Com ga Hoi An, chicken rice: a new geotourism experience

Rice is the essential daily food in Vietnamese life. Each region has its own way of preperation corresponding to their own local cultural characteristics. Hoi An chicken rice, com ga in Vietnamese, is a famous culinary speciality from Quang Nam province in Central Vietnam.

A little history

Hoi An is known not only as a dream destination, but also as a great place to experience almost all of the best specialities in central Vietnam.

Chicken rice is a dish that appeared in the 50s of the last century (around 1950) in Hoi An. The Tam Ky region, Quang Nam is indeed known for its delicious chicken, an ingredient of prime importance for the quality of this dish. The inhabitants with their creativity have created a typical dish of this city.

Previously, chicken rice was peddled on every corner of Hoi An. Until now, many restaurants are open to serve tourists and this dish has become a certified geographical experience while traveling to Hoi An.

Attractive table on the plate

With a plate of com ga on the table, the first thing to catch everyone's eye is the golden colour of the chicken standing out against the rice.

The light yellow of the rice and the shredded chicken, the green of the leaves of the fragrant herbs, the red and white of the salad, all come together to make a colourful picture on the plate.

The chicken used for this speciality is medium in size to ensure top quality. Her skin is therefore thin and tender. After being boiled and shredded, the chicken is tossed with minced onion, vegetable leaves, and a little salt and pepper.

For a light yellow and fragrant rice, you should first roast the rice grains with vegetable oil before cooking it with chicken broth and a little turmeric. Regarding the salad, the carrot and the green papaya are finely mixed with vinegar, sugar and salt, giving it a sweet and sour taste.

Preparing this speciality at home is not difficult. We can try it with the recipe for 2 people:

Ingredients:

. 2 chicken thighs or half a chicken.

. 2 cups of rice

. 1 large onion + 1 carrot + a piece of green papaya

. Vietnamese coriander leaves

. 1 tablespoon of turmeric

. 1/2 teaspoon of pepper (optional) and 1 teaspoon of salt

. 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar or 1/2 lemon

Preparation:

- Cook the chicken with the salt in a saucepan filled with water over medium heat. Let the thighs cool and peel them by hand.

- Roast the rice grains with oil before cooking the rice in another pan, mix the chicken broth well with the turmeric powder.

- For the salad: Cut the onion, green papaya and carrot into small pieces and soak them in water with ice cubes for 10 minutes. Add sugar, vinegar, lemon and the leaves of Vietnamese coriander. Mix them all.

- Place the rice, chicken and salad on a plate and enjoy.

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