Recipe by Chef Cheng Fa Kwan, executive head chef of Paradise Teochew Restaurant
Makes 3 dumplings
INGREDIENTS
100g chicken thigh, diced
30g Chinese ham, diced
30g dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in water for 10min then diced
30g celery, diced
30g water chestnuts, peeled and diced
30g bamboo shoots*, diced
A pinch of salt
3 egg whites, beaten in separate bowls
Celery “strings” (pull out 3 fibre strands from the one celery stem)
*Available at wet markets.
DIRECTIONS
1 In a bowl, combine the chicken, ham, mushrooms, celery, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots and salt.
2 To make the crepe, pan-fry one egg white at a time into a thin skin about the size of your palm. Leave in the pan for 3min to create a flat, round crepe. Remove the crepe from heat and set aside. Repeat for the other egg whites.
3 Divide the chicken mixture into three and place one portion on the crepe. Bunch up the top to form a dumpling and use the celery stem to hold it in place by tying a knot.
4 Steam the dumplings for 10 minutes.
Coordination Amanda Jayne Lee Photography Vernon Wong Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by Mdm Wahyuningsih, owner-director of Indochili at Palette Restaurant & Bar
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
For the curry paste:
10 red onions
5 cloves garlic
40g candlenuts
2 short knobs of ginger, peeled
3 short knobs of turmeric, peeled
5 red chillies
1 tsp coriander seeds
5 tbsp cooking oil
2 turmeric leaves
6 lime leaves
5 stalks curry leaves
4 chicken legs
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 litre water
500ml fresh coconut milk
DIRECTIONS
1 Blend all the ingredients for the curry paste into a smooth mixture.
2 Heat the oil in a pot. Add the curry paste, and cook for about 10min over medium heat until fragrant.
3 Add the turmeric, lime and curry leaves, and chicken. Cook for another 5min, coating the chicken evenly with the paste.
4 Add the salt, sugar and water, and bring to the boil over high heat.
5 Reduce the heat to medium-low, and add the coconut milk. Mix well and bring to the boil. Remove from heat, and serve hot.
Coordination Cheryl Leong Photography Darren Chang Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by Mansour Benali, chef de cuisine of Shangri-la’s Rasa Sentosa Resort & Spa
Serves 12
INGREDIENTS
For the marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp harissa* or sambal belacan
2 garlic cloves
12 chicken wings
For the preserved lemon marmalade:
6 rinds of preserved lemon quarters*, thinly sliced
2 tbsp castor sugar
2 tbsp orange marmalade
100ml water
*Harissa is a Tunisian chilli paste. Both harissa and preserved lemons are available at Mustafa (Mustafa Centre, 145 Syed Alwi Road, tel: 6295-5855).
DIRECTIONS
1 Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, harissa and garlic cloves in a large bowl. Add the chicken wings and coat them evenly with the mixture. Chill overnight.
2 Grill the chicken wings, the meatier side down first, for 10min. Flip over and cook for another 5min.
3 To make the preserved lemon marmalade, place the lemon rinds, sugar, marmalade and water in a pan and bring it to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
4 Reduce to a medium-low heat and simmer for 8-10min, frequently brushing down the sides of the pan, until the mixture reduces to a jam-like consistency. Serve as a dip for the chicken wings.
Coordination Lim Tsiao Hui Photography Jasper Yu Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by Foo Nyean Lan
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1kg chicken, washed and patted dry
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
5 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 piece 5cm-long ginger, peeled and crushed
2 stalks spring onion
2.5kg coarse salt
DIRECTIONS
1 Rub the insides of the chicken with 1 tsp salt and the Chinese rice wine. Stuff the chicken with garlic, ginger and spring onions.
2 Lay the chicken on a piece of greaseproof paper. Wrap it up tightly.
3 Wrap the chicken with a second sheet of greaseproof paper.
4 In a heated wok, fry the coarse salt for 15min over medium heat. Remove half of the salt from the wok, and set aside.
5 Place the wrapped chicken on the remaining salt in the wok.
6 Return the salt to the wok to cover the chicken. Cover the wok and cook over low heat for one hour.
Coordination Lim Tsiao Hui Photography Winston Chuang Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by The Garden Slug
Makes 8 sticks
INGREDIENTS
2 large chicken breasts, deboned
For the marinade
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red chilli, chopped
4 lime leaves, shredded
1 lemongrass, finely chopped
¼ cup orange juice
½ tbsp salt
1 tbsp black pepper
¼ tbsp chilli powder
¼ onion, cut into quarters
1 red capsicum, cut into squares
1 green capsicum, cut into squares
1 yellow capsicum, cut into squares
3 tbsp olive oil
DIRECTIONS
1 Cut each chicken breast into 12 2.5cm cubes.
2 Blend all the marinade ingredients in a food processor.
3 Marinate the chicken overnight in the refrigerator.
4 Spear three cubes of chicken onto a skewer, alternating them with an onion and three capsicum pieces of different colours.
5 Heat the olive oil in a heated pan, and grill the kebabs for 2½min on each side.
Photography Winston Chuang Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by Jeremy Nguee, owner-chef of Preparazzi
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS
For the brine solution
¼ cup salt
¼ cup brown sugar
2 litres water
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium chicken (about 1.6kg)
3½ tbsp vegetable oil
2 rashers bacon, diced
1 yellow onion, finely sliced
1 sprig rosemary (or 1 tsp dried rosemary)
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
½ cup white wine
DIRECTIONS
1 Make the brine solution by dissolving the salt and brown sugar in the water. Then add the garlic.
2 Place the chicken in a container just slightly larger than it. Cover it with the brine solution and chill for at least 2 hours – but no more than 8 hours to prevent it from becoming too salty.
3 Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.
4 Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a large pot, Dutch oven or casserole dish. Brown the chicken on all sides.
5 Remove the chicken from the cocotte. Cook the bacon until the
fat is rendered but not crisp, for about 3min.
6 Add the onions and rosemary, and saute until the onions are translucent. Add ½ tbsp of oil, then add the carrots and potatoes and brown them.
7 Add the white wine to deglaze the pot; stir to loosen the brown bits at the bottom of the pot.
8 Place the chicken back into the pot on the vegetables. Cover and transfer it to the oven. Let it cook for 70min or until the juices at the thickest part of the chicken thigh run clear.
Coordination Lim Tsiao Hui Photography Morven Koh Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by Tan Meng Choo
Makes 12 chicken wings
INGREDIENTS
175g ( bottle) red fermented beancurd
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Chinese rice wine
12 chicken wings, washed and patted dry
1 bowl plain flour
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
For The Chilli Belacan
1 tbsp oil
block belacan
200g chilli padi, chopped
Juice from 4 limes
DIRECTIONS
1 Mix the fermented beancurd, sesame oil and rice wine to make the marinade for the chicken. Season the chicken wings with the marinade and set aside for at least 30min.
2 To make the chilli belacan, heat the
oil in a wok or frying pan. Fry the belacan over low heat until fragrant,
for about 20min.
3 In a blender, puree the cooked belacan, chilli padi and lime juice. Set aside.
4 Cut each chicken wing along the joint to separate the drumlet from the rest of the wing.
5 Coat the wings evenly in plain flour before deep-frying in hot oil until golden brown. Serve with the chilli belacan on the side.
Coordination Lim Tsiao Hui Photography Frenchescar Lim Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by Lim Hui Chem and Pay Ah Moy
Makes 1 Chicken
INGREDIENTS
For the chicken marinade
2 tbsp hua diao jiu
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
A pinch of pepper
1kg chicken
20g wolfberries (goji berries)
¾ cup water
1½ tsp cornflour
1 tbsp hua diao jiu
DIRECTIONS
1 Mix all the ingredients for the chicken marinade and rub it evenly over the chicken. Chill overnight.
2 Remove the chicken from the chiller an hour before cooking. Stuff the chicken cavity with
the wolfberries.
3 Preheat the oven and an oven-proof pot with a lid to 180 deg C. Remove the heated pot from the oven and place the chicken in it, breast side facing up. Pour the marinade and water over the chicken. Cover the pot and bake for 80min.
4 When the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a shallow bowl. Add the cornflour and hua diao jiu to the sauce in the pot and cook it for 3min over low heat on the hob until the mixture thickens a little.
5 Pour over the chicken and serve warm.
Coordination Lim Tsiao Hui Photography Darren Chang Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by Hellene Fok
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
2 tbsp vegetable oil
10 slices ginger
1 chicken, skin removed and cut into pieces
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
1 can abalone, thinly sliced; set aside the brine
1 can button mushrooms, halved
1 can bamboo shoots, sliced
Coriander, to garnish
DIRECTIONS
1 Heat the vegetable oil in a pot. Over medium heat, saute the ginger until fragrant.
2 Add the chicken and stir-fry until golden brown. Add the oyster sauce and dark soya sauce and stir-fry for 1min.
3 Add the abalone brine, button mushrooms and bamboo shoots. Cover and simmer for 20min over low heat. Add the abalone and mix well. Turn off the heat.
4 Add the coriander before serving.
Photography Winston Chuang Art Direction & Styling Nikki Ho
Recipe by Masnah A. Hassan, chef-owner of the Malay food stall at Media Centre’s cafeteria
Makes 10
INGREDIENTS
2 bowls rice flour
1 bowl water
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp grated garlic
2 tbsp grated onion
10 chicken drumsticks, scoured lightly
3 cups vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS
1 To make the batter, combine the rice flour, water, ginger, garlic and onions in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
2 Marinate the chicken drumsticks in the batter for 10 min.
3 Heat the oil in a wok until smoking hot. Over high heat, deep-fry the pieces of chicken until brown
and crispy.
4 Drain the chicken on a strainer before serving.
Photography Winston Chuang