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Hainanese chicken rice

Hainanese chicken rice is succulent steamed white chicken, cut into bite-size pieces served on fragrant rice with some light soy sauce, topped with sprigs of coriander leaf, sesame oil, and accompanied by a delicious garlic-chilli dip.

History
The only chicken rice found in Hainan in China, an island off the southern coast of China, is made with the Wengcheng chicken, a bony fowl with very little flesh served with rice thick with oil and accompanied by ground green chilli dip. Hainanese chefs also use pork and chicken bone stock unlike their Singaporean counterparts who avoid the pork base in their chicken rice. Thus the Hainanese Chicken Rice dish probably evolved through the Hainanese immigrants in the region and gained from local influences such as the Cantonese. The Cantonese added lime to the chilli sauce and ensured their chickens were tender and young. The Hainanese Chicken Rice dish is said to have taken root in areas like Middle Road, Purvis Street and Koek Road more than 60 years ago.

Description
The rich flavour of the rice comes from the grains that have been pre-fried in chicken fat and then cooked in chicken broth. The chicken is steamed until it is just cooked with a little pink remaining on the flesh near the bones. Whilst the cut chicken is served on a large dish, the rice is set on individual plates. Alternatively, dark brown roasted chicken is also served with the specially cooked rice. The dish is accompanied with a chilli sauce made up of chillies, chicken broth, garlic, and ginger. A thick broth of chicken stock garnished with a sprinkle of spring onions is also a must.

An early version of the dish had rice compacted into balls. Made of shorter-grained rice, cooked in a large metal pot with pandan leaves and ginger slices, the rice is painstakingly shaped into balls with the bare hands before it grows cold. The rice-balls made it easier for a travelling peddler to serve his clients, as he did away with plates and could easily wrap the balls in banana leaves. These Hainanese Chicken Riceballs are seldom seen in Singapore.

Chicken Rice in Singapore
So peculiar is the chicken rice to Singapore that in the West it is sometimes known as the Singapore Chicken Rice dish. A dish that began as a common peddler's ware, it is now a specialty dish at hotels, the most famous being the S$16 plate at Chatterbox in the Mandarin Hotel. At some food-centres it has become customary to hang the strip bones of chicken in rows to impress customers with the number of chicken sold. However, Hainanese Chicken Rice is just as memorable across the border with several famous outlets in places like Penang and Malacca.

Author
Suchitthra Vasu



References 
Hutton, W. (1989). Singapore Food (p. 148). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: q641.595957 HUT)

Hainan's Chicken Rice is not Hainanese Chicken Rice (1997, October 12). The Straits Times, p. 4.

Hainan gets a taste of S'pore chicken rice. (1997, August 1). The Straits Times, Money, p. 73.

Should Chicken Rice be our National Dish? (1995, November 22). The New Paper. 


Further Readings
Hutton, W. (1989). Singapore Food (p. 148). Singapore: Times Books International.
(Call no.: 641.595957 HUT)

Mowe, R. (Ed.) (1999). Southeast Asian specialties: A culinary journey (pp. 68-69). Konemann: Culinaria.
(Call no.: SING 641.5959 SOU) 

Chan, M. (n.d.). Hainanese Chicken Rice recipe. Retrieved August 13, 2002, from AsiaCuisine Web site: www.asiacuisine.com.sg/recipe.php3?id=76


The information in this article is valid as at 2002 and correct as far as we are able to ascertain from our sources. It is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete history of the subject. Please contact the Library for further reading materials on the topic.

Subject
Ethnic Communities>>Food
Cookery, Singapore
Cookery, Chinese
Chinese--Food
Cookery>>International and regional cooking>>Chinese



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