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Hainan Coconut Chicken Hotpot

The Mala Market
Author: Kathy Yuan | The Mala Market | Inspiration & Ingredients for Sichuan Cooking

Ingredients

Hotpot for 4

  • 4 pounds whole organic free-range chicken, or 2-3 pounds bone-in, skin-on, organic free-range chicken parts, broken down and sliced into parts* *see Notes for guidance
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon MSG
  • splash Shaoxing rice wine or other unspiced rice wine/rice liquor (like sake) avoid generic liaojiu cooking wines with spices added
  • 3-4 whole young Thai coconuts for smaller (divided/shallow) hotpot, <2 quart volume
  • 1 liter 100% pure Thai coconut water (sugar-free, GMO-free, no preservatives or additional ingredients. I used Bogopa brand) recommended for helping fill larger/deeper hotpot as pictured, or optional for topping off divided/shallow hotpot
  • 1 whole mature coconut
  • 1 quart high quality chicken stock optional for topping off if needed, or if less sweet broth is desired, not to exceed 50% of broth
  • 1 knob fresh ginger, washed and sliced
  • 1-2 whole dried hongzao (jujubes), halved optional
  • small handful dried goji berries optional
  • 2-3 cups fresh mushrooms/fungi of choice e.g. enoki, baby oyster, shiitake, blanched wood ear, bamboo mushroom, cordycep flower
  • 2-3 cups fresh veggies and greens of choice e.g. rehydrated tofu skins, baby bok choy leaves, yuchoy/other young tender tips, pea shoots, sweet corn, small taro/eddo, water chestnut, mountain yam, more coconut meat
  • additional seafood and meats of choice optional, e.g. small abalone, fresh shrimp, cuttlefish balls, tilapia/white fish pieces, thinly sliced beef

Dipping sauce

  • light soy sauce (Zhongba preferred)
  • 2-3 whole calamansi, halved for juicing sub key lime if unavailable
  • 1 thumb fresh sand ginger, minced sub sliced dried sand ginger and/or minced fresh ginger if unavailable
  • 2-4 whole fresh xiaomila chili, finely chopped sub Thai bird's eye chili if unavailable
  • 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced optional
  • handful fresh cilantro leaves, washed and dried optional

Instructions

Preparing the hotpot

  • Break down the chicken and/or slice parts into similar-sized pieces. See Notes below for more guidance. Wash and soak in cold water for 30 minutes to draw out the blood and ensure a clean broth. This step is necessary since the chicken will not be parboiled separately.
    Scrub and rinse away the soaking water. Dry thoroughly. Rub 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon MSG and a splash of Shaoxing rice wine into the chicken. Set aside.
  • Crack open the young coconuts and drain the coconut water into a large measuring glass or bowl. Strain the coconut water into a hotpot (or shaguo, dutch oven, etc.) to ensure any husk pieces are removed. 3 coconuts gave me 4 cups of coconut water. At this point, depending on the size of your pot, you can top off the liquid with more coconut water or high quality chicken stock, if desired, for a more savory broth.
    With a sturdy spoon, scoop out all the tender coconut flesh. Rinse and strain as needed to remove any husk pieces. Add to hotpot.
  • In the hotpot, add the ginger slices and halved jujube. Bring to a boil. Add marinated chicken* and simmer 5 minutes on low heat, skimming any surface scum. At this point, do not stir. Stirring will break the skin and muddy the broth with more scum.
    For best results, turn off the heat after simmering 5 minutes and cover the pot, letting the chicken pieces poach in the hot broth through residual heat for 5-20 minutes, depending on size (see recommendations below). Add goji just before serving, if desired.
    *See note.
  • Once all the meat is cooked through, enjoy the chicken with a little broth in each person's bowl, savoring the taste of the pure coconut chicken soup.
    To avoid overcooking, set aside any remaining smaller pieces before turning the heat back on and adding other hotpot ingredients as desired. Also remove bone-in chicken from broth if it is not being eaten, to avoid overcooking.

Dipping sauce and additional ingredients

  • Combine dipping sauce ingredients as desired into individual dipping bowls.
  • Add mushrooms/fungi and greens/veggies to cook first. Add seafood next, and heavier red meats last, if using. Enjoy!

Notes

I do not recommend making this chicken hotpot with only breast or boneless, skinless chicken. The fat from the skin is essential for flavor.
*Covered poaching guidelines (following 5-minute simmer):  
  • for small bone-in thighs (halve if larger) and drumsticks, allow 15-20 additional minutes
  • for tenderloin-sized pieces, allow 5-10 additional minutes
  • for 1-inch boneless chunks, chicken will cook through in as few as 3 minutes
For cooking a whole chicken in parts, I like to drop the larger and bone-in, skin-on cuts of thigh, drumstick, wing, etc. first, to better flavor the broth. Then I add the small, quick-cooking and chopstick-able (i.e, boneless) pieces at the end of simmering (ensure stock returns to boil before covering and turning off heat). Poached meat is less likely to overcook/dry out: The small pieces can soak up to 30 minutes without getting tough while the larger bone-in pieces finish poaching.
When you're ready to cook the other hotpot ingredients, first retrieve the smaller pieces to enjoy (with a bowl of refreshing broth!) and only then turn the heat back on. Otherwise, the smaller pieces will overcook.
Serve with your usual hotpot spread, with a focus on mushrooms/light veggies and seafoods. If desired, thinly sliced red meats should be cooked toward the end of the meal, so as not to overpower the coconut chicken broth.
https://blog.themalamarket.com/hainan-coconut-chicken-hotpot-yeziji/