During my Thailand trip, one of the things I was looking out for was Thai style Hainanese chicken rice (known as khao man gai in Thai). While doing the obligatory Old Phuket Town walk, we stumbled Ding Li Ji Fan 丁立鸡饭 ติงลี่ข้าวมันไก่ chicken rice shop. Ding Li Ji Fan is one of the prettiest chicken rice shops that I have ever come across and where I became a Thai chicken rice convert - of all places, in a tourist hotspot 🤭
Old Phuket Town was established in the mid-1800s during the tin mining boom. The architecture in these picturesque old streets is described as Sino-Portuguese, reminiscent of pre-War (World War II) shophouses in Malacca, Penang and Singapore. Phuket have its own Peranakan (Malay word meaning "local born") community from the union of Chinese miners and traders with local women.
Wandering in wonder along Thalang Road, we stumbled upon Ding Li Ji Fan 丁立鸡饭 ติงลี่ข้าวมันไก่.
Truth be told, at first sight, the chicken hanging in the window didn't excite me much. Quite the opposite actually - compared to smooth, succulent Singapore birds, these looked dry and overdone, with the skin broken in many parts.
The sight of chicken blood curd moved me a little as would most Singaporeans (as blood products have been banned in Singapore for decades).
But, we were all drawn in by the attractive, heritage hip decor. The deeper we ventured into the long, narrow interior, the further we were from the blistering sun and Phuket's tropical, humid heat.
We were drawn in subconsciously for photographs and stayed for chicken rice 😄
At the deep end of the restaurant, the trap was sprung. This must be the most Instagrammable chicken rice shop I have ever seen.
The chicken came deboned, chopped bite size with a bit of skin, quite dry looking and without dressing sauce of any sort. One bite and I was quite blown away by how unexpectedly tenderly juicy the pieces of chicken were. The chicken meat, its natural chicken sweet taste unadulterated by any dressing sauce. I suddenly grew fond of Thai style chicken rice.
Both Thai and Singapore Hainanese chicken rice share the same roots, brought to these shores by Hainanese migrants. The Thai version is more Hainanese, in that the Thais do not dunk or dip their poached chicken in cold or ice water in the Cantonese way (which most Singapore chicken rice sellers do today).
I love the chicken blood curd for its tender-soft crunch and signature savoury taste.
In Thai language, Hainanese chicken rice is known as khao man gai which literally mean "rice fat chicken". Khao man gai is nothing without the flavourful rice.
Ding Li Ji Fan's rice, cooked in chicken stock and fat had a nice savoury flavour and aroma over natural rice sweetness. The rice grains were tenderly nutty to the bite, slightly fluffy, neither overly greasy nor wet 👍
What set Thai style Hainanese chicken rice apart from OG Hainanese chicken rice and Singapore chicken rice is the dipping sauce. Thai chicken rice sauce is a blend of soy sauce, tao jiao เต้าเจี้ยว (fermented soy bean), garlic, ginger and chili. Customers can also dial up the intensity with raw garlic, spring onion and more chili. The sauce was so good, I enjoyed it by itself.
The presence of tao jiao reflects Teochew influence in Chinese Thai cuisine as the Teochew community is the largest among Thai Chinese (which make up 15% of Thailand's 70 million population).
Wash it all down with a tasty comforting chicken soup with delicate fresh grassy taste and fragrance from a generous sprinkle of chopped spring onion.
If you are a chicken rice fan, look out for Thai style Hainanese chicken rice when you are in Thailand. They are relatively close to OG Hainanese chicken rice, especially when we eat the chicken without the tao jiao dip.
In Singapore, we can get Thai style Hainanese chicken rice at Ah Liang in Golden Mile Complex 👈 click
Written by Tony Boey on 30 Apr 2022
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