Is it the chicken or the rice?
A giganteus dish in world culinary rankings, yet a humble minimalist in flavours, ingredients, colours, and plating. From the smallest province in China, chicken rice has catapulted into the common epicurean consciousness, evoking a spectrum of sentiments. Nostalgia, gastronationalism, and hearty euphoria are stirred on the regular, but every self-respecting eater has their own anecdote for chicken rice. What’s more, a deeply personal opinion on their best chicken rice. Whether it's eaten on an incandescent orange table in a sweaty food court, or it is your grandmother’s 100 year old recipe with a Wenchang chicken, a call for chicken rice is music to all ears. Even those on their maiden chicken rice voyage are transported to a familiar and warm embrace few dishes can deliver.
"A first class rice embodies and celebrates the fundamental flavours of the chicken... the chicken announces itself in the rice alone."
While Generation Alpha chickens in Australia are mostly destined for the deep-fryer or charcoal solarium, chicken rice shows that you don’t need to cook the living (and dead) soul out of the poor bird to enjoy it. Boiling is a delicate process and boy does a well-executed chicken rice give a masterclass in delicacy. Supple and slippery, the sliver of congealed fat under the skin is a marker of a serious chicken rice. Deceptively detail-driven, this dish demands the knowledge of a chemist and a horologist’s precision.
Importantly, what makes or breaks chicken rice is the rice. Aficionados will assert that excellent rice can be enjoyed solo without the chook and indeed this is true. The rice is not a mere accompaniment, nor a bed for the protein. A first class rice embodies and celebrates the fundamental flavours of the chicken, functioning as the centrepiece. So it’s all about essence. The garlic, ginger, spring onions and chicken stock are there but they aren’t. They exist without being present. When the rice is good it glides - silky and rich, the chicken announces itself in the rice alone. However it doesn’t crow boisterously. It lingers elegantly yet so poignantly, reminiscent of someone walking by with the scent of Santal 33.
Ibis Tip: If visiting a store and they say they have no more chicken rice, this is because they only cooked a certain number of birds that day and they’re all gone. However, in most circumstances they will still have some of the rice left, so put in an order for some ‘chicken rice rice’, and no doubt a small bowl will magically appear. Pair it with another chicken dish, perhaps Marmite chicken, and you’ll have an inviting meal where you can still savour the delicacies of the chicken rice creation through its best bit - the rice.
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