How Did Chicken Essence Become The Go-To Energy Tonic For Malaysians?
It all starts with the Chinese, but the British come in later.
By Ian Wee — 30 May 2025, 11:02 AM
We all know essence of chicken, the staple our mums insist will help us before our big exams
Slightly sweet, salty, savoury, and tasting like something that isn't chicken-like, essence of chicken is something like the default energy drink for Malaysians.
But how did a product extracted from boiled chickens (and sometimes Cordyceps fungus) end up becoming a staple in gift hampers, drunk when sick, and seen on breakfast tables on the morning of SPM?
The belief in the benefits of boiled chicken extract traces back to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
Chinese communities have had a long history of double-boiling chicken to obtain an "essence" that was believed to rebuild qi after childbirth or illness.
"Black-boned" chicken in particular was believed to have powerful healing properties, and was used for its essence for centuries in China.
This folk method of steaming, pressing, and distilling chicken for its extract — a process which could take hours, and produced only a small amount of essence from one chicken — originated from the coastal regions of Fujian, China more than a century ago.
Then came Henderson William Brand, who served as the royal chef to King George IV in the 1820s
King George IV was in ailing health during the time, and Brand boosted the king's health by way of preparing essence of chicken for him (there's no record on whether he prepared it in the traditional Chinese way or not, unfortunately).
That very same Henderson William Brand would, after his retirement from the royal kitchen in 1835, go on to create the Brand's company with its signature Essence of Chicken product. It was popular enough that by 1897, it was awarded a Royal Warrant from the British monarchy.
With this royal endorsement, by the 1920s, the company's chicken essence products would begin shipments to the Far East, where it eventually became a staple in Malayan households.
The introduction of bottled chicken essence combined traditional Chinese practices with British industrial production — and it became a hit
Bottled chicken essence — supplied by British companies such as Brand's, and then with homegrown Malaysian companies like Eu Yang Sang — provided all of the health benefits and symbolic value of the tonic, while requiring none of the hours of labour that would be needed to produce a bowl of it.
As a result, Chinese families adopted it wholesale, and before long, they had passed the habit to non-Chinese friends, colleagues, and others in the growing Malaysian community.
So, how did the medicine for new mothers become an "exam drink"?
By the 1970s, chicken essence had a foothold in Malaysian society, but marketing for the product had also began to pivot.
Advertisements showed it was being sold as "the examination drink", with a reputation that drinking it would provide an energy boost much needed by weary students.
By the 1990s, the Brand's company secured halal certification, removing another cultural barrier and paving the way for it to be a universally beloved "pick-me-up" for Malaysians.
And because it is shelf-stable and has a prestigious reputation while still being relatively affordable, chicken essence also wound up becoming a default item in festive hampers — no gift bag would be complete without one, be it for Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Deepavali, or an annual corporate event.
So, does it actually work as the ultimate drink for students, or is it just a big placebo?
The funny thing is that a study by the National Library of Medicine found that chicken essence actually does help with recovery from mental fatigue, in tests conducted on male volunteers.
Obviously, it's not a cure-all that will make you automatically smarter before SPM — but taken in moderate amounts, it is indeed a helpful supplement for keeping yourself alert during times when you really need a small energy boost.
So, that's a small piece of Malaysian history in a nutshell!
