Hainanese chicken rice

Hainanese chicken rice is a dish of poached chicken and seasoned rice, served with chilli sauce and usually with cucumber garnishes. It was created by immigrants from Hainan in southern China and adapted from the Hainanese dish Wenchang chicken.

This article is about the dish. For the 2004 Singaporean comedy film alternatively titled "Hainan Chicken Rice", see Rice Rhapsody.

Hainanese chicken rice
Hainanese chicken rice served at a hawker centre in Singapore
Alternative namesHainan chicken, Khao man gai, Khao man kai, Chicken rice
Place of originMaritime Southeast Asia
Region or stateSingapore, Thailand, and Malaysia
Associated national cuisineSingapore
Main ingredientsChicken, chicken stock, chicken fat, rice
Food energy
(per serving)
617 kcal (2583 kJ)
Hainanese chicken rice
Traditional Chinese海南雞飯
Simplified Chinese海南鸡饭
Literal meaningHainan chicken rice

It is considered one of the national dishes of Singapore and is most commonly associated with Singaporean cuisine, being widely available in most food courts and hawker centres around the country.

The dish is also seen throughout Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia where it is a culinary staple.

History

Hainanese chicken rice is a dish adapted from early Chinese immigrants originally from Hainan province in southern China. It is based on a well-known Hainanese dish called Wenchang chicken (文昌雞), which is one of four important Hainan dishes dating to the Qin dynasty.[1] The Hainanese in China traditionally used a specific breed, the Wenchang chicken, to make the dish.[2] The original dish was adapted by the Hainanese overseas Chinese population in the Nanyang area (present-day Southeast Asia).[3][4][5][6][7]

Almost every country in Asia with a history of immigration from China has a version.[1] The San Francisco Chronicle says, "the dish maps 150 years’ immigration from China's Hainan Island...to Singapore and Malaysia, where the dish is often known as Hainan chicken rice; to Vietnam, where it is called "Hai Nam chicken"; and to Thailand, where it has been renamed "khao man gai" ("fatty rice chicken")."[4][8]

In Singapore

In Singapore, the dish was born out of frugality, created by servant-class immigrants trying to stretch the flavour of the chicken.[9]

The first chicken rice restaurants opened in Singapore during Japanese occupation in World War II, when the British were forced out and their Hainanese servants lost their source of income. One of the first was Yet Con, which opened in the early 1940s.[9] The dish was popularised in Singapore in the 1950s by Moh Lee Twee, whose Swee Kee Chicken Rice Restaurant operated from 1947 to 1997.[10] Hong Kong food critic Chua Lam credits Moh with the creation of the dish.[2] Singapore's Channel News Asia's Annette Tan credits Wang Yiyuan for "bringing the dish" to Singapore in the 1920s.[11]

Hainanese chicken rice is considered one of Singapore's national dishes.[12][8][11][9][3][7][13][14] It is eaten "everywhere, every day" in Singapore[7] and is a "ubiquitous sight in hawker centres across the country".[3] The chicken is typically served with seasoned rice, with chilli sauce and usually with cucumber garnishes.[15]

Commonly associated with Singaporean cuisine, the dish is also seen throughout maritime Southeast Asia and in parts of the West, particularly in the United States.[16][7]

Controversy over origin

In a debate that stretches back decades to 1965, when the two countries split, Malaysia and Singapore have both laid claim to inventing the dish.[17][18]

In 2009, former Malaysia's Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said that Hainanese chicken rice was "uniquely Malaysian" and had been "hijacked" by other countries.[19][20][21] Ng later clarified that she was misquoted on her intention to patent the foods, and that a study on the origins of the foods would be conducted "and an apology conveyed if it was wrongly claimed."[22] As of 2020, no such study has been administered.

In 2018, former Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng established that Singapore claimed "chicken rice is theirs (and) if we’re not careful, ‘char koay teow‘ will become theirs" one day.[17][18] He later clarified it was made tongue in cheek and had meant no offense.

Reception

Catherine Ling of CNN called Hainanese chicken rice one of the "40 Singapore foods we can't live without".[14] It was listed as one of the "World's 50 best foods" by CNN in 2018.[23] David Farley of the BBC called it "the dish worth the 15-hour flight" and said it was "deceptively simple – which is good, because on paper it sounds awfully boring."[9] Saveur called it "one of the most beloved culinary exports of Southeast Asia."[24]

Variations

Japan

Chicken rice franchise Mr. Chicken was founded in Tokyo by Japanese teenagers Daimu Kato and Kota Nagai, who had grown up in Singapore.[25]

Malaysia
'Chicken rice balls', a Malaysian variation of chicken rice, in Muar, Johor, Malaysia

In Malaysia, nasi ayam (literally "chicken rice" in Bahasa Melayu) is "a culinary staple"[26] and a popular street food, particularly in Ipoh, a center of Hainanese immigration.[13]

The general term nasi ayam can refer to multiple variations including roasted and fried chicken, can be served with a variety of sauces including barbecue, and can be accompanied by a variety of side dishes including steamed rice rather than seasoned 'oily' rice, soup, or chicken offal.[27]

In Malacca and Muar, the rice is served in balls rather than in bowls; this dish is commonly known as Chicken rice balls. Steamed rice is shaped into golf ball-sized orbs and served alongside the chopped chicken.[27][28]

Singapore
Hainanese chicken rice at Chatterbox, Meritus Mandarin Singapore

The chicken is prepared in accordance with traditional Hainanese methods, which involve poaching the entire chicken at sub-boiling temperatures to both cook the bird and produce the stock. The bird is dipped in ice after cooking to produce a jelly-like skin finishing and hung to dry.[9]

The stock is skimmed of fat and some of the fat and liquid, along with ginger, garlic, and pandan leaves, are used in the cooking of the rice, producing an oily, flavourful rice sometimes known as "oily rice".[9] In Singapore "the most important part of chicken rice is not the chicken, but the rice."[9]

The dish is served with a dipping sauce of freshly minced red chilli and garlic, usually accompanied with dark soy sauce and freshly ground ginger. Fresh cucumber boiled in the chicken broth and light soy sauce with a dash of sesame oil is served with the chicken, which is usually served at room temperature.[8][9] Some stalls may also serve nonya achar as an additional side.[11]

Thailand
Khao man kai, a Thai variation on Hainanese chicken rice

Hainanese chicken rice is a common dish in Thailand where it is called khao man kai (Thai: ข้าวมันไก่), literally meaning "chicken oily rice". The chickens used in Thailand for this dish are usually free range chickens of local breeds, resulting in a leaner and tastier texture; however, meat from chickens of large scale poultry farms are increasingly being used. Khao man kai is served with a garnish of cucumbers and occasionally chicken blood tofu and fresh coriander, along with a bowl of nam sup, a clear chicken broth which often contains sliced daikon. The accompanying sauce is most often made with tauchu (also known as yellow soybean paste), thick soy sauce, chilli, ginger, garlic and vinegar.[29]

One famous Bangkok neighbourhood for Khao man kai is Pratunam in Ratchathewi district, located near to Platinum Fashion Mall, CentralWorld and Ratchaprasong Intersection. Some restaurant in Pratunam received Bib Gourmand awards from the 2018 Michelin Guide.[30][31] Khao man kai is also well known in other areas, including Bang Sue,[32] Yaowarat[33] and Phasi Charoen near Bang Wa BTS station and Phyathai 3 Hospital[34] including various places viz Thanon Tok near Rama III Bridge,[35] Thong Lor on Sukhumvit Road, Wat Suthiwararam School, Yan Nawa, Bang Kapi, Wat Saket and Saphan Kwai neighbourhoods.[36][37]

  • Chicken Rice War is a 2000 Singaporean romantic comedy adaptation of Romeo and Juliet featuring two rival chicken rice hawker families whose children fall in love.[38]
  • Rice Rhapsody (alternative title Hainan Chicken Rice) is a 2004 Singaporean comedy set in a successful chicken rice restaurant in Singapore's Chinatown.[39]
  • Hainanese chicken rice was featured on the Singapore episode of the Netflix TV series Street Food in season 1. The Interviewees were Debbie Yong and KF Seetoh.[40]

See also

References
  1. O'Change, Hanji. "The Way Rice Should Be: Hainanese Chicken Rice". Free Press. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  2. Cam, Lisa. "So, if Hainan chicken didn't come from Hainan, where is it from?". Style. Archived from the original on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  3. "Chicken Rice". VisitSingapore.com. Archived from the original on 3 December 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  4. "Dipping sauce and a little controversy: who knew chicken rice had such 'wow' factor". SBS. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  5. Benton, G. A. "10 Best Restaurants of 2019: #4 Service Bar". Columbus Monthly. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  6. "A Brief History of Hainanese Chicken Rice, Singapore's National Dish". The Culture Trip. 24 January 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  7. Kugiya, Hugo. "Singapore's national dish: Hainan chicken rice". Crosscut. Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  8. Kauffman, Jonathan. "Hainanese chicken rice: Southeast Asia's ever-evolving comfort food". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  9. Farley, David. "The Dish Worth the 15-Hour Flight". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  10. Wang Zhenchun (王振春). Hua Shuo Hainan Ren (话说海南人): Mo Lu Rui Created The Mini Hainanese Chicken Rice Empire (莫履瑞创下海南鸡饭小王国). The Youth Book Co. Singapore. 2008. ISBN 978-981-08-1095-5. pp 82
  11. Tan, Annette. "5 places for good chicken rice". Channel NewsAsia. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  12. Goldfield, Hannah. "Chili Crabs Provide a Lively Intro to Singaporean Cuisine at Yummy Tummy". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  13. Brehaut, Laura. "Cook this: Hainanese chicken rice a Malaysian street-food classic". National Post. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  14. Ling, Catherine. "40 Singapore foods we can't live without". CNN. Archived from the original on 12 December 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  15. "Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore". Visit Singapore Official Site. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  16. Bittman, Mark. "From a Chinese Island, a Chicken for Every Pot". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  17. Tan, Dylan. "Chicken rice war reignited as Lim Guan Eng urged Malaysia to give Singapore a run for its money". Business Insider. Archived from the original on 15 January 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
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  19. Sukmaran, Tashny; Jaipragas, Bhavan. "FOOD FIGHT, LAH: WHO WILL EAT THEIR WORDS IN SINGAPORE-MALAYSIA HAWKER BATTLE?". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 21 February 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
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  21. "The debate about the origins of food – a futile food fight?". Archived from the original on 13 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  22. ENG HOCK, TEH (23 September 2009). "No intention to patent local food, Dr Ng says". The Star Online. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2016. Dr Ng said a study on the origins of foods in the country would be conducted and an apology conveyed if it was wrongly claimed.
  23. "The world's 50 best foods". CNN. Archived from the original on 11 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  24. Pang, Kevin. "THE WORLD'S BEST CHICKEN COMES FROM HAINAN". Saveur. Archived from the original on 20 June 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  25. Milner, Rebecca. "Searching for Singapore: Chicken rice and more in Tokyo". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  26. "Hainanese Chicken Rice". Gourmet. Archived from the original on 14 January 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
  27. "Chicken Rice". Malaysia Travel. Archived from the original on 20 October 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2019.
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  30. "Go-Ang Kaomunkai Pratunam (Pratunam)". Michelin Guide. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
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  32. "ยอดขายหลักล้าน "เจริญชัยไก่ตอน" ข้าวมันไก่ 24 ชม". Bangkok Bank (in Thai). 27 January 2018. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 22 March 2018.
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  35. "Check in ถิ่นสยาม ถนนตก ทำไมจึงชื่อถนนตก แล้วถนนตกนี้จะไปตกที่ไหน". Matichon (in Thai). 6 July 2015. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
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  37. สริตา (22 May 2011). "###(CR)ข้าวมันไก่เจ๊ยี ตรงข้ามวัดสระเกศ###". Pantip.com (in Thai). Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
  38. "Awards" Archived 2012-09-27 at the Wayback Machine. tiff.net, October 11, 2013.
  39. https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/intl/?page=&id=_fRICERHAPSODY01
  40. Tan, John (25 April 2019). "Local putu piring stall featured in new Netflix show Street Food". SPH Digital News. The New Paper. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
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