Khao Man Gai
Thai poached chicken over rice cooked in the broth.
Ingredients
- 1 Whole chicken
- 400 g Jasmine rice
- 1 Ginger
- 5 cloves Garlic
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 4 tbsp Cilantro (optional)
- 1 Cucumber (optional)
Method
- Smash the ginger and garlic with the flat of a knife, and rub the chicken inside and out with the salt.
- Slip the chicken into a pot of water with the smashed aromatics, bring to a bare simmer, and poach gently until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Lift onto a plate to rest, then strain and reserve the broth.
- While the chicken poaches, slice the cucumber into thin rounds.
- While the chicken poaches, mince a little of the remaining ginger and a clove of garlic and stir them with the light soy to make a dipping sauce; chop the cilantro for garnish and set both aside.
- Rinse the rice, then cook it in the strained chicken broth, measured to your usual rice-to-liquid ratio, until fragrant and fluffy.
- While the rice cooks, carve the rested chicken off the bone into bite-sized slices.
- Mound the rice on plates, lay the sliced chicken on top, and tuck the cucumber alongside. Spoon over the soy-ginger sauce and finish with the chopped cilantro.
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About Khao Man Gai
Khao man gai is the Thai version of Hainanese chicken rice, a dish whose apparent plainness hides real depth. A whole chicken is poached gently — never boiled hard — in water with smashed ginger and garlic until just cooked and silky, and the resulting broth becomes the cooking liquid for the rice, so every grain is infused with chicken fat and aromatics rather than being merely steamed in water. That transfer of flavour from bird to rice is the entire idea: the meat stays tender and moist, and the rice tastes deeply of the chicken it was cooked alongside.
The dish arrives quiet and elegant — poached chicken over glossy, savoury rice, with cool cucumber slices and cilantro to freshen the plate and a bowl of the reserved broth on the side. The real punch comes from the dipping sauce, a sharp mix of ginger, garlic and light soy (often with chili and a little sweetness) that you spoon over each bite to wake everything up. It's an all-day meal in Thailand, sold from dedicated stalls, and it feeds a crowd from a single chicken. Gentle poaching is the technique to respect here: a bare simmer keeps the meat succulent, and skimping on it toughens the bird and clouds the broth that makes the rice worth eating.
Khao Man Gai: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Khao Man Gai?
A serving has about 793 calories — 52.2g protein, 55.3g carbs, 38.3g fat, 1.3g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 52.2g of protein, roughly 26% of its calories.
Is Khao Man Gai gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Light soy sauce. You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
How long does Khao Man Gai take to make?
About 50 minutes start to finish, but only around 18 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Khao Man Gai?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out cilantro, cucumber — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Khao Man Gai make?
This recipe makes 6 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.