Feature Report As fresh as it gets: food in Hainan
As fresh as it gets: food in Hainan
China's tropical island province in the South China Sea is known for many things, from sunny, empty beaches to bustling modern cities. But one thing that you just cannot escape when you wander through the streets of any city or town on the island are the smells of freshly cooked food wafting through the air.
Like any popular tourist destination, the island has an abundance of food from all over the world. There are Japanese sushi bars, Italian pizza restaurants and modern Western restaurants containing everything from hamburgers to Asian fusion cuisine. But to really get to know this tropical Chinese island you need to get to know its local food.
Hainanese cuisine takes influences from Mainland Chinese food as well as from the cooking styles of the indigenous Li and Miao groups who inhabit the island. The food is light and less oily than Mainland Chinese food, with mild seasonings, with fresh seafood like shrimp, crab and fish in abundance.
Venture to inland towns and pockets of Li culture are still visible, and Li cuisine is everywhere. Staple Li foods are rice, corn and sweet potato, but the Li are also known for their unique preparation of meat and vegetables, especially the bamboo pole rice. With inventive names like river eel, rainforest deer, surfing fish, five-legged pig, smoked egg in ht spring and horses hoof grass, you are in for a culinary treat when you open yourself up to Li cuisine.
The island has four signature dishes, each appealing to the various tastes of the many different travelers who come to the island. The first is Wenchang chicken, a local dish from the Wenchang district where the chicken is grown and fed with banyan seed so that it grows fat quickly. The chicken is poached and then cut into pieces, served with a mixture of sauces, salt, garlic and other spices.
The second dish is Jiaji Duck, taken to Quionghai by countrymen who were living abroad. It is eaten with the same spices as Wenchang chicken, but with a strong flavour that derives from the fact that the ducks are brought up on a diet of a blend of cereal and bean curd three times daily.
Dongshan lamb, which is actually goat meat, originates from the Wanning area and is noticeably absent of mutton smell. The meat is fresh and tender after being stewed, roasted or braised in coconut milk. Coconut being the typical fruit grown in Hainan, supplying 90% of China's coconuts, is also popular in Hainanese cuisine.
Hele crab, originating from Hele Town near Wanning on the southern shores of Hainan Island is famous for its hard shell and thick crab meat. The yellow crab meat has a strong aroma and an oily texture, and is usually steamed and then served with ginger and garlic in vinegar.
Seafood is perhaps the islands biggest draw card for international travelers who are constantly amazed at the quality and low cost of the island's fresh daily catches. From street stalls where you can see your dinner splashing in the tank to high-end restaurants in busy Sanya or Haikou cities, you can treat yourself to a feast of seafood in Hainan. Here you will find an abundance of tuna, crab, mussels, king prawns, oysters, abalone, sea cucumbers, and squid, freshly prepared with authentic Hainanese flavours.
Perhaps the most famous of Hainan's local dishes would have to be Hainan Chicken. The dish originated in China's little island province and is now a popular dish served throughout Asia, especially in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. It is so famous that it is often the first thing that foreigners think of when they hear 'Hainan'.
Hainan Chicken Recipe
Chilli sauce
3 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp red chillies, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
Salt
Chicken
1 whole chicken
1 scallion, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 slices fresh, peeled ginger
6 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups cooked long-grain rice
Method
1. Stuff the chicken with the scallion and ginger, and add the chicken to a pot of boiling, salted water, breast-side down. Lower heat to simmer and cook through for about 40 minutes.
2. Transfer the chicken to an ice water bath for about 5 minutes to make the skin crisp.
3. Remove the bones and cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Keep the hot chicken stock aside.
4. Heat oil in a wok or saucepan over a high heat. Add garlic and fry until fragrant. Stir-fry the cooked rice for 2 minutes.
5. Add enough of the hot chicken stock to reach 1 centimetre above the tice in the pan. Bring to the boil, add salt, then cook on a low heat until steam forms holes in the rice. Cover the wok and steam for 30 minutes.
6. Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well, seasoning with salt to taste, then whisk ¼ cup of the hot chicken stock into the chilli sauce.
7. Serve the chicken over the rice on a platter with cucumber slices and drizzle with chilli sauce.
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