STI: Breast meat juiced up

Feb 26, 2009

Eat to live

Breast meat juiced up

Brining the meat before cooking adds moisture and flavour to unexciting chicken breast, says SYLVIA TAN

 

Chicken breast is a great and healthy cut of meat, but it has few fans because it is often dry and flavourless after cooking.

 

Well, I have found a foolproof way to make even lean meats such as chicken breast and pork loin moist and flavourful. You brine the meats before cooking.

 

The method is not really new - it came into prominence a few years ago when people started to brine turkeys before roasting them, in order to improve the taste of the unpopular though healthy meat.

 

The problem with trying it out here is that our turkeys come frozen and already brined (or at least injected with butter) and few of us have refrigerators large enough to accommodate a whole turkey for a couple of days, which is the length of time it takes to brine a big bird.

 

However, a chicken breast is manageable. So I tried it out with a simple solution of salt, sugar and water and roasted the breast afterwards.

 

The results were amazing. The meat was moist and flavourful and did not really need the dressing that I had also prepared for the chicken.

 

I served the meat with some roasted artichokes, which you can get bottled from gourmet supermarkets. I do love artichokes but the salad was a knockout because of the moist chicken and without one of those hateful creamy dressings associated with chicken salads found in many cafes.

 

It also solves my problem of finding daily recipes to satisfy my family's penchant these days for low carbohydrate meals that are filling and satisfying to the palate.

 

What brining does is that it delivers moisture and flavour right into the centre of the meat. According to Russ Parsons, who has written a fascinating book on the chemistry of cooking called How To Read A French Fry, the salt in the brine swells the meat fibres allowing the water to penetrate and be retained during cooking. Salt also seasons the meat not just on the surface, but right through.

 

It is easy enough to attempt. All you need to do is to begin the preparation earlier. I brined the chicken breast for a couple of hours, but you can do it overnight or even days before. However, be warned that the longer you brine, the saltier the meat will be.

 

As for the artichokes, you could roast them yourself if you can find the small fresh ones on sale, but the bottled ones are delicious and convenient. The oil in which they are bottled also makes a very flavourful dressing for the salad, so all told it is better in this case to buy than to make it from scratch. Added to the salad, they will help to win back fans for chicken breast.

 

wdspice@singnet.com.sg

 

Sylvia Tan is a freelance writer

 

Dashi recipe a fortnight ago:

 

The correct recipe for dashi should be 10g kombu (kelp), 60g dried bonito flakes to 1000ml of water. I apologise for this error and thank the readers who pointed this out.

 

RECIPE

ROASTED CHICKEN AND ARTICHOKE SALAD (For 3-4)

 

Brine:

2 cups water

1 tbs salt

1 tsp sugar

2 chicken breasts, bone-in

 

Dressing:

1 cup artichoke olive oil

1 tbs white wine vinegar

Pinch of salt and sugar

1 tsp Dijon mustard

 

Salad:

Bottled roasted artichokes, available from gourmet supermarkets

1 head butter lettuce

A handful of rocket leaves

2 tomatoes, quartered

Spring onions, chopped

 

Method:

 

Make the brine. Stir till sugar and salt dissolves. Put the chicken breast into the solution, cover and leave in the fridge for at least two hours, if not overnight.

 

Heat oven to 200 deg C. Remove chicken from the brine and pat dry. Make the dressing.

 

Coat chicken breasts with the dressing and place in a dry frying pan to sear for about 10mins. Do not move it around as you want a crust to form.

 

Remove and place in a baking tray and continue to cook in the oven for another 15 to 20mins. Check by piercing meat to see if juices run clear. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for 5mins.

 

Make the salad with butter lettuce and rocket leaves. Slice the chicken meat and halve the artichokes. Place the chicken and artichokes on the bed of salad leaves and garnish with tomatoes and spring onion.

 

Drizzle the remaining salad dressing over and serve.

BTO: Seasonal tastes and ingredients

Business Times - 23 Feb 2009

Seasonal tastes and ingredients

NEW MENU
Jaan Level 70, Equinox Complex,
Swissotel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Road.
Tel: 6837 3322
www.equinoxcomplex.com

 

THESE days, a meal at Jaan routinely elevates the senses and raises expectations - and not because the restaurant is located 70 floors above street level either. In the period since Chef de Cuisine Andre Chiang arrived in July last year, his imaginative, well-balanced and beautifully precise style of modern French cooking has made serious inroads into the local fine dining scene and turned Jaan into a go-to restaurant among the culinary cognoscenti.

 

Mr Chiang's roots may be Taiwanese but his culinary sensibilities were cultivated in France, where he earned his stripes in some of the country's brand-name restaurants, working for the likes of chefs with names such as Ducasse, Troigros, Robuchon, Gagnaire and Pourcel. He has impressed both his peers and customers at every stop, and Singapore is now the beneficiary of his considerable talent.

 

At 32, Mr Chiang has yet to reach the peak of his profession, but his cuisine is characterised by a depth, elegance and purity of taste that is evident in many of the best restaurants in the world. At the core of his cooking philosophy is a light touch and a simple respect for ingredients - if you allow the produce to shine, chances are you will too.

 

Jaan's recently launched Winter Menu features seasonal ingredients that Mr Chiang has a personal affinity for. He has direct access to some small producers in France and so is able to offer items that may otherwise be difficult to procure.

 

Take the dish featuring Forgotten Vegetables, for instance. A plate of different tiny vegetables may not sound exciting but in Chef Chiang's hands, it becomes a work of edible art. A large white plate serves as a canvas, onto which he paints a dish comprising vegetables, such as Romanesco (Italian broccoli), purple carrot and black tomato that are rarely found on menus because they are produced in such tiny quantities.

 

Other items on the current menu include a foie gras and porcini dish where the mushroom appears in three different forms - puree, confit and chip. 'When done in different forms, it gives you different flavours,' says Mr Chiang, who has a penchant for reinterpreting classic French dishes, especially from the south.

 

'I've always been pretty product-driven, and I try to use very simple combinations,' he says. 'The concept behind the new menu is that I found myself missing France and so I wanted to feature some of the things I miss, in terms of ingredients and tastes - like the taste of barbecued seafood.'

 

A dish with a piece of fatty tuna is given the grilled treatment and has a flavour that instantly recalls an open grill and hot, lazy summers by the Mediterranean.

 

A more subtle approach is taken with a dish of slow-cooked marble goby scented with Pernod and a minced tomato patty. The meal's meat dish might be a slice of roasted wagyu beef accompanied by onions, peas and black truffle potato spheres, or slow-roasted lamb fillet with a pumpkin mash.

 

A meal at Jaan doesn't come cheap, but if you've still got some mileage left in the expense account or if you're simply in the mood to indulge, you're not likely to regret eating here. The three-course set lunch ($58) isn't the best showcase for Mr Chiang, but the same careful approach and attention to detail goes into every single plate that comes out of his kitchen, whether it's a bite-sized amuse bouche or a $98 Brittany blue lobster from the a la carte menu.

 

For dinner, plan on spending $200 per head or more - there's a six-course 'Discovery' menu ($200, or $300 with wine pairings) that includes some of Mr Chiang's signature dishes, and also a seven-course tasting menu ($240, or $390 with wine pairings). On request, Mr Chiang will also customise a menu to suit your requirements.

 

Mr Chiang's goal is to produce the kind of food that instantly causes people to sit up and take notice, such as the food critic in Ratatouille who has a Eureka Moment when he samples the simple dish that transports him back to his childhood. To a large extent he succeeds, and that's why a meal at Jaan is such an exhilarating culinary ride.

 

Rating: 8.5/10

By Geoffrey Eu

STI: Called to the bar

Feb 22, 2009

Called to the bar

Former tax consultant Matthew Bax has figured out that it can pay to follow your heart

By Fiona Low 

 

A ustralian bartender Matthew Bax never intended to have a career in the food and beverage industry. An accountant by training and an artist at heart, it was an unexpected twist of fate that led him to open a bar, Der Raum, in Melbourne seven years ago.

 

Tired of work as a tax consultant, he thought of setting up his own business to supplement his income as an artist.

 

However, he soon began to enjoy working behind the bar. Moreover, his 'baby' grew to world acclaim, with publications such as National Geographic magazine lauding it as one of the world's best watering holes.

 

This attracted the attention of Singapore's Spa Esprit founder, Ms Cynthia Chua, who promptly wooed him here to set up the fine dining restaurant, Tippling Club.

 

Together with Ryan Clift, former chef of the famed Vue de Monde restaurant in Melbourne, the three currently co-own the establishment in Dempsey Hill.

 

Nonetheless, art remains his first love, says Mr Bax, 35, who is currently based in Singapore. He still finds the time to paint every day, and will hold an art show at Fost Gallery in April.

 

In the meantime, he continues to wow his customers with unusual cocktail creations, including one served in a syringe and another named Kopi-O, inspired by local black coffee.

 

But not all his creations turn out well, he admits. 'I was mad about infusions many years ago and I came up with a sun-dried tomato gin infusion. Let's just say it was not one of my best!'

 

Have you ever created a cocktail specially for someone?

 

I have a cocktail called the Jack Bax, which is dedicated to my late grandfather. It's a really nice digestive drink with cognacs, port wine, infused maple and a nitre cranberry meringue.

 

Which was the most memorable cocktail you have had?

 

A Bellini at Harry's Bar in Venice. It was memorable because it was at a historic bar and I was with my girlfriend after a few months apart.

 

What is the most unusual cocktail that you have created?

 

I have used lots of non-traditional products and even more unusual service devices such as bottles, tubes, bags and cans, so it is hard to narrow it down.

 

But I guess The Imperialist on the menu at Tippling Club is relatively 'out there' in terms of flavours. It was inspired by the ingredients of the dish, Imperial Chicken. So it has dates, wolfberries and smoked dang gui (angelica root), but obviously no chicken.

 

What is the process behind pairing your cocktails with the food that Chef Ryan creates?

 

Ryan and I work for a few hours each day, developing new dishes and drinks.

 

Sometimes the dish comes first, and then I need to put on my thinking cap and produce a drink to match it. At other times, I'll create the cocktail first and then it's Ryan's challenge to create a dish that will complement the flavours. Generally, we assist each other and most things are developed in tandem.

 

What is the inspiration for your unique cocktails?

 

Influences and ideas come from all sorts of places. I study the developments in haute cuisine very closely. I also love to use street food concepts in my drinks.

 

Take my 'Kopi-O', for instance. It is a concoction of aged dark rum, tobacco maple and espresso.

 

Art also plays a role. I have a cocktail that is a tribute to British artist Damien Hirst called Pharmacy, which is based on his room-sized installation of the same name and contains pear and roasted capsicum gin, sweetened bitters and a citrus pill.

 

Then there is another cocktail called Local Call, which is a tribute to artist Joseph Beuys and was made with aged tequila, tart cherry and pineapple. It was inspired by his sculpture called 'Telephone T------R'.

 

Which is your favourite bar in Singapore?

 

I must confess I don't have the time to go to many bars. But I think Camp Bar at House on Dempsey Hill is a great place to hang out after work. I also enjoy Majestic Bar in Bukit Pasoh and Klee in Portsdown Road.

 

What is your ultimate comfort food?

 

A good pizza is hard to beat. I try not to eat it too often, but I really like Da Paolo's Pizza Rucola, which has Parma ham, parmesan and arugula.

 

What do you think of Singaporean cuisine?

 

I think Singaporean cuisine has a really good energy to it and it is definitely an upcoming food scene that deserves to be watched.

 

What is your favourite local dish?

 

Barbecued stingray, for its interesting texture and robust charcoal flavour.

 

What is your signature cocktail?

 

After almost 10 years of doing this, it would be unkind to single one out. But my favourite at the moment would be Chamomile Chroming with chamomile-charged vermouth and elderberry.

 

What is the best part about working behind a bar?

 

Seeing people enjoy my new creations. Often, when you have a fun crowd, it doesn't feel like work at all.

 

fionalow@sph.com.sg

 

WHAT WOULD YOUR LAST DRINK BE?

 

It would probably be a bottle of my favourite wine, Rockford's Basket Press Shiraz.

STI: Yellow Light shines

Feb 22, 2009

Yellow Light shines

By Tan Hsueh Yun 

 

With its cheerful, uncluttered sign and unusual name, Yellow Light Thai Food stands out on a busy stretch of Katong chock-a-block with eateries.

 

I had passed it many times but only dined there recently when a friend suggested it. Boy, I wish I'd gone earlier.

 

This friendly restaurant serves delicious Southern Thai food by way of Penang.

 

The story goes like this: In 1982, Thailand-born Madam Yoke Payong, who is now 70, started a 'restaurant' at the back of her Penang home with just one table. It was not licensed, but word of mouth about her excellent food soon drew crowds. One table became 20.

 

Since there was no signboard, her husband installed a bright yellow light on the roof that gave the eatery its name.

 

When she retired about a decade ago, her daughter Low Shih Erh took over. Her Singapore friends persuaded her to set up shop in Singapore and she did, shuttling back and forth between the two cities. She finally decided to base herself here permanently and sold off the business in Penang.

 

The energetic chef-owner, who is 35, has been cooking since she was six, trained to uphold her mother's exacting standards.

 

That would explain why many of the dishes I tasted on my visit were terrific. While the prices are not dirt cheap, the portions are pretty hearty for the price, and the freshness and quality cannot be faulted.

 

Some must-try dishes include Miang Khum (above, $8), a refreshing DIY appetiser of aromatic bits and bobs such as toasted coconut, lime, peanuts, dried shrimps, tiny shallots, sliced chilli padi and ginger drizzled with a tangy sauce and wrapped up in a betel nut leaf. The hot, sour and sweet flavours explode in the mouth, whetting your appetite for more.

 

My favourite dish that night was Khai Khem Song Kherng (below, $3 each), basically a Thai-style Scotch egg, where seasoned ground meat is wrapped around a boiled egg and deep-fried.

 

The Thai version cuts to the chase and uses just the yolk of a salted egg. Surrounding it is a mix of ground chicken and prawn and the whole thing is covered in noodle pieces before being deep-fried.

 

Each wedge is crisp, savoury, rich, and manages not to be too salty.

 

These eggs are much better than the ones you get in the Siam Paragon food hall in Bangkok. There, the eggs are covered with the same ground fish mixture used to make Thai fish cakes, and can be a tad rubbery.

 

Another must-try at Yellow Light is Poo Ja ($5 each), crab shells stuffed with crab meat, chicken, prawns, bamboo shoots and salted egg yolk. We had both the fried and steamed versions. The latter is better because the filling stays juicy and the ingredients taste so much more vivid.

 

Tom Yam Talay ($15) was full of fresh seafood, including pieces of sweet crab. It was good but lacked that sour kick I like in tom yum soup.

 

A dish of Kaeng Kheow Wan Gai or green curry chicken ($12) came with a generous serving of tender chicken but was too sweet for my taste.

 

For dessert, I cooled down with coconut ice cream made in-house ($3). It was good but not spectacular. A better dessert was Thap Thim Krawp ($4), a brightly coloured bowl of crunchy 'red rubies' and strips of ripe jackfruit in coconut milk.

 

That cheerful dessert capped off a memorable meal. I cannot wait to go back.

 

YELLOW LIGHT THAI FOOD

95 East Coast Road, tel: 6345-7324

Open: 11.30am to 2.30pm (lunch), 6 to 10pm (dinner), closed on Mondays

Food: ***

STI: Check out this Inn

Feb 22, 2009

Check out this Inn

Fish & Co's first foray into Chinese food caters to the mass market with decent, affordable fare

By Wong Ah Yoke 

 

Most would know Fish & Co for its affordable Western seafood restaurants. So it is no surprise that for the company's first foray into Chinese food, it went for the same budget-conscious formula.

 

Chaozhou Inn, which opened last October in the basement of Parkway Parade, offers a mix of Teochew and Cantonese dishes with more than 90 per cent of them priced below $20.

 

Only seafood dishes such as steamed pomfret and sambal king prawns cost $22, and the most expensive item on the menu is a braised sea cucumber with abalone sauce at $28. Servings are enough for four people.

 

And you enjoy these in a pleasant, semi-casual setting of a mix of traditional Chinese and modern designs.

 

At those prices, you do not expect gourmet food and you certainly will not get it. But the cooking is generally decent, with some dishes even enjoyable.

 

But I think what may throw first-time customers off is that, for a restaurant called Chaozhou Inn, the menu features a fair number of Cantonese dishes such as roast pork and even local creations such as sambal prawns.

 

This lack of focus could make diners lose confidence in the authenticity of the Teochew cooking and does the restaurant no favours. Moreover, not all the Cantonese dishes are good, either.

 

I ordered the braised black bean pork ribs with bittergourd ($10) during my first visit to the restaurant last month and found it bitterly disappointing. The braising time had been too short and the flavours of the sauce did not penetrate either the meat or the vegetable.

 

But to be fair, for the past 10 years I have not been happy with the versions I have tasted, even though I order it each time I see it on a menu. The last good one was in a coffee shop in Keong Saik Road, which has become the benchmark.

 

But when I returned to Chaozhou Inn last week, I discovered a good non-Teochew dish in the deep-fried garlic pork ribs ($12). The meat was juicy and the fragrance of the garlicky marinade was infused fully into it.

 

The restaurant has also created a hybrid dim sum that is very good. Called steamed glutinous rice siew mai Chaozhou style ($4.40 for four pieces), it looks like a Cantonese siew mai except that the filling is soft glutinous rice instead of minced pork.

 

As for the Teochew dishes, they are not the best I have eaten. But the braised duck with beancurd ($10) is decent enough, coming in an assortment of breast meat and drumstick.

 

And the steamed red garoupa Chaozhou style ($14) is good value for money and a refreshing departure from the usual steamed pomfret.

 

But the chef should watch the cooking time more carefully. When I first ate it last week, it was cooked just right. But when I ordered the dish again a few days later, it was overcooked.

 

Instead of rice, you can accompany these dishes with pomfret porridge, Chaozhou style ($12), a homely dish of Teochew rice and broth flavoured with dried fish and seaweed.

 

I tried the dish twice and both times, found the broth acceptable but not as sweet as the Teochew fish soups from some hawker stalls. However, I found comfort in that there was probably no added MSG in it, which would have given me a parched throat. Certainly, I did not suffer any great thirst both times.

 

For dessert, check out the fried sugar yam strips ($4.90). The pieces of yam are fried with sugar until they are cooked and the sugar forms a fragrant, crisp coat around them. They may look plain, but they taste good.

 

And they may be just the thing to get me back to the restaurant.

 

ahyoke@sph.com.sg

 

CHAOZHOU INN

80 Marine Parade Road, B1-84D, Parkway Parade, tel: 6346-6617

Open: 11am to 10pm daily

Food: ***

Service: *** 1/2

Ambience: ***

Price: Budget from $25 a person

 

MUST TRY

STEAMED GLUTINOUS RICE SIEW MAI, CHAOZHOU STYLE ($4.40)

This Cantonese and Teochew hybrid dim sum boasts a very tasty filling of soft glutinous rice.

STI: Eater's Digest

Feb 22, 2009

Eater's Digest

By Serene Luo 

 

'Tis the season for students studying overseas to return to school. Here are some easy-peasy cookbooks that could help them eat like kings while living like paupers.

 

Student Food In Colour

By Catherine Atkinson

2007/Foulsham/128 pages/Paperback/$21.31/Kinokuniya

 

This book is handy and light, and I love the layout. Recipes go on the left and full-colour pictures go on the right, so you know exactly how each dish is supposed to turn out.

 

Offering a good range of recipes, from Continental fare to Asian dishes, it is classified by its main ingredient, be it poultry, seafood or vegetables. This makes it easy for the budding cook to pick a main course.

 

Very few condiments are called for in a number of recipes. For instance, when I tried making the Thai green curry, it asked only for green curry paste on top of the main ingredients of chicken, bamboo shoots, baby corn and coconut milk. Good idea - because the fewer the ingredients, the less scary it is for an inexperienced cook.

 

Also, the fewer the condiments, the cheaper it is for a student, who would not have to spend money buying all kinds of sauces or spices he will probably use only once.

 

Another plus point: The book, published in Britain, is not shy about using short cuts such as ready-made potato waffles or fish fingers.

 

But this book's strength is not in the Asian segment. The Asian recipes are almost too simplistic in their approaches, missing essential ingredients such as shallots and garlic.

 

Make It Super Simple With G.Garvin

By Gerry Garvin

2008/Meredith Books/223 pages/

Paperback/$35.23/ Books Kinokuniya/National Library ISBN: 978-0-696-23829-1

 

One word sums up this book's food: rich.

 

From the mushroom ragout to the cheesy cauliflower soup, all I could think about when tucking in was how creamy it all was.

 

For instance, in the mushroom ragout I made, there was a half cup of butter, a cup of white wine and a quarter cup of olive oil.

 

The mixture of alcohol and butter was heady and smelled heavenly, but I could feel my arteries clogging up.

 

Television chef Gerry Garvin's recipe portions are more for families than singles, so students can share the food with their dormitory mates and split up cooking chores.

 

The chef with a cooking show in the United States divides his recipes into categories such as lunches, barbecues, salads and pastas, which is a little confusing because it does not inform immediately the main ingredients I would need.

 

However, the index at the back of the book is more helpful as it lists the recipes by its main ingredients.

 

The recipes promise to be easy and simple to follow and I found it quite true.

 

But it offers only a grand total of 10 cooking tips from Garvin - too few, I feel, for new cooks.

 

My other beef is the lack of pictures. There are only 23 or so full-colour photographs of the food. The rest are of Garvin, his children or artistic photographs of kitchen paraphernalia such as pepper grinders.

 

The pictures also do not correspond to the recipes but are clustered in two sections in the book instead.

 

Sorry, but I am a newbie cook who needs pictures to get my taste buds and imagination going.

 

Cooking - A Commonsense Guide

Editors: Jane Price, Justine Upex

2008/Bay Books/384 pages/Paperback/$9.95/Borders

 

With its column-style layout and bookish fonts, this book, from an Australian publisher, looks more like a travel guide or a teenager's non-fiction encyclopaedia. But it turns out to be a very useful guide for the first-time cook.

 

I love its identification charts for meat cuts, herbs and vegetables. Any budding cook who has ever stood clueless in front of a butcher's stall will know how useful this is.

 

There are also step-by-step instructions with pictures for chopping a chicken or deboning it, and even how to tie it with a string for roasting.

 

Recipes are classified under soup, breakfast and meat dishes, and there is a huge section for sweets or baked goods.

 

There are categories for bread and buns, cakes and biscuits, desserts, sweet treats and jams and pickles - practically more recipes than those for main courses.

 

The recipes were easy to follow. I made Thai Fish Cakes, which were rated medium in difficulty, but I found the recipe fairly straightforward. They also turned out well and looked just like the picture in the book.

 

And yes, there is one picture for each recipe.

 

I would recommend that readers watch the seasoning though, which can be inconsistent.

 

For instance, some recipes ask that you add salt to taste, while others tell you exactly how much fish sauce, salt or soya sauce the dish needs.

 

In some cases, the recipe simply says to 'season well', but does not tell you what to season with.

 

Overall, I like the spread and variety of recipes and I would refer to this book often, especially when I want to try something new but not too daunting.

 

serl@sph.com.sg

STI: Toasty comfort

Feb 22, 2009

Hunger Management

Toasty comfort

Whip up excellent claypot rice at home with some tips on how much water to use and how to control the heat

By Tan Hsueh Yun 

 

The weather is starting to heat up again and hot, humid days are coming. I can feel it in the beads of sweat on my brow.

 

But there is a little time left for lap mei fan, that Cantonese comfort dish of preserved meats and rice cooked in a claypot.

 

This is usually winter food, eaten when preserved sausages, duck and pork belly, air-dried by cold winds, are readily available.

 

Truth be told, I could eat it all year round just because it is so good.

 

Singapore makes preserved sausages and meats in factories that do not rely on cold winds for drying. Some of them are sold in supermarkets and they are all available year-round at the Victoria Street Wholesale Centre. Vendors there will open up tins of lup cheong and the other stuff if you ask.

 

But the star of the show is really the rice: plump, separate and fragrant from the oils that ooze out of the preserved meats.

 

The other important thing is that some of the rice must be crisp and crackly. This effect can only happen in a claypot. Toasty does not happen in a rice cooker unless something has gone terribly wrong.

 

The Chinese are not the only ones who like this sort of thing. The Spanish even have a name for it - soccarat, the crusty layer at the bottom of a pan of paella.

 

Until recently, I did not think the perfect claypot rice could be made at home. At least, I did not think I would be the one making it.

 

The only way, I thought, was to go to Geylang Clay Pot Rice in Lorong 33 Geylang and wait a long time for a taste - charcoal-fired, no less - of heaven.

 

And then I attended a cooking class on Chinese New Year foods by chef Yong Bing Ngen at Shermay's Cooking School in Chip Bee Gardens. The chef, who helms Majestic and Jing restaurants, taught three recipes: yusheng, the Chinese New Year stew called poon choy and claypot rice.

 

The first two were delicious but the rice was what fired my imagination. Those crackly bits were insanely good.

 

I learnt many things from chef Yong that day but the two most important ones were about water and steam.

 

Cooking rice in a rice cooker is a no-brainer. Measure it using the plastic cup that comes with the cooker, wash it and pour in water up to the appropriate levels, all helpfully marked on the side of the rice pot.

 

But how much water do you use when cooking rice in a claypot?

 

According to the chef, you simply use the same cup to measure both rice and water. So if it is three cups of rice, then it is three of water measured from the same cup.

 

The other lesson was on controlling the heat under the claypot by watching the steam coming out of it.

 

When the steam shoots up straight, the water has boiled and it is time to turn down the heat. While the rice is cooking, the steam should come up in wavy wisps occasionally.

 

As soon as I could, I tried out the recipe and invited my parents over for lunch. My mother even lent me her seasoned claypot.

 

In the kitchen, we laughed as we took turns on steam patrol, our stomachs rumbling as the rich, aromatic scent of the preserved meats filled the air.

 

I crossed my fingers after 25 minutes and lifted the lid of the claypot. So far so good.

 

While I sliced the meats, my mother tilted the pot over the flame to toast the rice.

 

Then we piled everything back in and hurried to the dining table, where the three of us wasted no time digging in.

 

Wow. Crackly rice grains. Perfectly seasoned rice. Luscious meats. Al dente kailan. We could not stop smiling. We had pulled it off.

 

Thank you, chef. Goodbye, Geylang. And, um, I am not returning that pot.

 

hsueh@sph.com.sg

 

MAKE IT YOURSELF: CLAYPOT RICE

Adapted from chef Yong Bing Ngen

INGREDIENTS:

3 preserved pork sausages

3 preserved liver sausages

1 preserved duck leg, about 120g

100g preserved pork belly

460g rice

500ml water

¼ tsp salt

250g kailan

 

SAUCE:

1 Tbs Cheong Chan Karamel Masakan (from Sheng Siong supermarkets), or thick dark soya sauce

1 Tbs oyster sauce

¼ tsp sesame oil

2 Tbs hot water

 

METHOD:

 

1. Bring a medium pot of water to boil, add the preserved sausages, duck leg and pork belly. Let the water come back to the boil, remove the sausages and meats and set them aside.

 

2. If you do not have a kitchen scale, measure three cups of rice using the plastic cup that came with your rice cooker. Rinse well under running water, drain and add to a claypot. Using the same cup, measure three cups of water and add to the claypot. Add the salt. Arrange the preserved sausages and meats over the rice in one layer.

 

3. Cover the claypot and bring the contents to the boil over high heat. When steam comes shooting straight out of the pot, turn heat down to low immediately. Leave to cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Do not lift the lid at any time. Little drifts of steam will waft out of the pot now and again.

 

4. While the rice cooks, blanch the kailan in boiling, salted water. Run under tap water and leave to drain. In a small bowl, stir together the ingredients for the sauce (below) and set aside.

 

5. After 25 minutes, lift the lid on the claypot. The rice should look fairly dry. If it does not, cook for another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the sausages and meats with a pair of tongs, set aside.

 

6. Increase heat to medium-low. Using oven mitts on the handles, tilt the pot on the stove to toast the rice. Tilt it top and bottom, left and right, holding the pot tilted for at least 1 minute on each side. Sit it back on the stove again, return heat to the lowest it can go.

 

7. Working quickly, slice the sausages on the diagonal. Slice the rind and first layer of fat off the pork belly, then slice the meat into thin strips cross-wise. Slice off large chunks of meat from the duck leg, then slice the chunks into very thin strips.

 

8. Arrange the sausages, meats and kailan on top of the rice. Serve with sauce on the side to drizzle over the rice.

 

Serves four to six.

STI: Curry with no powdery taste

Feb 22, 2009

Curry with no powdery taste

By Chris Tan 

 

Q) How can I make curry without the 'powdery' taste?

 

Theresa Foo

 

A A powdery mouthfeel in curry gravy may be due to a few things. Firstly, the curry powder may have been adulterated. I once had some that was apparently bulked out with wheat flour or bran, judging by the nasty, gritty, starchy curry it made.

 

Other adulterants reportedly found around the world include cereal starches, and, heaven forbid, sawdust. The moral of the story: Find and stick to a trusted brand or grind your own.

 

Secondly, the curry powder must be cooked in oil as a first step - known as bhuna in Hindi - to bring out and meld the flavours of its constituent spices before liquid is added.

 

If it is done properly and with appropriate quantities of the ingredient, this results in a well-integrated gravy.

 

But if there is too much liquid in the pan when the powder is added or if the unfried powder is just added straight to liquid gravy, powdery clumps and a slightly raw aftertaste are inevitable.

 

Frying curry powder, or curry-powder-marinated meat, over too high a flame can scorch the powder, creating a rough, burnt-tasting residue.

 

Dhershini Winodan, chef and owner of the Chat Masala restaurants, starts a basic curry by frying onions in a little oil until they turn pale golden, then adding some garlic and frying until that softens.

 

Then, add some chopped tomatoes, stir in the curry powder, either dry or mixed to a paste with just a little water.

 

She says: 'The tomatoes act as a 'buffer' between the hot oil and the curry powder, so the latter doesn't scorch. Fry, stirring constantly, over a low to moderate fire until the oil separates again.' Lastly, add the meat and liquid and simmer until tender.

 

In traditional bhuna technique, a relatively strong heat is used to saute the ground spices, over which water is sprinkled as needed to ward off scorching. By frying onions and tomatoes in the pan simultaneously with the curry powder, and reducing the heat, Winodan's method maintains a minimal amount of liquid so that the spices still fry - as opposed to boil - but with a much reduced risk of scorching.

 

Take note that many Asian ingredients, when pounded into curry pastes, act as natural emulsifiers and/or stabilisers to thicken and smoothen gravies, such as cashew nuts, candlenuts, poppy seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and tomato paste.

 

Dough it right

 

Q) How do I make puff pastry dough without the butter coming out of the chilled dough each time I roll it?

 

Wong Hua Ming

 

A A puff pastry is made by encasing butter in a simple flour dough, and then rolling out and folding it many times, to create multiple stacked layers of the two components.

 

When making it at home, two things are crucial: Keep the pastry cool at all times and make sure you begin with dough and butter that are of equal malleability. Too-hard butter will tear the dough, too-soft butter will melt under the pressure of rolling and leak. Dough that is too soft will over-stretch and bunch up unevenly and dough that is too stiff will not roll easily.

 

At every stage, roll with gentle but decisive strokes, lifting the pin off the pastry just as it reaches the dough's limits - if it rolls over the edge and onto the surface, you risk smearing and sealing the edges of the layers together.

 

Sprinkle over only the barest minimum of flour to prevent sticking and brush off any excess as you fold. If at any time the pastry feels too soft or you can sense the butter melting, immediately put it on a tray and chill it until it firms up.

 

Doing too many turns makes the layers of butter and dough too thin and physically fuses them together, so you get a flaky rather than puffed texture.

 

If you're using a three-fold turn, where you fold the dough into thirds each time you roll it out, then do five or at the most six turns. If you're using a four-fold turn - quadruple layers each time - then do four or five turns. Stick to the lower number of turns if you're new to the recipe and chill the dough between each turn, especially if your kitchen is warm.

STI: Chic chocs

Feb 22, 2009

Chic chocs

Japanese nama or 'raw' chocolates are getting popular here for their luscious mouthfeel and delicate texture

By Huang Lijie 

 

Japanese nama chocolates have become so sought after that more chocolate shops are pushing the sweet treat over their counters.

 

This Japanese cocoa confection was introduced here as early as 2001 by Royce', a famous Japanese confectionery which set up its first outlet in the Takashimaya basement food hall.

 

In the last few months, at least three other Japanese confectionery retailers have started muscling in on the nama chocolate market. And response has been enthusiastic.

 

Nama chocolate gets its name, which means 'fresh' or 'raw', from the fresh ingredients used to make the chocolate.

 

Its composition is similar to ganache, a Western confectionery term for the mixture of chocolate and cream, which may be used to make chocolate truffles.

 

Nama chocolates are usually sold in small rectangular slabs and dusted over with a coat of cocoa powder. It requires careful storage in refrigerated conditions to prevent the fresh cream from spoiling.

 

Fans are full of praise for its luscious mouthfeel and delicate texture as it is softer than most other types of chocolate bonbons.

 

Kobe Goncharoff, a well-known confectionery from Kobe, Japan, is one of the three new retailers to hit the scene.

 

It has been retailing in Takashimaya food hall, across from Royce's counter, since last October.

 

Mr Hiroshi Morita, 61, owner of S.K.Y21 Marketing, which imports Japanese food products and gift items here, says he decided to bring in Goncharoff's nama chocolates because he was confident that its popularity could support the entry of another competitor.

 

He acknowledges that sales were a little slow initially due to a lack of brand awareness.

 

But with more publicity of its chocolates, its stock of some 1,500 boxes were sold out over the recent Valentine's Day weekend.

 

He says new supplies are likely to come in next month.

 

Besides nama chocolates, the store also sells gaufres, or wafer-like cookies, that are a speciality of Kobe.

 

Another chocolatier selling nama chocolates here is Blue Ribbon in Kandahar Street.

 

The store, which opened last year, carries a line of haute, hand-made chocolates by a boutique chocolate store with two outlets in Tokyo.

 

Blue Ribbon owner James Wong, who is in his 60s, says he first tried the Tokyo store's nama chocolates a year ago when a Japanese friend bought them for him as a gift.

 

He says: 'The chocolate tasted very refined and I liked it so much that I thought, why don't I bring it in to Singapore?'

 

After months of negotiation with the Japanese chocolatier, he was finally allowed to import the chocolates to Singapore, but on the condition that he sells them under a different brand name.

 

He says: 'The shop in Japan was not willing to be held responsible for the product, should anything happen to it during its freight to Singapore and storage here.'

 

Blue Ribbon stocks four flavours of nama chocolates - milk, mandarin orange, champagne and cognac, with the liqueur-flavoured chocolates being more popular here.

 

Its nama chocolates are the second best-selling line of products after its range of chocolate-covered nuts. It also sells a variety of truffles enrobed in chocolate shell, in flavours such as yuzu citrus and green tea.

 

Business consultant Sunny Wee, who is in his 60s, is a fan of Blue Ribbon's nama chocolates, and prefers it to Royce's.

 

He says: 'The Blue Ribbon version tastes more refined and has a smoother texture.'

 

Nippon-Ya, a Japanese sweets store in The Central, has also been retailing a variant of nama chocolates since 2007.

 

Called Sweet Mousse Chocolate, its rectangular appearance and coat of cocoa dust is reminiscent of nama chocolates.

 

However, it is not as temperature-sensitive because it is sold off the shelf and does not require constant refrigeration.

 

Also, it contains vegetable oil, which other types of nama chocolates sold here claim to be free of, because they rely on high-quality fresh cream for a velvety texture.

 

Nippon-Ya's store manager, Ms Jane Kwok, who is in her 50s, says the Sweet Mousse Chocolate sells well and its stocks need to be replenished monthly.

 

Indeed, while the new retailers have found enthusiastic followers, they will still have to contend with Royce's growing presence.

 

According to Mr Mikami Masashi, 53, regional manager of Royce' Confect, sales of its nama chocolates have increased by more than 20 per cent year on year since it opened. It will be adding a third outlet in ION Orchard soon.

 

lijie@sph.com.sg

 

TASTE TEST: HAUTE CHOCOLATE

LifeStyle did a blind taste test of the various types of Japanese nama chocolates sold here to see how they stack up against one another. Below is our verdict.

 

ROYCE

Where: 391 Orchard Road, Takashimaya Food Hall, B2, Takashimaya Department Store and 3 Temasek Boulevard, 01-142, Suntec City Mall

Open: 10am to 9.30pm daily and 11am to 10pm daily, tel: 6737-4977 and 6738-0153

Cost: $15 (Much of its stock sold out during the Valentine's Day period and new stocks will arrive by March 4.)

Verdict: It has a smooth, velvety texture and melts in the mouth. It also has a good, well-balanced chocolate flavour with just the right cocoa intensity.

 

KOBE GONCHAROFF

Where: 391 Orchard Road, Takashimaya Food Hall, B2, Takashimaya Department Store

Open: 10am to 9.30pm daily

Cost: $15 (Out of stock at the moment, but new shipments will come in next month.)

Verdict: It is a bit sweeter than Royce's but it is also more luscious. The cream is not overwhelming and is nicely balanced with dark chocolate.

 

BLUE RIBBON

Where: 42 Kandahar Street

Open: 11am to 5.30pm, Mondays to Saturdays, noon to 3pm, Sundays, tel: 6297-7289

Cost: $32

Verdict: It has a caramel taste and a smoother texture than Goncharoff and Sweet Mousse Chocolate. It could, however, be more chocolatey.

 

SWEET MOUSSE CHOCOLATE

Where: 6 Eu Tong Street, B1-39, The Central

Open: 11am to 10pm daily, tel: 6534-9020

Cost: $12.90

Verdict: It is dry, crunchy and very sweet. The chocolate flavour is not strong either.

STI: Catch of the day

Feb 22, 2009

Catch of the day

Fish and chips are making a comeback with restaurateurs serving their own versions

By Huang Lijie 

 

Fish and chips are making a splash on menus here with restaurants that serve the deep-fried goodness using fancy types of fish and specially concocted batter.

 

The dish has long been a staple offering at English pubs and Western seafood restaurants, yet Singaporean diners never tire of it.

 

Still, to prevent the ubiquitous offering from becoming a cliche, different restaurants have taken to serving their own versions of the perennial favourite.

 

A classic rendition of the dish is to serve John dory fish encased in a beer batter crust with thick, hand-cut fries called chips and complementary condiments such as malt vinegar or tartare sauce.

 

Asian-style restaurant Grandma's, with outlets in Orchard Parade Hotel and United Square, however, uses both self-raising flour and Japanese tempura flour to achieve a lighter, crispier batter.

 

The Japanese inspiration for the batter stems from owner Mervin Goh's culinary background as the chef of the fine-dining Japanese restaurant chain Akashi, which has four outlets including one at The Paragon.

 

He also serves the dish at his Western-style casual eatery White Dog Cafe in VivoCity.

 

Mr Goh, 37, says he chose to make the dish available on the menu of Grandma's because it is a dish that appeals to both adults and children and would thus fit the family-friendly eatery.

 

Newly opened casual eatery Oriole Cafe & Bar in Somerset Road also has fish and chips on its menu.

 

The dish is a smaller serving of the popular beer-battered snapper fish version with shoe-string fries at its sister restaurant, Whitebait & Kale, in Camden Medical Centre.

 

Mr Keith Loh, 36, owner of both restaurants, says the dish was included in the Oriole menu because it has been a hit since it made its debut at Whitebait in 2003.

 

Chef-owner Damien D'Silva, 52, of the casual eatery Big D's Grill in Holland Drive, similarly uses snapper fish in his fish and chips.

 

He says: 'I prefer snapper because it is a good quality fish with firmer meat than some types of dory fish.'

 

For The Queen & Mangosteen, a gourmet British pub that opened in VivoCity last month, the dish was similarly a shoo-in on the menu, but not without a classy makeover first.

 

The gastro-pub uses fresh seabass fillets and a curry tartare sauce instead of the plain version.

 

Lending the dish its unique accent is the use of Archipelago Samui beer, which is on the tap at the pub and has a hint of sweetness with the fragrance of pandan leaves.

 

Another eatery that takes extra pains with its beer-battered fish and chips is The Pump Room, which has two outlets, in Clarke Quay and Great World City.

 

Its consultant chef, Karl Dobler, 45, says freshly brewed wheat ale or lager from its microbrewery in Clarke Quay is used to make the Pacific dory fish and chips.

 

He says: 'Fresh, yeasty beer with lots of bubbles is a good choice for the batter because it makes it crispier and have a better flavour.'

 

For the recently opened Australian seafood restaurant Double Bay in Raffles City, emphasis is placed on the freshness of the eight types of fish that diners can choose from for their fish and chips.

 

These include barramundi, sea bream, marble goby and snapper, which come from a nearby local farm and arrive at the restaurant within hours of its slaughter.

 

At Mad Jack Cafe, the chefs give special attention to the way its fish is fried.

 

Co-owner Jack Chin, 43, says the fish the restaurant uses - he would only say it is not dory - is fried individually in woks instead of a larger fryer.

 

He says: 'Frying the fish in woks means that the oil for the fish can be changed daily without wastage. This is unlike the oil in fryers used to cook the chips, which due to its sheer volume, makes it unfeasible to throw out before it has been used for two to three days.

 

'So, using a wok to fry the fish ensures that it does not taste or smell rancid from overuse of the oil.'

 

And for each version of fish and chips available here, it has its own group of fans.

 

Sales executive Amos Lim, 35, who eats fish and chips twice a month, often returns to Mad Jack Cafe for his fix because the fish is juicy and does not have an unpleasant oily taste, unlike those served at other restaurants.

 

For IT manager Tim Lavender, 52, who is a Briton, the beer-battered fish and chips at Molly Malone's Irish Pub & Brasserie in Circular Road is what seals the deal for him.

 

He says: 'The fish is cooked wonderfully with a crispy batter and its generous portion makes it a fantastic value-for-money offer.'

 

Fish and chips from the chain seafood restaurant Fish & Co., however, remains the favourite of Madam Collidear Chua, 30, a public relations manager.

 

She says: 'The batter is not too thick so you don't end up tasting more of the batter than the fish.'

 

lijie@sph.com.sg

 

Where to go

 

Restaurants churn out variations of the humble fish and chips dish to suit diners of every palate. Here is a list of eateries that offer the popular deep-fried comfort food.

 

Barossa

Where: 8 Raffles Avenue, 01-11, The Esplanade Mall, tel: 6534-5188 Open: Noon to midnight, Sundays to Thursdays, noon to 2am, Fridays and Saturdays

What: The batter is made with a mix of beer and tonic water to ensure that the Pacific dory fish stays crisp longer.

Price: $18

 

The Queen & Mangosteen

Where: 1 Harbourfront Walk, 01-106, VivoCity, tel: 6376-9380 Open: 11am to midnight, Sundays to Thursdays, 11 to 1am, Fridays and Saturdays

What: This gourmet British pub jazzes up its beer-battered fish and chips with seabass and a curry tartare sauce.

Price: $12

 

Oriole Cafe & Bar

Where: 96 Somerset Road, 01-01, Pan Pacific Serviced Suites, tel: 6238-8348

Open: 11am to 9.30pm daily

What: If everything in moderation is how you eat, opt for the fish and chips here, which is a smaller serving of the signature fish and chips at its sister restaurant Whitebait & Kale in Camden Medical Centre.

Price: $15

 

Whitebait & Kale

Where: 1 Orchard Boulevard, Camden Medical Centre, 01-01, tel: 6333-8697

Open: Noon to 2.30pm and 7 to 10pm, Mondays to Saturdays, 10am to 4pm, Sundays

What: Its beer-battered snapper fish and shoe-string fries is so popular with both grown-ups and kids that it comes in two sizes, for children and adults.

Price: $10 (kids) and $22 (adults)

 

Molly Malone's Irish Pub & Brasserie

Where: 56 Circular Road, tel: 6536-2029

Open: 11.30am to 10.30pm

What: The generous portion of its beer-battered fish and chips makes it a value-for-money deal.

Price: $17

 

Double Bay

Where: 252 North Bridge Road, 01-22A, Raffles City Shopping Centre, tel: 6334-6530

Open: 11.30 to 2am daily

What: Choose from eight different types of fish for your fish and chips, including barramundi, snapper, sea bream, salmon and marble goby.

Price: From $21.90 for barramundi to $26.90 for marble goby

 

Grandma's

Where: 1 Tanglin Road, 01-13, Orchard Parade Hotel, tel: 6732-3082, open: 11.30am to 3pm and 6 to 10.30pm daily, and 101 Thomson Road, B1-17, United Square, tel: 6356-5434,

Open: 11.30 am to 3pm and 5.30 to 10pm, weekdays, 11.30am to 10pm, weekends

What: The batter for its fish is a blend of both self-raising and Japanese tempura flour to ensure a lighter taste.

Price: $14.50

 

White Dog Cafe

Where: 1 Harbourfront Walk, 02-131, VivoCity, tel: 6376-9970 Open: 11.30am to 10.30pm daily

What: Like Grandma's, the batter for its fish is also a blend of self-raising flour and Japanese tempura flour.

Price: $14.90

 

Big D's Grill

Where: Block 46 Holland Drive, 01-359

Open: Noon to 2.30pm and 6 to 9.30pm, Fridays to Wednesdays, 6 to 9.30pm, Thursdays

What: Its beer-battered snapper fish with thick-cut chips goes best with malt vinegar or its home-made tartare sauce.

Price: $8.90

 

The Pump Room

Where: 3B River Valley Road, 01-09, Clarke Quay, The Foundry, tel: 6334-2628

Open: Noon to 3am, Sundays to Thursday, noon to 5am, Fridays and Saturdays, and 1 Kim Seng Promenade, 01-66, tel: 6887-3229 Open: 10.30 to 12.30am, weekdays, 10.30 to 2am, weekends

What: The bistro uses freshly brewed wheat ale or lager from its microbrewery for a crispier batter.

Price: $22

 

Fish & Co.

Where: 16 outlets, including 290 Orchard Road, B1-35, tel: 6733-0938

Open: 11am to 10pm daily

What: Its signature fish and chips is topped with a Mediterranean-inspired lemon butter sauce.

Price: $15.90

 

Mad Jack Cafe

Where: Four outlets, including 6 Duke's Road, tel: 6462-4300

Open: 11.30am to 11pm daily

What: The cafe fries its fish in woks and uses a fresh batch of oil every day.

Price: $8.90 for the standard offering and $14.90 for the premium option, which uses a higher quality fish