Eim Khao Mun Kai

Khao mun kai, which means “oiled-rice chicken” (eim means “full”), is the popular Thai adaptation of a common Hainanese street food and the specialty of this Elmhurst storefront shop, by which we mean that’s all they’ve got. It’s enough; in fact, it’s plenty. Whole chickens are boiled, jasmine rice is cooked in the stock, a zingy garlic-chile-ginger condiment is Vitamixed. That the plastic-plated result, along with a cup of broth and some slices of cucumbers, looks a bit like convalescent food belies how satisfying this oiled-rice chicken is. It’s a bit removed from the Jewish pick-me-up chicken in the pot, but the soul-soothing effect is similar.