26th May 2026

Back to the grind stone after our few weeks away and thanks to a very good break it is time to watch what we are eating.  So today I decided to make the baked Hainanese chicken rice from my new cookbook Rice by Ping Coombes. It is a very delicious, very easy mid-week meal which we all really enjoyed.

I made a couple of changes, I don’t have chicken stock powder so in the marinade I used Cape Herb& Spice chicken seasoning and in the rice I used 2 chicken stock pots.  I also used 1 chicken breast as Rhona isn't a large fan of chicken thighs. Also post SA we need to trim a little and chicken breast is lower in calories and fat. The chicken breast was a little under when I first took it out as it was quite large, so next time I would make a couple of slits in the chicken.

I also received my prize for winning the Great British Chefs cookbook club competition last month for the best dish cooked in April. Honestly I was absolutely chuffed. Next month's book is Centrepiece by Helen Graham and that was my prize.  It is a veggie book so I am looking forward to grabbing a coffee and having a flick through with my tabs tomorrow morning.