Hainanese chicken rice

In Singapore, it’s almost impossible to find a bad meal. With countless indoor food halls, hip cafés, Little India and Chinatown, the very best food is everywhere you turn. The fact that Hainanese chicken rice is Singapore’s national dish therefore says a lot about how delicious it is.

The dish originally comes from the Chinese province of Hainan, but in Singapore they have turned it into what it is today. And we can tell you, it’s good—very good. Chicken is poached in water with spring onion, ginger and garlic. The rice is then cooked in this fragrant broth. This gives the entire dish a gentle yet oh-so-present chicken flavor.

Soy-chili-rice ratio

To give the dish a little more oomph, it is served with a syrupy soy sauce, chili sauce and a bowl of broth. Ask ten different people from Singapore what the perfect soy-chili-rice ratio is and you’ll get ten different answers. My favorite is not too much sauce, so the rice can shine in all its glory.

The chicken skin is prepared until it is soft and smooth, melting on your tongue. In this recipe from Steamy Kitchen, you can read how to make it yourself. When sautéing the rice, I also add a shallot alongside the ginger and garlic for extra flavor.

Get in line

Planning to eat your way through Singapore sometime soon? Then head to Tian Tian in Maxwell food court for a steaming plate of our favorite rice dish. Don’t be alarmed: unlike the rice, the chicken is served cold. Hainanese chicken rice is sold all over the city. And get in line, because the places with the longest queues serve the tastiest version.