Khao Man Gai

Name: Khao Man Gai
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: Whole chicken, 1.5kg; Jasmine rice, 400g; Garlic cloves, 6; Fresh ginger, sliced, 5cm piece; Spring onions, 4; Tao jiao (fermented soybean paste), 3 tbsp; Ginger, minced, 1 tbsp; Sugar, 1 tsp; Fresh chilli, sliced, to serve; Cucumber, sliced, to serve

ข้าวมันไก่/cow mun guy/

Also known as: Khao Mun Gai, Kao Man Kai, Thai Chicken Rice

About this dish

Poached chicken and fragrant rice cooked in chicken broth, served with a fermented soybean dipping sauce.

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History & Origin

Khao man gai — poached chicken on fragrant rice — is Thailand's version of Hainanese chicken rice, brought by Chinese immigrants from Hainan province who settled in Thailand in large numbers in the early 20th century. The dish reflects the Chinese cooking philosophy of using every part of every ingredient: the chicken is poached in stock, that stock cooks the rice, and more stock becomes the accompanying soup. The Hainanese technique of plunging the chicken into ice water immediately after poaching creates the silky, almost translucent skin that is the hallmark of great khao man gai.

Ingredients

🍗Whole chicken, 1.5kg

🍚Jasmine rice, 400g

🧄Garlic cloves, 6

🫚Fresh ginger, sliced, 5cm piece

🧅Spring onions, 4

🫙Tao jiao (fermented soybean paste), 3 tbsp

🫚Ginger, minced, 1 tbsp

🍬Sugar, 1 tsp

🌶️Fresh chilli, sliced, to serve

🥒Cucumber, sliced, to serve

Method

Serves 4

Place the whole chicken in a pot with water to cover. Add ginger, garlic and spring onions. Bring to 80°C — do not boil. Poach at this temperature for 45 minutes.

Remove the chicken and immediately plunge into an ice bath for 10 minutes. This stops the cooking and creates the silky, smooth skin characteristic of khao man gai.

Use the poaching liquid as the stock to cook the jasmine rice. Fry the garlic in oil until golden, add the rice and toast for 2 minutes. Add the stock and cook as normal.

Make the tao jiao sauce by combining fermented soybean paste, ginger, garlic, sugar and a little of the poaching liquid. The sauce should be pungent and deeply savoury.

Chop or slice the poached chicken, keeping the skin on.

Serve the chicken over the fragrant rice with a bowl of clear poaching broth on the side, cucumber slices and the tao jiao sauce for dipping.

✓ What Makes it Authentic

Poach the chicken at 80°C — never a rolling boil. Ice bath immediately after poaching gives silky smooth skin. The tao jiao dipping sauce is what makes this dish.

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