If you ever ask Singaporeans what the national dish of their country is, almost unequivocally a proud response would be arroz pollo: chicken rice. I went back this winter to the country I call home, where the weather is a consistent and tropical 85 degrees and everyday attire includes shorts and slippers.

There isn’t much to do here aside from capitalism and eating. Competition is rife among hawkers, and as such, most dedicate their craft to a sole dish or variations on a theme.

This in turn means that standards are high, as many live to refine techniques and execute their specialized dishes, including the perfectly-cooked rice and boiled chicken.

Yes, boiled chicken and white rice. It seems like the most boring thing in the world, but don’t be fooled by its looks, for it belies a most complex food. Chicken rice is on CNN Travel’s “World’s 50 Best Foods” list for 2011. I completely agree, as it is one of the things I miss most when leaving home.

To make this dish, a stock is made from a whole chicken slowly poached and flavored with ginger, garlic, shallots, spring onions, and pandan leaves (a South-East Asian leaf with subtle vanilla and coconut-like aromatics).

Once the chicken is cooked, it is plunged into an ice bath that immediately stops the cooking and gelatinizes the skin and fat, resulting in a unique texture. Once cut, the meat is sauced in a light soy-sesame oil slick with some chicken stock in it for depth.

The rice is fried with garlic and ginger in chicken fat and then cooked in the stock.

Condiments, which are equally important to the main course itself, include a bright red and tart chili sauce that is often a topic of great debate – vinegar or lime juice? Thick or thin? Spicy enough? Sour enough? More garlic?

Other encouraged sidekicks include a ginger paste enriched with chicken fat and brooding-sweet dark soy that stains the fluffy white rice a dark, rich obsidian color. Cucumber and bits of coriander are adornments- often forgotten and missed when absent.

Although I will never be able to recreate great chicken rice here in Pullman, I think what I’ve come up with is a good enough version that will tide me over until I go home again. I know you people are too cheap to bother with a whole chicken, so fine, let’s do it with a chicken breast.

Fill a pot with water and add half a head of garlic, three to four scallions, and a knob of ginger. Look, the more garlic you use, the better the dish is going to be, so don’t be stingy with this “one clove” nonsense.

Bring the pot to a simmer and season with a bit of salt. Poach your chicken breast in the mixture for 10 to 12 minutes (until done) and plunge into an ice bath to immediately stop the cooking. Take it out of the broth after a couple of minutes.

Boil your chicken stock down to slightly more than 2 cups of stock. Fortify with bouillon cubes (dehydrated stock and seasoning) if necessary.

In a skillet or pot, sweat another four finely minced cloves of garlic and shallots in ideally rendered chicken fat or vegetable oil. When translucent, add 2 cups of jasmine rice and stir, letting the garlic and shallot friends mingle. Transfer to a rice cooker, adding another knob of ginger cut into slices and a pandan leaf if you can find one.

Pour in your reduced stock and turn the rice cooker on until done.

I cheat with my chili sauce: squirt some Sriracha into a bowl and fortify with fresh lime juice, your leftover stock from earlier, a bit of sugar, and more garlic and ginger. Blend to taste, playing with the ratios. To make dark soy, take regular soy and boil it down with some sugar, about a tablespoon for every 1/4 cup of soy. You want a thick, syrupy-looking product.

Cut your cold chicken into slices, place atop the warm, fluffy rice, and have away with the condiments.

Welcome to Singapore.