Besides sun-dried beef, banh canh he, banh xeo… Phu Yen is also famous for its famous chicken rice. Chicken rice is available in many regions, but the flavor of Phu Yen chicken rice has a unique characteristic, enough to make diners remember it forever after just one bite.
The rice used to cook the rice is carefully selected from the large rice granaries of the South Central region, ensuring that the rice grains are loose and fluffy but still fragrant. Meanwhile, the chicken chosen must be free-range chicken, when cooked, it has soft meat, a golden shell, and retains its inherent sweetness.
Before cooking, the rice is soaked in water, drained, then stir-fried with cooking oil on the stove, along with a little minced garlic for fragrance. To create a unique flavor, people often cook rice with chicken broth, adding turmeric to give each grain of rice a golden yellow color.
The soul of Phu Yen chicken rice is the sweet and sour dipping sauce, different from other chicken rice versions from other regions. Good fish sauce is added with enough lemon, garlic, and chili, some places even add a little ground chicken to add more fat and a characteristic sweetness.
Looking at the bright red bowls of dipping sauce, diners may initially be hesitant because they are afraid of the spiciness. But in fact, the candy fish sauce, harmoniously balancing the spicy, sweet and sour flavors, helps the chicken rice dish become more flavorful and well-rounded.
Chicken rice is served with other dishes such as thinly sliced cucumbers, Vietnamese coriander, pickled onions... Pickled onions are sliced shallots, pickled from the previous afternoon. Pickled shallots are not pungent but crunchy, sweet, and slightly numbing on the tip of the tongue, neutralizing the fatty taste of chicken fat, making diners feel more delicious. To enjoy Phu Yen chicken rice properly, gourmets also order spicy green chili and fragrant garlic cloves.
Each portion of chicken rice is beautifully presented, from the golden color of the rice, the shiny shredded chicken slices, the fresh green Vietnamese coriander, the cool, sweet cucumbers, bean sprouts, carrots... When eating, diners can add sweet and sour fish sauce depending on their taste.
The aroma of turmeric and the fatty taste in each grain of rice, the flavorful, soft and chewy chicken slices, eaten with rich sweet and sour fish sauce, strangely delicious.
A serving of chicken thigh rice includes a plate of chicken rice, a bowl of dipping sauce and a bowl of broth.
Phu Yen chicken rice menu is quite diverse, including: shredded chicken rice, chicken thigh rice, chicken wing rice, chicken skin rice or offal (heart, liver, gizzard, intestines, eggs...). Each plate of chicken rice costs from 35,000 - 70,000 VND.
In the “land of yellow flowers”, chicken rice shops appear on many streets, big and small. Some famous chicken rice shops in Phu Yen include Tuyet Nhung chicken rice on Le Thanh Tong street, Phuong chicken rice on Tran Quy Cap street, Co Thuy chicken rice on Duy Tan street, Bao Chau chicken rice on Ngo Quyen street...
