Nasi Ayam (Chicken Rice)

Chicken Rice originates from China. The Hainanese chicken rice is popular in Malaysia. It is now accepted and eaten by all races in Malaysia.
A relative passed away recently on 1st November. It is normal to hold tahlil prayers and a kenduri after the funeral. On the first day, we prepared nasi ayam. As the villagers has not done it before, it was my call to help out. Luckily, my sis-in -law also has some experience. My experience involved cooking in a small quantity for my family. So pooling our various experiences we managed to come out with a delicious spread that night. I am proud that the sauces I made came out tops.

The recipe for nasi ayam for a small family (of 4 or 5 )is as follows:

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken with skin, boiled in 1.5 litres water and removed. Add salt and powdered turmeric to chicken and let in marinate for 30 minutes. Fry the chicken in hot oil till brown. Cut into small pieces when serving with rice.

For the soup:
4 cloves garlic
8 small onions
2 cm ginger
1 stalk lemon grass
2.5 cm galangal
4 cm cinnamon bark
4 cloves
3 star anise
1/2 chicken stock cube, preferably Knorrs
salt

Fry the sliced onions, garlic, ginger and spices in a little oil till fragrant. Add in the chicken stock from the chicken that has been boiled, leaving about 3.5 cups for the rice. Add in the galangal and lemon grass that has been squashed. Add in salt and chicken stock to taste. Boil and keep aside.

Sauces:

Chilli sauce: (Grind in a blender or pound in a stone pestle and mortar)
6 fresh red chillies
4 cloves garlic
4 tabsp vinegar
2 tabsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

(Sugar, salt and vinegar can be varied according to your taste)

Soya sauce: (grind in a blender or pound)
10 bird chillies
2 tabsp black sweet soya sauce
a little sugar if chillies are too hot
2 tabsp vinegar
4 cloves garlic

Garnishing:
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
a few lettuce leaves, cut to bite sizes
2 tomatoes, sliced

Preparing the Rice:
3 cups white rice, washed and strained

Pour in about 3.5 cups of the chicken stock (from boiling of the chicken above) in a saucepan or rice cooker, throw in 2 (tied and twisted) screwpine leaves (daun pandan) and let boil before adding in the washed and strained rice. Add in a little turmeric, a cut of butter and 1/2 chicken stock cube and a little salt. Make sure all ingredients are mixed thoroughly in the stock. Cook normally until rice is fully dried and cooked.

To Serve:

Dish out the rice on individual plates. Add in 1 or 2 cut chicken pieces. (You can remove the skin if you want, before eating). Add in the vegetable garnishings. The rice is eaten with the soup and the chilli and soya sauces poured on top.

Some people also eat the chicken rice with pounded raw garlic and ginger, served separately.
Others may add vegetables such as Chinese cabbage in the soup.