The Best Hoi An Chicken Rice (Com Ga)

Hoi An Chicken Rice Introduction

Hoi An is not only famous for the ancient town with beautiful old wooden houses, Chinese and Japanese assembly halls, friendly people but also it is known as the street food paradise. Traveling to Hoi An, It will be a big mistake if you don’t try the best street food in the ancient town- the former international trading port of Vietnam from the 16th century. One of the best specialties here is the Hoi An chicken rice.

Hoi An Chicken Rice History

Hoi An was considered one of the biggest international trading ports in the world from the 16th century. Because of this, There were a lot of Chinese businessmen settled down in the Quang Nam province. Many of them were from the Hainan island in China, a mere 300 kilometers to the Northeast of Hoi An. Came to Hoi An, the Chinese brought the Wen Cheng chicken dish made its way to Hoi An nowadays.

Hoi An chicken rice is a famous dish commonly found in Central Vietnam for over 200 years. It was originally from Tam Ky, Quang Nam’s capital. Here it is called Tam Ky chicken rice. This version is fair simple, with fresh herbs, bean sprouts, golden-colored rice, along with a bowl of innards in a spicy sauce. Back to the ’90s when Hoi An ancient town first welcomed tourists, local shops were still serving Tam Ky’s version of chicken rice. Nowadays different versions of chicken rice (com ga) are sold all whole Vietnam, and Hoi An chicken rice has been famous as the present.

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Hoi An Chicken Rice Recipe

From the name “Chicken Rice” this dish is combined sliced Chicken and rice like other areas in Vietnam but Hoi An chicken rice is also included other things such as papaya, carrot, Vietnamese coriander, onion, chili and the other spices to the best absorb their flavor.

Chicken

Hoi An chicken rice (Com ga) typically used free-range chicken from country gardens. The reason for this is because the texture of their flesh is more firm and springy due to their daily food and active lifestyle. They don’t eat industry food, they eat worms, grasshoppers as well as rice. They walk, run a lot, and sometimes, they fight each other. This also results in a much nicer chicken flavor in the meat.

The chicken meat is boiled with some ginger until being simmered. Once cooked, boiled meat will be cut and shredded into small pieces and mix with salt, pepper, lime juice, and a little bit chicken broth to mix easier.

Rice

After soaking with water in 2 – 3 hours, rice will cook with chicken broth, the chef can also put a dash of fresh turmeric to make a light yellow color. The rice after cooked must be soft, aromatic, fluffy, and savory. It should be a richness tasted in the rice from the chicken fat that was in the chicken broth. There are some signs of a bad rice result after cooked is the rice is dry, hard or mushy and soggy.

Slaw

Shredded green papaya is soaked in water to help keep its crunch then dressed in salt, lime and sugar. Shredded carrot also combines an appearance with the papaya sometimes.

Soup

Enjoy Hoi An chicken rice, it is very common to have a small bowl of chicken broth. This flavourful soup is a product from cooking the chicken fat. Eyes of fat should be visible on top, and a yellowish color imparted from the chicken meat. If your chicken broth is crystal clear, then they made it without using the chicken boiled broth.

Herbs

Like most Vietnamese dishes, Hoi An chicken rice isn’t perfect without herbs. The most common herb used is the Vietnamese mint. Adding a floral and medicinal element to the dish. Sometimes, peppermint, coriander, or a mix will be used. Depending on the restaurants, it does greatly affect the dish, due to the powerful flavors of the herbs.

Top 5 restaurants to get best Chicken Rice in Hoi An

Com Ga Ba Buoi, 22 Phan Chau Trinh Street, Hoi An, Quang Nam, 35.000 VND – 50.000 VND

Com Ga Ba Nga, 08 Phan Chau Trinh Street, Hoi An, Quang Nam, 45.000 VND – 50.000 VND.

Xi Restaurant, 47/2 Tran Hung Dao Street, Hoi An, Quang Nam, 25.000 VND – 50.000 VND.

Com Ga Huong, 60 Le Loi Street, Hoi An, Quang Nam, 35.000 VND.

Com Ga Man, Japanese Covered Bridge, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street, Hoi An, Quang Namm, 30.000 VND – 45.000 VND.

Best Hue City Tour Travel also provides the high-quality Hoi An City Tour Full Day.