When you’re in Singapore, you have to pay extra for dark meat (thighs and drumsticks) because the meat is silkier and more tender. I definitely prefer thighs to chicken breasts when making chicken rice but sometimes I like the texture of breasts too.
But what about the chicken? Do you need a whole chicken? Should you use dark meat or light if you’re just going with individual pieces? Again, this is personal preference, but I think the whole chicken isn’t necessary. The only question is, do you go with thigh or breast?
After you have a pretty pool of glistening fat, uncover the skillet and turn the heat up to medium. Let the skin and fat cook, stirring and breaking up occasionally, until the chicken skins start to crisp and brown.
Strain. After all the skins are brown, remove the pan from the heat and use a fine mesh strainer over a heat proof liquid measuring cup to strain out the crispy skin. The rendered chicken fat is pure flavor. If desired, return the skin to the pan and crisp up further. The crispy chicken skins are the BEST. They’ll continue to crisp up as they cool, so don’t cook them too long. Store the strained fat in a jar in the fridge for several weeks and use to make chicken rice!
