Unravelling a local specialty.

Steaming fragrant rice, accompanied with the tenderness of chicken with a glistening coat of skin, paired up with the tangy combo of an array of sauces. That is the Hainanese chicken rice, a dish with Chinese origins, linked with Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine, not to mention Hainan, in China itself. It is named this way due to its humble roots from Hainanese cuisine. Versions you can find in Singapore are usually a hybrid of Hainanese and Cantonese styles.

One of the essential elements in creating this dish would be the process of creating the master stock, which is prepared traditionally by boiling the whole chicken in a mixture of pork and chicken bone stock, with the collected broth used over and over again, with water added to replenish its levels. However, nowadays, it is usually prepared by boiling the meat in garlic and ginger water, with the stock used for the rice and soup. Chicken stock is specifically created for the rice to create an oily and flavorful rice.

Older and fatter chickens are preferred by the Hainanese as they have more oil which may be extracted. However, for the Cantonese style, younger chickens are used as the meat is tenderer. The chicken is usually cooked and then dipped into ice water to produce a shiny coating on the skin.

In Singapore, the dish would usually be served with chilli sauce and pounded ginger,
dark soy sauce or soya sauce with sesame oil.