The dish has three secrets. First, the chicken: it is poached gently in hot water (not boiling), then dipped quickly into cold water. That makes the skin smooth and the meat soft. Second, the rice: it is fried briefly in chicken fat, then cooked in chicken broth, so every grain is tasty. Third, the sauces: each one is a tiny burst of a different flavour.
The recipe started long ago with people from Hainan, an island in southern China. When Hainanese families moved to Singapore generations ago, they brought their cooking with them. Over time, hawker cooks added local touches - the bright orange chilli sauce is a Singapore invention - and the dish became its own thing.
Most Singaporeans have a chicken rice stall they swear by. There are sometimes long queues outside the most loved ones. A famous stall in Maxwell Hawker Centre is so popular that the United States president once visited it. The chicken comes from a family who have been cooking it the same way for decades.
Chicken rice is the perfect example of how Singapore food works. The cook is often a third-generation expert in just one dish. The recipe is from another country. The result is something Singaporeans now call their own. Many of the country's most loved foods - laksa, char kway teow, satay - have stories just like it.