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Hainanese Chicken Rice, A Beloved Rice Dish in Southeast Asia

Hainanese Chicken Rice, A Beloved Rice Dish in Southeast Asia
Singaporean Chicken Rice | Photo by Wikimedia Commons

If you go to hawker centers in Singapore, you must try Hainanese chicken rice and you can find it in every vendor. But, wait? You can't only find Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore, you can also find this rice dish somewhere in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and even Cambodia.

Now, if you were wondering, how did this rice dish end up in Southeast Asia?

Chinese had migrated in Southeast Asia from South China in very long time ago, but there’s a particular group that we mentioned and that is Hainanese people. Hainanese is a group of Han Chinese and other ethnicities lived in Hainan, an island province in South China.

This island province is famous of chicken dish called Wenchang Chicken (Simplified Chinese: 文昌鸡, Traditional Chinese: 文昌雞, Hanyu Pinyin: Wénchāng Jī), the ancestor of Hainanese Chicken Rice. The history of Wenchang Chicken is based on the records of Lin Zhemin from the Livestock and Veterinary Research Institute of Hainan Province, it has long been a delicacy used by local officials and people to entertain guests.

According to the Hainan Chamber of Commerce, it is said that during the Ming Dynasty, a Wenchang native served in the imperial court and brought Wenchang Chicken back to his hometown to entertain members of the royal family during the Lunar New Year.

As they tasted it, the royals praised, "This chicken hails from the land of culture, where talents gather and the culture flourishes. The chicken is also delicious and fragrant, truly deserving the name Wenchang Chicken!" Thus, the legend of Wenchang Chicken's name originated.

Additionally, during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, there were several large banyan trees in Tianci Village, Tan'niu Town, Wenchang County, which bore seeds all year round. The chickens pecked at these seeds and became plump and delicious, contributing to the reputation of Wenchang Chicken's deliciousness.

The earliest mention can be found in the Qing Dynasty book "Lingnan Miscellaneous Poems," which states: "There is a kind of hen in Wenchang County that tastes as good as a rooster."

Based on historical records and inference, Wenchang Chicken was introduced to Hainan Island, specifically Wenchang County, around the early 1600s during the Ming Dynasty, along with mainland immigrants, and was cultivated in this unique natural environment. By the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was already a tradition of raising Wenchang Chickens in rural areas of Wenchang. It was mainly used as a delicacy for festivals, entertaining guests, and giving gifts.

Back to Hainanese people, Hainanese also joined the other Chinese groups, such as Hakkas, Hokkiens, Cantonese, and Teochews to migrate to Southeast Asia for seeking the opportunities.

However, Hainanese at that time were illiterate and lacked skills in specialized jobs rather than other Chinese groups, the only jobs they could find were cooks and servants for wealthy European and Chinese families, especially in colonized countries in Southeast Asia. For cooks, they opened the stalls and took the inspiration from Wenchang Chicken and then adopted the local ingredients to fit their local palates.

In 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 chicken and produce the stock. The chicken is dipped in ice after cooking to produce a jelly-like skin finishing and hung to dry.

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" which is the most important part of chicken rice. T

he 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. Some stalls may also serve nonya achar as an additional side.

In Malaysia, this rice dish is called "nasi ayam (chicken rice in Malay)" by locals, and the general term "nasi ayam" can refer to several 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 giblets.

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.

In Thailand, this dish is by locals called “khao man kai” (ข้าวมันไก่, meaning "chicken oily rice"). Their version is started on 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 is 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 tao jiew (Thai yellow soybean paste), thick soy sauce, chilli, ginger, garlic and vinegar.

In Cambodia, the dish is known as "bay moan (បាយមាន់)" in Khmer, which means "chicken rice". An assortment of pickled vegetables is served alongside as a street food. Its origins can be traced back to the 17th century, where it is believed to have been introduced by Hokkien and Hainanese immigrants.

In Vietnam, the dish is known as "Cơm Gà Hải Nam" which means Hainanese Chicken Rice in Vietnamese and it is common in South Vietnam with high concentration of Vietnamese Chinese descents (Hoa people).

In Indonesia, this dish is called "Nasi Ayam Hainan" or "Nasi Ayam Hainam (Hainam is Hainanese dialect of Hainan)" which means Hainanese Chicken Rice and has similar cooking technique to Singaporean and Malaysian versions. It is part of Indonesian Chinese cuisine and it is eaten in regions with high concentration of Chinese Indonesians, such as Jakarta, Surabaya, Semarang, Bandung, Medan, Pontianak, Makassar, etc.

Although Hainanese Chicken Rice is famous and beloved by Southeast Asian people no matter what ethnicities are, this rice dish has become heated debates over gastronationalism between Singapore and Malaysia. 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.

In 2009, a Former Malaysian Tourism Minister Ng Yen Yen said that Hainanese chicken rice was "uniquely Malaysian" and had been "hijacked" by other countries. 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."

Not to be outdone by Malaysia, Singapore's hawker centres were awarded a cultural heritage award by UNESCO for successfully serving Hainanese chicken rice as a signature dish in eight Michelin-starred restaurants. In 2018, then Malaysian Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng joked that Singapore claimed "chicken rice is theirs (and) if we're not careful, ‘char koay teow‘ will become theirs" one day.

Another claim comes from a Malaysian chef, Norman Musa stated that there is a correlation of Hainanese people sought refuge in Southeast Asia after the World War II. He also said many Hainanese had opened Hainanese chicken rice restaurants or stalls since 1939. Therefore, Norman Musa believes that Malaysia is more deserving than Singapore to claim Hainanese chicken rice as its national dish.

Despite of those, according to Catherine Ling from CNN had stated that Hainanese chicken rice one of the "40 Singapore foods we can't live without" and listed as one of the "World's 50 best foods" by CNN in 2018. David Farley from 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."

Saveur called it "one of the most beloved culinary exports of Southeast Asia." Beside the Singaporean version is popular, Thai version has also gained popularity recently due to the advance of social medias and many Thai restaurants overseas have offered Thai version of Hainanese Chicken Rice.

This article was created by Seasians in accordance with the writing rules on Seasia. The content of this article is entirely the responsibility of the author
Erdyanto Dwi Nugroho Zheng

An Indonesian Multiracial Boy who is interested in Arts, International Law, History, Languages, and Cultures
Born into a Multiethnical and Multiracial family in Semarang (Javanese, Sundanese, and Hui Chinese ethnicities) and currently living in South Tangerang, Banten and interested in Arts (particularly More Music and East Asian Calligraphy), International Law, History, Languages, and Cultures. We want to bring the diversity of Indonesia and Southeast Asia to the world from our headlines. Less
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