Chef Laura's Makan Sutra

makan /mah-kahn, ˈmɑkɑn/ n. & v. [Mal. makan food, a meal; eat, consume] A n. Food, a meal. B v. Eat, have a meal.

su·tra \ˈsü-trə\ n. a precept summarizing Vedic teaching; also : a collection of these precepts

They say the best thing about Singapore is the food, and I agree.

The cuisine is so unique and the flavors are a reflection of the cultural melting pot this is Singaporean society. Because of that, it's difficult to replicate outside the region - here in the Bay Area, there are probably more Singaporean restaurants per sq ft than any other place outside of Singapore. However, none of them have effectively been able to transpose the same kind of authenticity to the food (yes, I can't even do it myself, even though I do a pretty good job).


Barbequed Pork Jerky, another thing you can't find here in the Bay area

So, because of the lack of availability of authentic Singaporean cuisine around, the cravings for the food set in, and when I do get a chance to visit Singapore, it's really a chance for me to play food catch up. There are so many things on the menu that it's difficult for me to satisfy every single desire, so I tend to just sample what I can. Plus, if you're familiar with the cuisine, you'll know that it's heavy on the carbs and saturated fat, and so, less is definitely more for the waistline!

On this recent trip, I was caught up with a bunch of other stuff, and although I barely had enough time for a meal a day, I did get some local favorites in:

First up, home made Mee Siam and Pohpiah at a Hari Raya Puasa party. Mee siam is made by stir frying rice vermicelli in a prawn and chili paste, and then served with a spicy and sour clear broth, and the recipe is almost a family secret. Pohpiah on the other hand is almost the chinese version of sushi, or vietnamese fresh spring rolls, except that the filling is mostly braised turnip with a variety of condiments ranging from boiled shrimp to bean sprouts and several other interesting sauces that I don't care to mention!


Plate of Mee Siam


Mee Siam Sauce


Mee Siam Condiments


Rolling the pohpiah


Pohpiah condiments

The Social Networking Forum Asia was held at the Hyatt Hotel, which has a pretty good restaurant on the ground floor. The Straits Kitchen serves up local favorites at exorbitant prices. I ordered Hokkien Mee, which is a favorite of mine, made by Wok Frying egg & rice noodles in a rich shrimp and pork stock, and a Teh Tarik, the local style tea, with condensed milk and "pulled" or drawn in the air to create froth. What normally would have cost me $5, came up to $30 - you pay that much extra to sit in air conditioning and use your laptop while having lunch :)


Hokkien Mee & Teh Tarik, with quite awesome chili sauce considering

I had the chance to go for supper twice - (which is almost considered a national sport), where we had Prata, (a local version of the croissant, except it's made with ghee, served with curry, and eaten mostly when drunk at 3am), and Hainanese Chicken Rice (do check out my post here), which is really one of the most quintessential dishes of Singaporean Cuisine.


Chicken served at room temperature, and with the bone still bloody - so it never dries out!


Sambal Kangkong - a local spinach stir fried with chili, and the clear chicken broth


Chicken Insides (Gizzard & Liver, a popular side dish, but apparently I'm the only one that eats it), and yellow chicken rice, a sign that it was cooked the authentic way - with chicken fat!

Sorry folks - due to being only half conscious on Friday night I forgot to take pictures of the Prata, but please google search it!

Ironic how I started and ended my culinary journey at Singapore's Changi Airport as well - the first lunch I had was at the Crystal Jade La Mien Xiao Long Bao restaurant at Terminal 3, where we had "Shanghainese" noodles, dumplings and other delicacies like stewed pork and drunken chicken. To send me off, we ate at the Soup Restaurant at Terminal 2 - it's local franchise that's extremely reliable, affordable, and always surprisingly consistent!


Dan Dan Noodles ( Peanut Sauce), Drunked Chicken & Pork Dumplings at Crystal Jade


Stewed Pork, Hand Pulled Noodles with Wontons


The famous Samsui Chicken at Soup Restaurant


L - R: Steamed minced pork with salted egg, Stir fried fish ($1 Special), and Stir fried sweet potato leaves

Amongst other things at the award winning Changi Airport, there is a Killiney Kopitiam (Cafe), one of the oldest and most legendary breakfast spots, that have like many other eateries, now branched out into franchising. We spent our last moments together around one last cup of Kopi (coffee or tea "Teh" with condensed milk), and munching on Kaya toast, an egg custard sandwich that I grew up around. It was a fitting end to the time I spent with family, but sweet enough to linger till I see them again.

Attempts to be a Rising TV Star

I hardly ever get a chance to cook Singaporean food because it's so damned tedious, and I have this urge to always make stuff from scratch. But, but, there are always exceptions to the rule. For instance, last Saturday, when I was given the chance to be on a Singaporean TV show (just after my birthday as well, so it could have been considered somewhat of a birthday present). The show was about Overseas Singaporean community getting their fix of Hawker Food, so it was inevitable that I had to make Singaporean Food.


The whole spread, mine is in the middle

The easiest thing I could think of is the quintessential Chicken Rice, which I knew would not take too much prep work, (as opposed to something like Hokkien Mee, which would render my house smelling like prawns for ever, and everyone knows I don't eat shrimp) and a Nonya Dessert that's somewhat a specialty and quite unique (you never see it in restaurants).

I hadn't done these two recipes in maybe about 3 years, so I was a bit nervous about the outcome, but really, I'm not sure why I worry so much. It was quite awesome, and many people asked for the recipes, so I'm posting it here. To save time and energy, I dumb everything down, but really, when chicken rice is so far away, you can't tell the difference. The "secret ingredient" is of course the rendered chicken fat - come on, it's only 2 tablespoons! But if you're squeamish about it, go ahead and use sesame oil instead.


Rendering Chicken Fat

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Serves 6

Chicken:
1 ea Chicken
1 oz Ginger
5 clove Garlic
2 bunches Green Onion
2 strips Pandan/Screwpine Leaves


Rice:
2 cups Thai Long Grain Rice
2 Tbs Rendered Chicken Fat
2 oz Shallot
2 oz Ginger
2 oz Garlic
2 bunches Green Onion
1 Tbs Salt
3 strips Pandan/Screwpine Leaves, Tied into a knot
2 cups Chicken Broth (from cooking the chicken)


1. Stuff the Chicken with the the rest of the ingredients
2. Bring a large pot of water (large enough to fit the chicken) to a boil
3. Put the chicken into the pot, breast side up and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until juices run clear at thighs when pierced
4. Remove the chicken from the pot, and leave to cool. If you're feeling adventurous, dunk the chicken in ice water to stop the cooking for the very authentic lukewarm feeling
5. Reserve the cooking liquid, and reduce to 2 cups for the rice
6. For the rice, process the shallot, ginger, garlic, green onion and salt to make a chicken rice paste - you can do this days ahead and store.
7. Heat the fat in a wok until smoking hot, the add the paste and stir fry until it's fragrant, but not browned
8. Add the rice to the wok and cook until the rice starts to turn opaque
9. Transfer the rice into another pot and add the chicken broth and Pandan Leaf Knot
10. Cover pot and as soon as liquid comes to a boil, turn down to a very gentle simmer for around 15 minutes
11. Fluff the rice, carve the chicken, and serve with the chili sauce (recipe below)


Chicken Rice Chili


4 oz Red Jalapenos or Fresh red chilis
1 oz Shallot
5 cloves Garlic
1 ea Lime Juice
1 cup Chicken Broth

Salt to Taste

1. Process the first 3 ingredients together
2. Add the liquids and simmer on the stove about 15 minutes
3. Season to taste