An important step of preparing Hainanese Chicken Rice is blanching the chicken in boiling hot water before steeping it into cold water to preserve its tenderness. Even though it’s not a two-step process, blanching the chicken for chicken rice isn’t overly complex and is actually completely doable even for an amateur cook.

Chef Ambrose Poh of Allspice Institute teaches us how to blanch a chicken for the succulent texture in the video above. Below we also have a step-by-step guide you can always come back to:

Step 1: Add salt and ginger into a wide 10-litre pot.

Step 2: When water is boiled, lower the chicken breast-down into the pot. Turn off the heat and cover.

Step 3: Take out the chicken after 5 mins. Return water to a boil.

Step 4: Place the chicken back into the pot, but with its back down. Turn off the heat and cover.

Step 5: Take out the chicken after 5 mins. Return water to a boil.

Step 6: Place the chicken back into the pot and let it simmer, partially covered for 20 mins.

Step 7: Let the chicken stand in hot broth for 15 mins, covered and undisturbed until just cooked through.

Step 8: Let broth drain from chicken cavity into pot. Transfer chicken into a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop the cooking.

Step 9: Drain the chicken and pat dry!

Now that you know how to properly blanch a chicken, why don’t you try making the Hainanese Chicken Rice?