Besides Hainan Chicken Rice, There Are So Many Delicious Dishes in Hainan
A bowl of ordinary rice has countless ways to eat it. A Hainanese answer might be – countless.
Hainan boasts the most unique resources. In Haikou, you can find coconuts everywhere; just across the Qiongzhou Sea to Guangdong, you see no more coconut trees or coconut water. There are also pineapples, mangoes, papayas, and durians… truly enviable abundance compared to other places.
The abundant resources also gave Hainanese people's imaginative minds. Adding a bit of Hainanese ingenuity to rice, it would no longer be just a bowl of plain white rice to eat; one bite would be filled with a tropical charm.
Haikou's most famous Liuhongjie (Liuhong Street). Photo/Web.
Coconut Boat | The most satisfying.
Coconut is a synonym of Hainan. Hainan is known as the 'Coconut Island,' Haikou is nicknamed 'Coconut City,' and there is also the saying 'Hainan Coconut Half Wenchang.' The whole of Hainan, roads big and small, are planted with coconut trees, and the scent of coconut permeates everywhere.
A pot of coconut boat. Photo/Web.
Sticky rice and coconut both belong to the sweet and warm category, coconut boats' sweetness comes not only from taste but also from the fullness of being moistened.
Pineapple Rice | The most down-to-earth 'dark dish'
It is said that the university cafeteria is the ninth cuisine, and the cafeteria chefs particularly love to stir-fry fruits, creating things like peach stir-fried tofu, strawberry stir-fried pork segments, and watermelon stir-fried apples. Pineapple fried rice became a viral dish in Wuhan University because of its 'dark dish' appearance. It's almost a matter of fate to get a bite.
You can't help but want to try it with its colorful colors. Photo/Web.
However, in Hainan, where pineapples are abundant, pineapple fried rice is a common street food, wanting to combine the sweetness of fruit with the freshness of seafood is your best choice in Hainan.
Meat, green peas, and shrimp's rich nutrition, paired with sweet and sour pineapple chunks, makes it easy to eat. My mom will never complain that I am picky.
Bamboo tube rice | Lock in the fragrance of the mountains.
Many lush mountainous areas are popular for eating bamboo tube rice. Taiwanese Alishan bamboo tube rice uses high-altitude cabbage or mountain herbs to seal and roast, Guangxi bamboo tube rice uses coconut leaves to fill the mouth of the bamboo tube, while Sichuan people like to use tea to lock in the fragrance. In Sanya, experiencing the Li ethnic minority culture is indispensable – eating a bamboo tube rice.
Bamboo tube rice. Photo/Web.
Unlike other places, Hainan Li ethnic bamboo tube rice uses banana leaves to seal and adds wild meat such as mountain pheasant, mountain chicken, and wild boar meat to the rice, letting the fragrance of bamboo and wild meat mix into the rice.
Lassu Rice | Weave good wishes into the rice.
Lassu rice is a specialty of Wenchang. Just like northerners pack zongzi, the people of Wenchang use luotou tree leaves (also said to be coconut leaves) to weave square or duck-shaped 'rice bags' and then cook the rice mixed with salt and garlic in the 'luotou rice bag'. In Hainan, Lassu rice represents the friendship between relatives and friends, exchanging Lassu rice is exchanging good wishes.
Lassu rice. Photo/Web.
Ordinary red envelopes stuffed with money, in Wenchang's 'green red envelopes,' it's filled with wishes and thoughts for relatives and friends. The taste of Hainan is like the life of this island – seemingly unremarkable but always has a touch of sweetness. No matter how many years pass, those who leave the island will never forget it.
Sticky rice and rice have become partners with fruit in Hainan. Photo/Web.
What ingredients or dishes do you consider the 'golden partners' for rice in your heart?
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