Chiayi Chicken Rice 嘉义鸡肉饭
Chiayi Chicken Rice is featured among the local specialties of Taiwan.
Chiayi Chicken Rice (嘉义鸡肉饭) is associated with turkey served over white rice. In the traditional Chiayi (嘉義) preparation, poultry juices and lard dress the rice, with fried shallots adding aroma and a slice of pickled yellow radish alongside.
How it is made
The sauce comes from cooking a whole bird. Lard in which shallots have been fried is added, and the meat, rice and dressing are mixed together. Traditional shops scatter additional fried shallots over the turkey. Chinese Wikipedia describes the result as fragrant without feeling greasy.
Where it comes from
Chinese Wikipedia recounts a story about the founder of Penshui Chicken Rice (噴水雞肉飯), surnamed Lin (林): he adapted braised pork rice by replacing its pork and braising sauce with turkey pieces and the oily broth from cooking the bird. Shops elsewhere in Taiwan also use the Chiayi name for turkey rice.
How it is eaten
Some shops serve jilu rice (雞滷飯), combining the braised pork topping from pork rice with the chicken-rice sauce, each poured over half of the rice.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and fact-checked against them on 2026-09-26. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.
Image credits & notes (1)
- A bowl of Chiayi turkey rice (ji rou fan), shredded turkey and fried shallots over rice. · 嘉义火鸡肉饭，鸡丝（火鸡肉）与油葱酥拌饭。Photo: Neville Wang · CC BY-SA 4.0 · taken 2018-10-20Resized for the web; the photo itself has not been edited. Thumbnails may show a cropped view.
