Commonly found variants; note these may range from acceptable alternatives to
non-standard forms or incorrect spellings*.
* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.
* Singlish is a largely spoken creole, and as such descriptivism (recording forms that reflect actual pronunciation in spoken language, or as appearing in the linguistic corpus) is more pertinent than strict prescriptivism. Nevertheless, the use of more standard forms (or for words originating in languages with Latin script, such as Malay, accurate to the original spelling) is recommended and encouraged.
also can:
hainanese chicken rice
chicken rice
简
繁
→
English:
chicken
+
rice
↻
General chinese:
鸡饭
雞飯
hts:
kɔi1 ʔbui1
Detailed etymology
definitions
noun
- a national dish of Singapore, developed by Hainanese immigrants in the early 20th century from a traditional Hainanese dish called Wenchang chicken, which is the predecessor of today's "white" chicken rice. The rice is fried in chicken fat, then cooked in the leftover stock from poaching the chicken, combined with spices like salt, garlic, and spring onion. This process imparts an incredibly rich flavour into the rice; it is said that in Singaporean chicken rice, the rice is arguably more important than the chicken itself.[1]
Apart from the Hainanese "white" chicken, most stalls offer roast chicken and sometimes others variations like lemon chicken as alternative choices.
The dish is usually served with the chicken sliced and either laid over a bowl's worth of the rice, or on a separate dish; the chicken pieces are drenched in a dressing of light soya sauce, chicken oil, and sesame oil. It is served with a bowl of the leftover stock, garnished with chopped spring onions.
Singaporeans prefer to eat chicken rice with either a special chilli, sweet dark soya sauce, or ginger-garlic sauce. So crucial is the chilli that sometimes people judge chicken rice based on the taste of the chilli alone.
It is arguably the most famous dish of Singapore. Similar 'chicken rice' dishes also exist across the Hainanese diaspora, especially in South-East Asia, such as in Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Hawker food prices rose by 6.1 per cent in 2023, the highest since 2008, a new study by the Singapore Department of Statistics (SingStat) found.
For example, the average cost of a plate of chicken rice in 2023 was $4.15, up from $3.40 in 2019 ...
— 2024 May 26, Shermaine Ang, Jordan Loo and Taryn Ng. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/hawker-food-prices-rose-by-61-in-2023-but-cost-pressure-easing
synonyms: