Kicking off a series of home-style cooking on Southeast Asian street foods this week, no other place in the world in my mind comes roaring to the forefront than the King of all street eats- slick, ultramodern and multicultural Singapore. Of all Singapore's advances and achievements, the infamous, now modern hawker bazaars contributes to possibly the best eating experience in Asia. And with that, it is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to my friend and Jamie Oliver Food Revolution Ambassador in Singapore, Way Ling Wiesser to share with us the ins of the hawker centres and her gorgeous recipe for a hawker-favourite Hainanese Chicken Rice. Hands-down, one of my all time family's most enjoyed meals!
Way Ling is British born, Asian-wise and food obsessed. In her own rather eloquent words, “I love to get down and dirty in the kitchen." As a busy wife and mother to two children, she places a lot of emphasis on eating as well as they can. Fresh, unprocessed and homemade food is where she's at. (She veers away from the word healthy as she likes her fair share of oil and salt in the kitchen). Asides from the health aspect, she says homemade food just tastes better – FACT, and is passionate believer that we are what we eat. She believes that cooking should be fun and relaxing and that food should be shared and enjoyed together. Her family's best times are around the table with family and friends enjoying great food (and wine). Her role as a food ambassador is to keep cooking skills alive and to encourage friends and family to eat together. This is important on so many levels – social, cultural, educational, and health. Not to forget – it’s great fun and tasty too!!! Now here's Way...
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| Way Ling Wiesser, Singapore |
Steeped in history, recipes passed down through generations and enjoyed by the masses – street food is the food of Gods.
In Singapore, the local street food is
enjoyed at hawker centres – organized eating establishments with communal
dining areas – most often found around housing estates and near commercial
centres. Locals flock to the stalls,
day and night, to snack and dine on the
fast and cheap offerings.
One of the most popular and indeed, iconic
dishes eaten in Singapore is the ubiquitous chicken rice. Chicken rice, also known as Hainanese
chicken rice, originated from the Hainan province in China, brought over by the
early immigrants to Singapore and is now widely recognized as a Singapore
national dish- succulent poached chicken, served on a bed of
chicken-flavoured rice with sides of clear chicken soup and local green vegetables. The accompanying dipping
sauces of ginger and chili and soy elevate the dish to a whole ‘nother level of
full flavour yumminess. Here’s the step-by-steps to making it at home…
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| A wet market in Singapore for ginger, shallots and onions. Just beautiful! |
Way Ling Wiesser's Hainanese Chicken Rice
Makes 4-6 servings
Note: Allow about 2-3 hours before you plan to
serve.
Chicken
1 whole chicken (about 3 lbs) (Way Ling uses hormone-free chicken)
1 large knob of ginger (about 2 inches)
1 large bunch green onions
Salt
Rice
2 cups jasmine rice (Way Ling uses organic rice)
Chicken skin and fat (removed from the
chicken)
Chicken stock/soup (from cooking the
chicken)
1 large knob ginger (about 2 inches) – cut
into chunks and smashed
3-4 cloves garlic – smashed
Fresh
Asian Vegetables
Choy sum or Kai Lan or other Chinese greens available
Sauces
Light soy
Dark soy
Sesame oil
Chilli sauce – Sriracha or other, as per
personal preference
Birds eye chillis (optional)
Ginger and Green Onion Sauce
Ginger - 1 knob ginger (about 1.5 inch)
Green Onions – 1 bunch green onions
Salt – about ¼ - ½ teaspoon
Oil – about 1.5 tablespoon
Remove the skin and fat from the chicken
and set aside. Do not discard as you’ll
need these for later to flavour the rice.
Peel the ginger, cut into about 4 chunks and smash with the edge of the knife
to release maximum juice and flavour. Wash the green onions and tie in a knot.
To prepare the chicken, rub salt into the cavity of the chicken and
stuff with the ginger and the onions.
Place into a pot and fill with just enough cold water to cover the chicken. NOTE: For maximum flavour, do not put too much water as this will serve
as the soup to serve alongside the chicken rice dish. Bring the chicken to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and cook for about 10 minutes (slightly
covered with a lid) and further reduce heat to low to cook a further 30 minutes. Close the lid and turn off the heat. The chicken will continue to cook in the
retained heat. Leave chicken pot for 1.5- 2 hours.
Remove chicken about 20 minutes before
serving and set on chopping board ready for slicing/chopping. In Asia, chicken tends to be chopped up
into chunks with a large cleaver, presenting the chicken on the bone. I prefer to serve mine Western style and
sliced into chunks but off the bone. Taste the soup and add more salt if
necessary. TIP: A little ground white pepper and finely chopped green onions are a nice way to further flavour and garnish this soup.
For the rice, wash/rinse the rice twice and drain to dry. Heat some oil in a wok and gently fry the
chicken fat and skin for one to two minutes.
Add the ginger and smashed garlic. Add the rice to the wok and gently fry for
a few minutes. Add 2-¼ cups of hot
chicken soup to the rice mixture, boil and then carefully pour the whole contents of the
wok into a rice cooker and set to cook. At this point, pandan leaves can be added for a little extra
flavour (optional). Remove chicken skin.
Cook's NOTE: If no rice cooker is available, turn down
the heat to lowest setting and firmly close with the wok lid. The rice will take about 20 minutes to
cook. Once it is fully cooked, turn off
the heat, remove chicken skin, fluff up the rice and keep the lid firmly closed until ready to
serve.
Sauces
Mix up a variety of dipping sauces in bowls. Set out extra small bowls for everyone to spoon some into their individual bowls. Mix up 2 Tbsp. light soy, a drizzle of dark
soy and a ½ tsp. sesame oil in one. Offer chilli sauce at the table. Sriracha is a good option, but I
prefer to chop up some birds eye chili (seeds removed) and add to my soy sauce
mixture.
Finely mince the ginger and the green onions, and place in a
bowl. Sprinkle salt on top (go easy on this
amount as you can always add more later). Heat oil until smoking and pour on top of
the mixture and mix well. TIP: The oil must be very hot as it needs to
“cook” the ginger and onions.
Green Vegetables Side
Wash and drain the greens. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil, then add a splash of oil and lower
the veg into the water. It should take about 30 seconds to one
minute to cook. Remove,
drain and dress the vegetable with a drizzle of oyster sauce.
Plating
Up
Susan says, "You have inspired me to must make it over the week. My kids will be all over it!"
Foods at the hawker centres are prepared behind lit glass for sanitation and hygiene and did not make for good photo taking of vendors in action (glares) upon my request, so Way Ling took some photos of Chinese deli meats she picked up there for dinner instead. YUM!
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| Succulent char siu BBQ pork. |
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| Spare ribs and roasted duck on rice. |
Char siu served with stir-fried brussel sprouts and steamed rice makes a hearty dinner for the family!
Come and have your taste buds tickled by Way Ling's foodie offerings on Facebook Singapore Food Revolution. It’s all simple, home cooked food with not a sous-vide in sight.
Here is a five minute clip of Way Ling speaking about her ambassador role in Singapore and the challenges she faces in her country. She inspires me in so many ways with what she's doing at home and in her community with keeping with our universal Food Revolution message to Stand Up for Real Food alive. Woo Hoo Way- keep up with all the great you're doing!
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| To watch 5-min. video, click: Way Ling Waisser talks about Food Revolution Singapore |
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