Hainanese-Style Roasted Chicken & Rice
with Soy Glaze, Sweet Chili Sauce, Ginger Scallion Sauce & Cucumber
- Sesame
- Soy
- Wheat
The star of this Chinese-style chicken fave is the rice (and the trio of tasty sauces!). The chicken is rubbed with garlic salt, then brushed with a sweet soy glaze for a super-crispy result. Next, you'll cook the rice in the the flavorful pan drippings. Then, serve it all with sweet soy sauce, sweet chili lime sauce, and ginger scallion sauce, plus cucumber slices for cool, crunchy contrast.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon
Garlic Powder
1 thumb
Ginger
2 unit
Scallions
4 tablespoon
Sweet Soy Glaze
(Contains: Sesame, Soy, Wheat)
1 unit
Half Chicken
1 unit
Lime
1 unit
Mini Cucumber
1 ounce
Sweet Thai Chili Sauce
¾ cup
Jasmine Rice
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. • In a small bowl, combine garlic powder and 2 tsp salt (4 tsp for 4 servings). • Pat chicken dry with paper towels; place on a baking sheet. (TIP: See a feather? Simply grip the end with a paper towel and pull!) Rub a large drizzle of oil (two large drizzles for 4) all over chicken, making sure to coat undersides (it’s OK if it looks like there is excess oil!). Season all over (including undersides) with garlic salt.
• Arrange chicken, skin side up, in center of sheet (for 4 servings, space chicken 5-6 inches apart). Roast on middle rack until browned and cooked through, 35-45 minutes. TIP: To ensure chicken is cooked through, insert a thermometer into the innermost part of the thigh and breast (avoiding any bones). Once chicken is cooked, the bones may still appear pink—this is OK! • Meanwhile, wash and dry produce. • Peel and finely mince or grate ginger. Trim and thinly slice scallions, separating whites from greens; roughly chop whites.
• In a small pan, combine ginger, scallion whites, and 1 1⁄2 TBSP oil (3 TBSP for 4 servings); season with salt. • Set pan over high heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until bubbling rapidly, about 30-60 seconds. Once bubbling, continue to cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is fragrant and scallions are bright green, 30 seconds more. • Remove from heat. Transfer to a second small bowl and set aside to cool, stirring occasionally. Once cooled, taste and season with additional salt if desired.
• Once chicken is done roasting, transfer to a plate. Carefully pour chicken drippings from baking sheet into a small pot (medium pot for 4 servings). Return chicken to sheet. • Heat pot with chicken drippings over medium-high heat (be careful—the liquid may splatter!). Add rice; cook, stirring constantly, until grains are coated and mixture is fragrant, about 30 seconds. TIP: Scrape bottom and sides of pot to release any stuck grains! • Add 1 1⁄4 cups water(2 1⁄4 cups for 4) and a big pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until tender, 15-20 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• When rice has 10 minutes remaining, brush 1 TBSP sweet soy glaze all over skin side of chicken (for 4 servings, use 1 TBSP sweet soy glaze per half chicken). • Return chicken to middle rack; roast for 5 minutes.
• Quarter lime. Slice cucumber into 1⁄4-inch-thick rounds. • In a third small bowl, combine chili sauce and juice from one lime wedge (two wedges for 4 servings). • Place remaining sweet soy glaze in a fourth small bowl. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency.
• Fluff rice with a fork; taste and season with salt if desired. • Place rice in a serving bowl; garnish with scallion greens. Place chicken and cucumber on a serving plate. Serve family style with sweet soy sauce, sweet chili lime sauce, ginger scallion sauce, and any remaining lime wedges on the side.
Poultry is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Sep 2026- Flavor: The chicken dripping–cooked rice was a highlight for many, and the trio of sauces added great depth 🍲. The garlic salt rub was consistently flagged as too salty — multiple reviewers recommend using significantly less than the stated amount.
- Ease of prep: Roasting a half chicken is more hands-on and time-consuming than a typical HelloFresh meal; plan for at least 60–75 minutes start to finish. Cooking the rice in the chicken drippings adds a step, but reviewers who tried it loved the flavor payoff.
- Suggestions: Reduce the salt in the rub substantially — many found 2 tsp far too much; consider adding a chicken stock concentrate to the rice water for deeper flavor if drippings are minimal. Pat the chicken dry and season it a few hours ahead for crispier skin, and consider lightly pickling or seasoning the cucumber slices rather than serving them plain. A few reviewers successfully cooked the chicken on the grill or in the air fryer for great results.
- Leftovers: The rice reheats well; the chicken is best enjoyed fresh off the roast.
- Portions: Several reviewers noted the half chicken felt small for two people, with limited meat especially on one side — those with bigger appetites may want to supplement.
Reviews from our home cooks
Delicious! My only "issue" was that the chicken and rice were both so good as is, that I didn't need any of the extra sauces. The ginger scallion oil was so so so good, but we barely used any of it. The sweet soy glaze was yummy, but we barely used any of it. Usually I love sweet Thai chili sauce, but we didn't use it at all this time. So it felt like a waste. But delicious.
Not traditional hainanese chicken but still so good! The glaze flavoring for the roasted chicken turned out so good, and this recipe made roasting a chicken so easy. Amazing! :)
Great roasting the chicken whole it stayed so juicy! Stronger ginger rice flavor.
I didn't want to wait to cook the rice until after the chicken was done in order to saute the raw rice in the chicken drippings, so I just added the dripping to the cooked rice. It turned out great. Lot's a special flavors, my husband loved it.
Excellent - one of the most ambitious HF recipes I've seen. My only recommendation would be to use a more authentic chili sauce if this recipe comes back. The Thai style one does not have the correct consistency or flavor for proper Chicken Rice.
The cucumbers felt out of place / added as an after thought. The rice is pretty boring, would be nice to have some sauce or furikake. The sweet chili didn't really go well with the chicken and the dark sauce was a bit too salty. The ginger oil was great but there wasn't enough of it
This was delicious, but I felt like there was more rice than chicken or veggies. I wondered what else could be incorporated here to make this feel like a well rounded meal. Sharing 1 half of a small chicken didn't feel like a lot.
Best chicken I've ever had in my life, not kidding. And the chicken dripping rice. We ate the entire serving in one sitting. So. Good.
It was labor intensive but worth it, one of the best Hello fresh meals we have had.!
This was phenomenal. Absolutely amazing combination of flavors. I did season the cucumbers out of preference.
