How to have quicker access to Hainanese chicken rice in Japan

From the first time I had this dish at a Singaporean restaurant in Manila, Hainanese chicken rice has quickly become my favorite chicken dish. I simply love the flavorful steamed chicken, the not-so-strong ginger-y aroma and flavor in the rice, and its perfect trio of sauces.

When I moved to Japan I almost instantly noticed that it’s not easy to find an authentic Singaporean restaurant here. One has to go to central Tokyo or to other city centers for a chance at getting  Singaporean cuisine, and given the current pandemic, dining out is, of course, not advisable.

Whenever I crave Southeast Asian (SEA) cuisine, I am often left with only two types of cuisine: Thai and Vietnamese. Between the two, Thai restaurants are more popular here in Japan and yet, they tend to offer pretty much the same thing: gapao rice, pad thai and khao man gai. I rarely even find one that offers papaya salad – and papaya salad is a menu staple in Thai restaurants in Manila. As for Vietnamese restaurants, their staples are often the fresh spring rolls and a not-so-wide selection of pho.

So, every time I craved for Hainanese chicken rice, I had to contend myself with its closest alternative, the khao man gai or the Thai version of steamed chicken rice. For a while it worked, until I could no longer deny that the three sauces are part of the joy of eating Hainanese chicken rice. Which is why on my latest order of khao man gai, I made two of the three sauces while waiting for my order to be delivered. I didn’t have to make the sweet chili sauce because it already came with the khao man gai.

Here’s how to make the two other sauces:

1. For the dark sauce, mix about a teaspoon of oyster sauce with about a tablespoon of dark soy sauce. You can just eyeball to taste.

2. For the minced garlic, there actually are bottled options (already mixed with oil) that you can buy at the grocery store here in Japan. The one I used is the Momoya minced ginger, shown below.

Once the sauces are ready, you can start plating. This is the one I came up with:

Craving satisfied.

Honestly, I find it disappointing that even until now SEA cuisine remains limited in this country. I have written about it here in City-Cost a few years back, and clearly not much has changed. It would be nice to see more and more Southeast Asian dishes gaining popularity in this country – and hopefully soon.