Wenchang Chicken

Wenchang chicken is a local breed raised in eastern Hainan, traditionally fed on coconut and banyan seeds and finished in confinement to fatten, then poached whole in barely simmering water, cooled, and cut on the bone to be eaten at room temperature with a dip of ginger, garlic, calamansi and chilli. The rice is cooked in the poaching stock. Hainanese emigrants carried the method to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, where it became Hainanese chicken rice, the version most of the world knows; the Hainan original is drier-fleshed, more strongly flavoured and served as one of the island's four famous dishes.

What you actually see

• The poached bird - cooked whole at low heat and served cool on the bone.
• The dipping sauce - ginger, garlic, calamansi and chilli.
• The stock rice - rice cooked in the poaching liquid.
• The Southeast Asian link - the ancestor of Hainanese chicken rice.

When to go

Year-round; the dish is served at lunch and dinner across Hainan, with Wenchang restaurants the traditional source. Festivals and family occasions call for a whole bird.

Honest expectations

Chicken is served on the bone in chunks, which some visitors find awkward. It is eaten at room temperature, not hot. Quality varies widely between tourist and local restaurants.

Nearby

Wenchang lies northeast of Haikou; the Wenchang launch site is on the same coast.