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Ayam Hainan, Hainanese chicken rice, is a set of steamed chicken, garlicky butter rice, and a clear, warming soup. One complete meal, one straightforward method. Shop-bought stock powder works perfectly here.

Ayam Hainan

There’s a reason Hainanese chicken rice has been a staple across Southeast Asia for generations. Simple ingredients. No complicated technique. And yet every component, i.e., the chicken, the rice, the soup, earns its place on the plate.

Ayam Hainan is a full meal in one sitting. Steamed chicken that stays juicy when you get the timing right. Rice cooked in garlicky butter and chicken stock, so it’s fragrant from the first spoonful. A clear, savory soup that ties everything together. Add a spoonful of ginger-chili sauce, and you don’t need anything else.

This recipe comes from Indonesian culinary expert Nila Chandra’s classic cookbook Hidangan Populer, with one key change — homemade chicken stock instead of a stock cube. That swap alone makes the flavor deeper and cleaner.

If you’ve only ever eaten Hainanese chicken rice at a restaurant, making it at home will surprise you. It’s more straightforward than it looks, and the results are worth every step.

History of Chicken Rice

This heartwarming chicken rice with soup is a southern Chinese (Hainanese) dish introduced to Southeast Asia by Hainanese immigrants. Hence, this dish is very popular in countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Although it is well known in Indonesia, in the past you could only get Ayam Hainan in Chinatown or at restaurants that served Chinese or continental food. So it used to be something that you could not find easily.

It’s only now that more Indonesians outside the Chinatown area know about this chicken and rice. Especially with the free-flow information on the internet, this dish has become one of the sought-after Chinese-Indonesian foods.

But it’s not surprising. This dish offers a satisfying taste despite its simplicity. And a set of Nasi Ayam Hainan will give you everything you need for a meal: protein in the chicken, carbs in the rice, and all the other goodness in the soup.

You won’t need anything else but a spoon or two of garlicky ginger-chili sauce.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

It’s a complete meal in one recipe. Protein from the chicken, carbs from the rice, warmth from the soup — you’re not building sides or figuring out what goes with what. Everything is already there.
Steaming the chicken keeps it genuinely tender. Poaching is the traditional method, but steaming gives you more control. Around 20 minutes for small pieces, and you get juicy meat without the risk of rubbery, overcooked chicken.
The rice is the hidden star. Frying the washed rice in salted butter and garlic before adding liquid coats every grain. When it cooks, it absorbs that flavor straight through — not just on the surface.
Marinating does the heavy lifting. Soy sauce, ginger, and garlic paste go into the marinade. Even 15–20 minutes (with a fork-pierced chicken) makes a noticeable difference in how deeply the meat is flavored.
You can use a rice cooker or Instant Pot. After the garlic-butter step, the rice transfers straight into whichever appliance you prefer. No babysitting a pan — the machine does the rest.
It stores well all week. Cook on Sunday, refrigerate, and you have lunch or dinner covered for 4–5 days. Reheat in a steamer for best results, or microwave if you have time.
It freezes for up to 2 months. Store the chicken, rice, and soup in separate containers. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat fully; it comes back close to fresh. A practical option if you want to batch cook ahead.
The recipe is adapted from a trusted source. Nila Chandra was an Indonesian culinary teacher with decades of experience. This is her method — adjusted to skip the stock cube and use real chicken stock, which makes the soup taste cleaner and more flavorful.

Things You Need to Make It

There are 12 things you have to prepare for this chicken and rice recipe.

Chicken.
Garlic.
Ginger
Light soy sauce.
Salted butter.
Rice.
Onion.
Spring onion.
Stock powder (optional).
Chicken stock.
Salt.
Water.

When it comes to stock powder, feel free to use any chicken or vegetable stock powder that you like. I personally like the vegan Marigold bouillon powder.

However, if you make your own chicken stock, I’d say you make enough for the rice as well. So you don’t have to use any stock powder. Promise the flavor will be so tasty.

If you need a simple recipe for chicken stock for this Ayam Hainan, you can check my post on how to make clear Chicken Stock.

How to Make Chicken Rice the Easy Way

I understand that the original method of cooking Hainanese chicken is by poaching the chicken in the rice. But in this recipe, we steam the chicken.

To Cook the Chicken:

So, you marinate the chicken with soy sauce, ginger, garlic paste, and salt. If possible, leave it to marinate for at least an hour. Then place the chicken in a steamer container and steam it.

To Make the Rice:

Wash and rinse the rice. Then fry the garlic in butter before adding the rice. Stir until all the rice grains are coated with garlicky butter, then pour in the water.

Here, you can use chicken stock instead. If you do so, you don’t need any stock powder. But if you use water, it’s recommended to add 2 teaspoons of good-quality chicken or vegetable stock powder.

Cook the rice until all the liquid evaporates. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to low, letting the rice cook until steam rises. If you want, you can steam the rice in a steamer once all the liquid has been absorbed.

You can also cook the rice in a rice cooker or an Instant Pot. Just put the rice that has already been stirred in the garlicky butter into the rice cooker or Instant Pot. Then add the water and stock powder, or just the chicken stock. Set the appliance according to its manual and let it cook the rice to perfection.

To Make the Soup:

Stir-fry the onion and spring onion in butter, then pour in the chicken stock. Boil and simmer until the soup is piping hot.

Nasi Ayam Hainan with a bowl of soup, chilli sauce and spring onion slices in a small bowl.

Top Tips to Make Mouthwatering Nasi Ayam Hainan

Try to marinate the chicken as long as you can. If you’re in a hurry, you can pierce the poultry with a skewer or fork all over and add the marinade. Let it stand for about 15-20 minutes before steaming the chicken. You can do so while you get on with preparing other stuff.
Cooking chicken can be tricky, as it tends to be bland. And if you overcook it, the poultry will taste nothing but like a sponge or cardboard. So keep an eye on the chicken when it’s steaming. Generally, it takes approximately 20 minutes for a chicken cut into small pieces to steam through and be fully cooked.

Storing Matter

This Ayam Hainan is a good keeper for your meal during the week. You can cook it on the weekend and keep it in the fridge. It keeps well for up to 4-5 days. Ideally, you reheat it in a steamer before serving. But you can always microwave it if that’s more convenient for you.

If you want to, you can freeze this Hainanese chicken and rice (and soup). Keep them in separate food containers and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Take them out of the freezer the night before serving and leave them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight. Reheat them until they are piping hot.

Once they are thawed, eat them within 3 days; do not refreeze them.

A plate of Nasi Ayam Hainan with a small bowl of chilli sauce.

Ayam Hainan: Hainanese Chicken Rice

5 from 2 votes

Ayam Hainan is a whole meal consisting of succulent chicken with fluffy-tasty rice and heartwarming soup. It is also known as Hainanese chicken rice or simply chicken rice.

BY: Devy Dar

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Prep : 5

Cook : 45

Total : 50

Servings: portions

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

1 baby chicken approx 2 lbs, cut into pieces.
3 tablespoons of light soy sauce.
3 cloves garlic grind into a paste.
½ inch ginger grind into a paste.
½ teaspoon of salt.

For the Rice:

2 cups rice Approximately 14 ounces.
3 tablespoons of butter.
3 cloves of garlic finely sliced.
3 cups water. Approximately 27 fl.oz.
2 teaspoons of stock powder see the note.

For the Soup:

1 tablespoon of butter.
6 cups chicken stock.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1 small onion finely sliced.
1 spring onion finely sliced.

For the Chili Sauce:

10 red chillies.
½ inch ginger.
1 clove garlic.
½ teaspoon of salt or according to taste.
½ teaspoon of sugar.
1 teaspoon of butter.

Instructions

For the chicken:

Clean and prep the chicken.
Place the light soy sauce, ginger paste, and garlic paste in a small bowl. Then rub the chicken with this soy sauce mixture. Try to make sure all the pieces are covered well with the marinade. Leave it to marinate while you get on with the rice.
When it’s time to cook the chicken, place it on a steamer plate and steam the chicken until it is fully cooked. It takes approximately 20-30 minutes to steam-cook at medium-high heat.

For the rice:

Wash, rinse and soak the rice.
Melt the butter in a cooking pan and put the sliced garlic to it. Fry the garlic until it releases the aroma.
Drain the rice and add it to the garlic. Stir fry the rice for a minute or two before adding water and chicken stock powder to it.
Cook the rice until all the liquid evaporates and steams it until the rice is fully cooked.

For the soup:

Heat the butter until melted, then add sliced onions to it. Fry the onion until it turns translucent and releases a delicious aroma.
Pour in the chicken stock to the onions and add the salt in. Let it cook until it reaches boiling point. Then lower the heat and let it simmer for about minutes.

For the chilli sauce:

Using a pestle and mortar or a food processor, pound the chillies, garlic, ginger, sugar and salt into a paste.
Heat the butter in a small saucepan and cook the chilli paste in it. Add 1⁄4 cup of water and let it simmer for about 2-3 minutes. Check the taste. Add the salt and/ or sugar if needed.

How to serve:

Put the rice on a plate and arrange a few chicken pieces aside. Place some soup in a bowl and some chilli sauce in a small bowl.

Notes

You can omit the stock powder for the rice. Use the homemade chicken stock and add 1 teaspoon of salt.

Nutrition

Devy Dar

Devy founded So Yummy Recipes and Drizzling Flavor to share her love of food after exploring various cultures and cuisines for more than two decades. Her mission is to help others easily recreate traditional and non-traditional food with readily available ingredients. Her works have been featured in Reader’s Digest, Al Jazeera, MSN, Yahoo, Bon Appétit, and more.