The original Shredded Chicken Rice was from a city called Chia-yi in Taiwan, but over the years, it has become one of the most common and popular street foods that you can find all over Taiwan, especially in the night markets. Along with Braised Pork Rice, they are the King and Queen of rice bowls in Taiwan! After moving to the US, these not-so-fancy dishes are strangely hard to find, even in China Town. In Taiwan, they are so yummy and easily accessible on the street, that most people don't make them at home anymore. To fill the hole of my craving, I had to ask around (back then, the internet wasn't as convenient as it is now), study and experiment with different recipes, and finally came up with my really easy, but definitely authentic, Shredded Chicken Rice recipe!
Serving x 4
Ingredients :
- Bone-in, Skin-on Chicken Breast x 1
- Chicken Broth x 2 cups
- Ginger x 2-3 slices
- Green Onions x 2
- Star Anise x 1
- Shao-Shing Rice Wine x 1 tbsp
- Dried Fried Shallots x 1 tbsp
- Soy sauce x 1 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Oil x 2 tbsp
- Cilantro (Chopped) x 1 cup
- Japanese Pickled Daikon (Sliced) x 8
- Cooked rice x 4 cups
Recipe:
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Separate the skin from the chicken breast, save all the chicken fat on the side.
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In a sauce pan, add in 1tbsp of oil, and heat the pan to sear the chicken breast on both sides. Once lightly seared, take out the chicken breast.
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In the same sauce pan that seared the chicken breast, add in ginger, green onions, and star anise. Turn the heat low, and sauté until fragrant, about 1 min. Then add back in the seared chicken breast.
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Add the chicken broth to cover the breast; then add Shao-shin Rice wine, Soy sauce, and dry fried shallot. Turn up the heat and bring to boil.
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Once boiling, turn the heat low, cover with a lid to simmer for 10 mins, then flip the chicken breast to simmer the other side for another 10 mins.
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While waiting for the chicken breast to be cooked, prepare to render the chicken fat.
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Chop the fat into small cubes. Add oil in a sauce pan, put the chicken fat in, render the chicken fat in low heat until the chicken fat becomes gold brown and crispy in texture. Then take out the chicken fat and discard, but keep the rendered chicken lard.
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Take out the cooked chicken breasts, let it cool, then shred into fine strips. Drain the remaining chicken broth through a sieve, and discard all the herbs and spices. Season the broth with some salt. The sauce needs to be saltier than normal, so that it can give enough flavor to the rice.
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To serve, heat up the lard and the broth. On a bowl of rice, put on some shredded chicken, cilantro, and a couple slices of the Japanese pickled daikon on top. Then drizzle 2 tsp of the lard and 1-1.5 tbsp of chicken broth on top. And voila! You’ll be transported to a night market in Taiwan.
