually imparting the finished dish (imho) with some “long simmered” flavor and body…a good thing, and NOTHING like Jello, If I have misunderstood, I apologize…
In my house/family we would never use “just” 2 cloves of garlic on a WHOLE chicken…6 is more like it!
Grok on!
oops, typo! USUALLY..lol
I’m drooling…I love heat..I will try this..
I’d personally have this on a mixed leaf salad with plenty of strong fiery leaves like rocket, mizuna and watercress. Big and bold to stand up to the chilli.
I DO love the Hainanese version of this … I’ll be trying this recipe on my (Chinese) father! (I mean cooking it for him, not cooking him Hainan-style)
Oh my God, Hainanese Chicken Rice is one of my favorite comfort foods in the whole world, and seeing this version made me drool big time. We’ll definitely be trying it at home! Thank you!
And now I know what to do with the peppers from the Thai hot chili plant in my garden. Thanks!
I finally got around to making this dish last night, but with a few tweaks. I had pork tenderloins at home, so I used them instead. I marinated the pork in tamari, water, ginger, lemongrass, garlic and some Sriracha sauce. Then, I grilled it.
I made the cauliflower rice exactly as described and the chile sauce too.
When I served the dish, I replaced parsley with cilantro and tomatoes with mung bean sprouts (not really sure how primal they are compared to the tomatoes I skipped).
The whole family loved it.
Does anybody have any ideas on what to do with the leftover broth from this dish? I was thinking of making a soup…but I am not sure what to add. I just can’t throw away all that rich healthy goodness!
Barefoot_explorer, if I have a huge amount of leftover, I put them in small containers and freeze them. It’s not a hassle at all to “defrost” later on.. in fact, on your next stir-fry, you can just break chunks off, as the heat from the stir-fry will just simply melt it.
That’s what I would do
What would happen to the cauliflower if I used a blender instead of a food processor? I don’t have a processor.. What are my options?
Rice Palette,
If you use a blender you’ll wind up with something resembling more mashed potatoes than rice.
I used to use a potato ricer to, well… ‘rice’ cauliflower, but that was a huge pain. So instead I dump steamed cauliflower into a food processor on the ‘blend/chop’ setting with pastured butter, cream, salt, pepper, and a touch of garlic.
I can’t tell from the above recipe if they’re using a grater or the blend/chopping blade, but if all you’ve got is a blender I’d say just blend a little – until the bigger chunks are broken up – but don’t overdo it or you’ll lose the rice effect.
Was this reply in response to Katie’s comment?
Thank you – you have answered my prayers for something that resembles rice! I am going to try this very soon, and the chili sauce looks to die for!