Chicken Rice is a beloved dish in Singapore, renowned for its savory flavor and comforting simplicity. Made with steamed chicken, fragrant rice, and a variety of flavorful sauces and side dishes, it is a staple at hawker centers and food courts throughout the city-state. It’s one of my favorite hawker center foods and one of the first dishes I take my out of town friends to try.
But is this popular dish actually healthy? Like my previous evaluation of whether Nandos Chicken is healthy or not, in this article, I will take a closer look at the nutritional value of chicken rice in Singapore, as well as its potential health benefits and downsides, to help you make an informed decision about whether it should be a regular part of your diet.
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Chicken rice for working out and building muscle
Chicken Rice is actually a decent meal for those working out and looking to build muscle. Chicken is one of the staples for those looking to get more protein in their diets which is what you need when working out.
Chicken Rice has a good helping of protein as you can imagine. However, for someone like me who needs something in the range of 150-180g of protein a day to keep my physique going, I often times will get double or even triple meat at chicken rice places. Often times, I will order double the meat to get extra protein in.
Often times, I will get a large helping of chicken rice after my workout at one of the many gyms in Singapore.
How is Singaporean chicken rice made?
I think in order to understand if chicken rice is healthy for you, we need to understand how it is actually made. Every chicken rice hawker stall in Singapore has their own recipe but the general ingredients are the same which means the nutritional aspect of it will apply to almost all the stalls. Generally, the ingredients for chicken rice are the following:
Singaporean chicken rice is a dish that typically consists of steamed chicken served with fragrant rice, along with a signature chili sauce and served with cucumbers. Here is a general overview of how the dish is made:
- Preparing the chicken: The chicken is usually poached or steamed. Before cooking, it is seasoned with salt and sometimes pandan leaves, ginger and garlic. This gives the meat a delicate, flavorful taste and makes it very tender.
- Making the Rice: Rice is an important component of the dish and is usually cooked in a mixture of chicken stock and pandan leaves, giving it a fragrant and flavorful aroma. Once the rice is cooked, it is usually rinsed with cold water to remove excess starch and make it less sticky.
- The Sauce: The most traditional version of the chicken rice comes with a ginger-chilli sauce and a soy-based sauce. The ginger-chili sauce is made of chopped ginger and chilies, garlic, and a little sugar to make it sweet. The soy sauce is made of soy sauce, sesame oil, and sometimes a little sugar as well.
- Assembling the dish: Once the chicken and rice are ready, the dish is assembled by placing a serving of rice on a plate and topping it with a piece of chicken. The sauces and side dishes such as cucumber slices, cilantro and soup is served alongside.
As you may notice, the main ingredients used in the dish are rice, chicken, ginger, and garlic. There are variations of the recipe, but usually it is prepared that way. The simplicity of the recipe allows the chicken and rice to be the main focus of the dish, with the ginger, chili, and soy sauces acting as a flavorful complement.
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FAQ
Is Chinese chicken rice healthy?
Is chicken and rice good for you on a diet?
Are chicken and rice good for You?
Chicken and rice give you plenty of energy to stay focused and active. (See the graph below.) When you eat chicken and rice, you provide your body with a mix of fast-digestive carbs and protein. This nutrient-dense meal can give you enough energy for your workouts, despite being in a caloric deficit.
Is rice a healthy food?
Rice is a healthy food, especially if it is prepared with vegetables to increase fiber supply or if it is in its whole form, which is rich in fiber, minerals and vitamins.
Can eating chicken & rice help you lose weight?
Eating less food is the main driver of weight loss, so reducing your diet to only chicken and rice can help you with weight loss results. However, this only occurs temporarily. The longer you stay on a diet that consists of the same foods, eventually, your cravings for something different will increase. See below.
What is Chinese chicken & rice?
My Chinese chicken and rice dish cooks up in one pan to give you a delicious and filling meal without a fuss that incorporates those pantry staples for a simple dinner any night. It’s like a traditional Chinese clay pot chicken, but with my recipe, I have simplified the process so you don’t need to brown the chicken.