Singapore
Photo: Terence, CC BY 2.5, croppedHainanese chicken rice
海南鸡饭
/hǎi.nǎn tɕí.fân/HIGH-nan chicken rice
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- Taste
- Savory
- Made with
- ChickenRice
History
Hainanese chicken rice is poached chicken, served at room temperature with rice cooked in chicken fat and stock with garlic, ginger and pandan leaves, plus chilli sauce, dark soy and ginger paste. It was brought by immigrants from Hainan island in southern China, who adapted a dish from Wenchang. In Singapore, Hainanese cooks and coffee-shop owners sold it from the 1940s and 1950s onward, and it became so popular that it is now considered a national dish. Chicken rice stalls are found in almost every hawker centre, and the debate over which one is best never ends. Malaysia also claims the dish, and a roasted version is common too.
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