Hainanese Chicken Rice Meal Prep with Dipping Sauces

Meal prepping chicken and rice dishes usually involves the chicken being lathered in some form of flavorful sauce or glaze. While those are really delicious options, I’d argue that this humble dish trumps all of them. 

This simple Hainanese chicken rice is the ultimate comfort food—just the right balance of ender poached chicken, fragrant rice cooked in chicken fat and aromatics, and a few bold dipping sauces that bring everything together.

Plus, it’s really easy to cook and the ingredients are all pantry staples!  

Choosing the Chicken: Thighs vs. Breasts

When it comes to Hainanese chicken rice, you can use either chicken thighs or breasts, but they deliver different results. 

I personally prefer chicken thighs because the meat stays juicier and more flavorful, even after reheating. The bit of fat on the thighs also adds richness to the broth and rice.

Chicken breast, on the other hand, is leaner and can dry out easily if overcooked. If you’re using breast, keep a close eye on your poaching time. 

Once the internal temperature hits about 160°F (71°C), remove it from the heat and let it rest in the hot broth to finish cooking gently.

Tips for Cooking and Prepping

I always start by making a flavorful broth. That means adding garlic, ginger, and scallions to the pot with the chicken, and letting it simmer gently, never a rolling boil, so that the meat stays tender. 

Once the chicken is cooked, I remove it and let it rest while I use that same aromatic broth to cook the rice.

Here’s a tip I’ve learned over time: don’t cook the rice and chicken in the same pot. A lot of one-pot recipes suggest this for convenience, but you lose out on the clear, rich broth that’s essential for serving. 

Cooking them separately gives you both the juicy chicken and broth to sip or drizzle over the rice later.

If you’re watching your oil intake, you can let the broth cool and skim off the fat layer once it solidifies. You’ll still get all the flavor, just with a lighter finish.

Meal Prep Tips

For meal prep, portion the chicken, rice, and sauces separately. Store them in individual containers so they don’t get soggy. 

The rice keeps well for up to 4 days in the fridge, and it actually gets better if you cool and reheat it, thanks to something called resistant starch, which makes it gentler on your blood sugar.

You can even freeze the rice for up to a month. Just make sure to cool it completely before freezing to avoid moisture buildup. Reheat it in the microwave with a damp paper towel or a splash of broth to bring back its fluffy texture.

Dipping Sauces: The Heart of the Dish

The sauces make or break Hainanese chicken rice. Traditionally, you’ll find three main condiments, and I recommend making them all because they balance each other beautifully.

First, there’s the ginger and scallion oil. It’s a fragrant, slightly spicy mixture that’s spooned over the chicken. 

Then comes the soy dipping sauce, savory and a little sweet, often enhanced with sesame oil. And finally, the chili-garlic sauce, a fiery condiment that gives the dish its punch.

You can prepare these sauces ahead of time and store them in small jars in the fridge for up to a week. The flavors deepen as they sit, making them perfect for meal prep.

Serving Suggestions

To serve, I like to place the rice on one side of the plate, topped with sliced chicken and a drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil. Add a spoonful of each dipping sauce on the side so you can mix and match flavors with each bite.

Hainanese chicken rice is satisfying on its own, but it pairs beautifully with light sides like steamed bok choy, cucumber slices, or a clear broth soup made from the leftover chicken stock. 

Yield: 4 servings

Hainanese Chicken Rice with Three Dipping Sauces

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Image credit: @cookingwithchow

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the Chicken and Broth

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 6 cups water
• 4 slices of ginger
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 scallions, cut into large pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt

For the Rice

• 2 cups jasmine rice, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons chicken fat or vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 slices of ginger
• 2 ½ cups chicken broth (from poaching liquid)

For the Ginger Scallion Oil

• 2 tablespoons grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons minced scallions
• 3 tablespoons hot oil
• pinch of salt

For the Soy Dipping Sauce

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• splash of broth

For the Chili-Garlic Sauce

• 1 tablespoon chili paste
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• sugar to taste

Instructions

1. Poach the chicken. In a large pot, combine water, ginger, garlic, scallions, and salt. Add chicken and simmer gently for 30–35 minutes, until cooked through. Remove and set aside to rest.
2. Make the rice. In another pot, heat chicken fat or oil. Sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add rinsed rice and stir to coat. Pour in broth and cook as usual, or transfer everything to a rice cooker.
3. Prepare the sauces. Mix ingredients for each dipping sauce in separate bowls. Adjust salt or sugar to taste.
4. Assemble and serve. Slice the chicken and serve it over fragrant rice with sauces on the side. Add cucumber slices and a bowl of broth for the full experience.

Featured image credit: @brendan_pang