If ever someone asks me to make Hainanese Chicken Rice the authentic way, I’d rather take that person out for lunch at Wee Nam Kee or Tao Yuan. My reason is that cooking Hainanese Chicken the real way demands a lot of waiting and boiling and whatever kitchen toil that eats up a lot of time.

But guess what! We figured out a way to prepare a Hainanese Chicken Rice feast in less than an hour (really, we timed it!) by narrowing down the recipe to a few simple steps and a few simple ingredients. For the rice, we just used the powdered seasoning from the grocery. And instead of stuffing the chicken with vegetables and then boiling it afterwards, we went ahead and fried a batch of breasts. It’s a great short-cut alternative because it saves you a lot of time without skimping out on the flavor. But if you want to make some Hainanese Fried Chicken, which can take up a bit more time, that works also.

Ahhh, but the main deal here is the ginger-scallion sauce that you’ll have to make yourself! Don’t rely on those bottled ones because the freshness of this sauce is the key to bringing out the full Hainanese flavor of the dish.

This short-cut hassle-free Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe will make your guests swear that “it tastes authentic!” and of course, all you have to do is smile and say thank you and even give a little curtsy.

They don’t have to know your little secret.