Finding the taste of Nha Trang chicken rice in Ho Chi Minh City

Although it looks simple, each element that makes up a delicious Nha Trang chicken rice dish requires cooking skills to maintain the quality - Photo: To Cuong

If fried chicken rice in Ho Chi Minh City leaves a mark in the hearts of diners thanks to its rich garlic fish sauce and crispy chicken skin, Nha Trang chicken rice has another special sauce that blends harmoniously with the side dishes, creating a uniqueness that no other dish has and making diners never get bored of eating it.

Tuoi Tre Online searched for the taste of this dish in Ho Chi Minh City, more specifically at two chicken rice restaurants in Nha Trang at 313 Bui Dinh Tuy and the Hai Chi Em chicken rice chain.

Criteria of Nha Trang chicken rice dish

Many people believe that authentic Nha Trang chicken rice must have the following criteria:

First, the chicken must be selected from local chicken, boiled until just cooked, keeping the toughness and the chicken pieces must retain the sweet taste of chicken juice.

If you choose industrial chicken, the meat will be loose and dry, and the meat will not retain its sweetness when torn.

The main ingredients of Nha Trang chicken rice include butter and egg sauce, fried onions, Vietnamese coriander, pickles, ginger fish sauce, the chicken can be boiled chicken, fried chicken, roasted chicken... - Photo: To Cuong

In some restaurants in Nha Trang, the chicken will be mixed with a little spice, onion and some herbs (similar to chicken salad) but without this element, it does not affect the experience too much.

Next is the rice cooked with chicken broth that has an attractive yellow color. The "standard" cooked rice must be fluffy, with a faint smell of chicken fat rising up when scooped out.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed a plate of Nha Trang chicken rice must know that the soul of this dish is the butter sauce, which is also the most unique point.

The sauce has a rich, creamy taste, blending harmoniously with the flavors of ginger fish sauce, pickles, Vietnamese coriander and fried onions.

The ingredients of the sauce are egg yolks mixed with butter and a little seasoning.

The way to make it is so simple but it makes diners near and far sob, every time they don't have it, they feel something missing in their hearts.

The soup bowl has boiled quail eggs or young chicken eggs, with the characteristic chicken fat color combined with onions and pepper, which is also an important element in this culinary experience - Photo: To Cuong

Finally, the soup, although this is just chicken broth, it is also an indispensable part of Nha Trang chicken rice restaurants.

Inside the soup bowl are onions, pepper and a young chicken egg (some restaurants replace it with a boiled quail egg). When you taste it, you will find the spicy flavor of the pepper blends perfectly with the sweet flavor of the chicken fat.

Every restaurant is almost perfect

So with the criteria for a delicious Nha Trang chicken rice dish, what does Hai Chi Em chicken rice restaurant (branch number 9 Thich Minh Nguyet, Tan Binh district) have?

This can be said to be the biggest brand specializing in selling this dish in Ho Chi Minh City. Just search for the keyword on Facebook, Hai Chi Em will be the first name to appear, with a series of branches covering Ho Chi Minh City.

The large portion of shredded chicken rice at Hai Chi Em restaurant is a bit small for the price of 59,000 VND - Photo: To Cuong

Is the food delicious enough to match the brand?

The first impression when coming to the restaurant is the price. In Nha Trang, except for restaurants specializing in selling to tourists, chicken rice is a popular dish, priced only from 35,000 - 45,000 VND.

However, the cheapest item at   Hai Chi Em is shredded boiled chicken rice for 42,000 VND, the portion is also quite small.

Putting aside the price, I have to praise the rice, butter sauce and side dishes of the restaurant. The chicken rice has a characteristic fatty color, the rice grains are firm and loose, when served it is still hot and has a faint smell of chicken broth.

The restaurant gives generous amounts of butter, mixed well with the fatty rice dish, the flavors of Vietnamese coriander, fried onions, and pickles blend perfectly.

Hai Chi Em's soup lacks the characteristic chicken fat color and is quite bland - Photo: To Cuong

However, Hai Chi Em chicken rice   has three big minus points. First is the ginger fish sauce, although it has the right saltiness, it lacks the characteristic spicy taste of ginger and chili, the spicy taste is also an important factor that helps stimulate the flavor of the rice dish.

Next is the shredded chicken. Although it is truly Vietnamese chicken with its characteristic toughness, the restaurant's pre-shredded chicken feels like it has been left out for a long time, and also loses the sweetness and moisture of freshly "baked" chicken.

Finally, the biggest minus point is the soup, this should be the ingredient that leaves a rich aftertaste after enjoying a plate of fatty chicken rice, however, the soup of Hai Chi Em is quite bland, lacking both the aroma, the sweetness of chicken fat and spices.

Next is Nha Trang chicken rice restaurant at 313 Bui Dinh Tuy (Binh Thanh district). Although it is a smaller restaurant and only a few years old, many people from Nha Trang come here to enjoy it.

Close-up of Nha Trang chicken rice dish at 313 Bui Dinh Tuy, served with another Khanh Hoa specialty: salt, chili and lemon - Photo: To Cuong

At 35,000 VND for a plate of shredded chicken rice, the restaurant is quite generous with the portion for customers, finishing one portion is just enough to fill you up.

The first impression when tasting, the meat is boiled to perfection, both chewy and soft, when chewing you can feel the sweetness of the chicken juice inside.

In particular, the restaurant adds a bowl of salt, chili and lime, another specialty of Nha Trang. Diners can dip boiled chicken in this salt to make the flavor even richer.

Nha Trang people eat Nha Trang chicken rice in Ho Chi Minh City

Both the egg sauce and the accompanying vegetables of the restaurant are excellent, however, Bui Dinh Tuy restaurant is inferior to Hai Chi Em in the rice part, possibly because the rice is not roasted thoroughly before cooking. The chicken rice here is soft and fragrant but loses its looseness and firmness, causing the rice to become too moist when mixed with fish sauce and butter sauce.

Instead, the soup of the restaurant is outstanding. When you first sip, the taste of chicken fat hits the tip of your tongue, followed by the spicy taste of pepper and the richness of quail eggs. Although not perfect, it is almost equal to the top delicious restaurants in Nha Trang.

Overall, both restaurants have their strengths and weaknesses, but anyone who eats them will immediately recognize that this is the authentic taste of Nha Trang chicken rice.

If not too strict with each criterion, Nha Trang people currently living in Ho Chi Minh City can completely find a chicken rice restaurant that "suits their taste" and does not have to wait until they return to their hometown to enjoy it.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/di-tim-huong-vi-com-ga-nha-trang-tai-tp-hcm-20240804070824016.htm