The Hainanese chicken rice debate: Singapore and Malaysia both lay claim to it – who’s right, or are they both wrong?
- Adapted from Wenchang chicken, the dish was sold in Malaya and Singapore in the 1940s, the rivalry heated up after they became separated countries in the 1960s
- Nowadays, both Singapore and Malaysia lay claim to the dish. A history buff went to Hainan to find out more about the dish’s origins
Where is the best food destination in Southeast Asia? It’s a matter of taste – and it’s a title Malaysia and Singapore have long coveted. For Singaporeans, nothing quite touches a nerve like Malaysia claiming the city state’s unofficial national dish: Hainanese chicken rice.
For decades, the dish invented by Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia has been claimed by both food-crazed nations, but according to the history books, matters aren’t as straightforward as they seem.
The rivalry has been running red hot since the nations split in 1965. The battle over who owns the humble dish reached new heights in 2009 when then Malaysian tourism minister Ng Yen Yen said Hainanese chicken rice was “uniquely Malaysian” and had been “hijacked” by Singapore.
At Singapore’s famed Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice the signature dish is made by poaching the bird in chicken stock before transferring it to an ice bath, which helps form a flavoursome translucent jelly between the skin and meat. The rice is cooked in a broth made by stir-frying piles of chopped garlic in chicken oil, then adding rice, pandan leaves and chicken stock.
