I usually live in Haikou, although it is not far from my hometown, but I still want to eat the Wenchang chicken that my mother raised in my hometown. But work is busy, and I only go back once every month or two. Every time I went back, I didn't want my mother to be too tired, so I made all kinds of excuses and asked her to cook some simple meals to eat, and I wouldn't kill chickens.
Haikou also has a variety of Wenchang chicken restaurants, there is no shortage of long-established brands. But it turns out that the authentic Wenchang chicken is getting harder and harder to find. The main reason is that raw materials are difficult to find. Authentic Wenchang chickens are free-range, do not feed any feed, and have a slow growth cycle. The demand for chickens in restaurants is large, and the cost of Wenchang chickens raised in the traditional way is too high. The chickens selected in the hotel are basically chicken farms, and even free-range chicken farms will be supplemented with feed to shorten the feeding cycle.
Authentic Wenchang chickens, are the use of "small feet" chicken, chicken claws dry thin meatless, small and meatless, generally grown up hen is about three or four pounds. Scattered under the banyan trees, yellow bark trees and other trees next to the houses in the countryside, they pick up trees and insects as food, and feed mainly crops such as rice and corn, and do not feed any feed throughout the whole process. Wait until the hen lays the first eggs, and it is almost time to finish.
Hainan people eat chicken, mainly white cut. After the chicken is washed, hang it with a hook and drain the water. Then start making a fire and boiling water. Put more water in, and be able to submerge all the chickens in the water. Put some ginger in the water, use the high heat, when the water is about to boil, put the chicken in, keep the heat on fire, and then keep turning the chicken. For about 10 minutes, use chopsticks to plunge into the thick part of the chicken thigh, and no blood and water flow out of the chicken leg, even if it is cooked.
At this time, you can take the chicken out of the pot and cut it into small pieces with a knife. Skilled cooks, cut off meat, shaped and sized, placed in exquisite ceramic plates, sprinkled with a little coriander on the chicken, and ready to serve.
Chicken soup in the pot, at this time can be used to cook chicken fat rice. Rice should be prepared in advance. Wash the rice and drain. Pour oil, minced garlic and ginger into the pan, sauté until fragrant, pour the washed and drained rice into it, and stir-fry back and forth. When the rice begins to turn yellow and the aroma overflows, put the rice into the pressure cooker, pour in the chicken soup and start cooking, the chicken soup has just spread over the rice. A pot of fragrant, fluffy and sticky chicken fat rice is ready.
The condiments of Wenchang chicken are also more exquisite. Minced garlic, minced ginger and minced sand ginger are prepared in advance, put in a small bowl, put salt and a little sugar, when cooking chicken, while cooking chicken, while using a spoon to fish out the chicken fat floating on the soup, pour into a small bowl, Wenchang chicken seasoning is ready. When eating, squeeze in a kumquat and add some Hainan raw (unpicked) millet pepper, and the taste is perfect. If you have wild grapefruit oil at home, boil the grapefruit oil over a fire instead of the oil on top of the chicken soup, and the taste is better.
Hainan people love to eat chicken, no chicken is not a feast. No matter what the festival, chicken is essential. In the hearts of Hainan people, chicken is not only a dish, but also a taste that goes deep into the soul.
Source: Uncle Meng of Hainan Baixiaosheng