Wenchang Chicken Rearing and Cooking Technique

The rearing and cooking of Wenchang chicken is said to date from the Ming dynasty, originating around Tianci village of Tanju town in Wenchang and widely famed by the Guangxu reign of the Qing. In 2009 the technique entered the Hainan provincial ICH register, one of the province's most representative food crafts.

The rearing follows the old family way, feeding the birds on rice bran, peanut cake and sweet potato for about a hundred days for smooth flesh and thin crisp skin; cooking centres on the white-cut method, the whole bird gently poached over low heat and served with a dip of ginger, garlic, calamansi and salt to bring out the chicken's own taste.

The rearing and cooking of Wenchang chicken carries over four centuries of Hainan food tradition and farming wisdom, the root of the island's custom that no feast is complete without chicken, and a living sample for the study of island food culture.