What is the soul of a Hainan chicken rice?

A slice of fresh chicken dipped in black soy sauce or Chili sauce, and a spoonful of chicken oil rice dipped in red onion and isatis indigotica leaves, this kind of tropical food, people can't help but bite after bite, which is Hainan chicken oil rice.

The embryonic form of Hainan chicken rice may come from the combination of "rice ball+boiled chicken" used for sacrifice in Hainan in the old society. Since the Qing Dynasty, Hainan residents have cooked chicken oil, soaked chicken water and rice at festivals, and then kneaded rice into chubby rice balls to worship their ancestors and convey the meaning of "reunion" to future generations. After the worship, people will enjoy boiled chicken and extra rice balls.

This way of eating boiled chicken with rice slowly continued. Hainan people often choose a kind of Wenchang chicken fed with coconut, which has the appearance characteristics of "three small and two short". Wenchang chicken is an excellent meat variety. When it is used for "white cutting", its taste is unusual, and this local "chicken rice" in Hainan is often called "Wenchang chicken".

"Chicken rice" spread to Southeast Asia with the immigration tide that started at the end of 19. There are also many vendors selling chicken rice along the street in places with more Hainan immigrants in Malay Peninsula, such as Penang, Malacca and Singapore, often with chicken in one basket and fried rice in the other. The eating method of "chicken rice" often makes diners in a foreign land feel homesick, so the name "Hainan chicken rice", which is rare in the country of origin, has gradually become popular abroad. ?

The "chicken rice grains" in Malacca follows the ancient practice of offering sacrifices to ancestors and kneading rice balls in Hainan, and is also a unique form of chicken rice in Malacca. Rice is cooked with chicken oil and chicken soaked in water, and then kneaded into oily spherical rice balls, served with white-cut chicken, which tastes fragrant and firm; In Singapore, the prosperous economy and developed tourism make the reputation of "Hainan Chicken Rice", a street food, spread more widely and further. Now when people mention Hainan chicken rice, Singapore may be the first thing that comes to mind.