April 23, 2018 In All recipes, Condiments, Noodle/Pasta/Rice, Poultry, Seafood

Singapore hawker marathon: Coconut rice part two, lemongrass fried chicken and fragrant salmon cake

[ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] THE CRUST IS THE HERBS, THE HERBS ARE THE CRUST, ONE AND INSEPARABLE, CRUNCHING TOWARDS A COMMON, GLORIOUS PURPOSE WHAT:  The overkill toppings for my nasi lemak, none other than the jacked up lemongrass fried chickens, and a salmon shrimp mousse fused with herb pastes and grilled inside aromatic leaves. WHY:  Nasi lemak wants toppings. HOW:  I was once floored by a fried chicken I came across in Kuala Lumpur during the Ramadan, and it took me several years and at least six attempts to get it as close to what I remembered as possible.  Instead of heavy flour-based breadings, these chickens are suited in a delicate, crispy, nest-like formation of blazing lemongrass, ginger and spices.  The crust is the herbs, and the herbs are the crust, one and inseparable, crunching towards a common, glorious purpose.  And that is to be the best damn fried chicken you'll ever taste.  A few of my past mistakes that you should take note from, is that the chicken needs to be marinated inside the herb-puree for at least six hours in order to reach its true calling.  Then instead of a breading, a minimal amount of potato starch or cornstarch is added at the end

1
April 23, 2018 In All recipes, Condiments, Noodle/Pasta/Rice, Poultry, Seafood

Singapore hawker marathon: Coconut rice part one, tomato chili sambal and lemongrass ricotta

[ezcol_1fifth]  [/ezcol_1fifth] [ezcol_3fifth] An incredibly fragrant coconut rice cooked in pandan extraction, a tomato-based chili sambal boosted with Italian anchovies, and a lemongrass-infused coconut milk ricotta crumbled with thinly sliced shallots and bird's eye chili marinated in fish sauce WHAT:  Nasi Lemak, Malay's signature fragrant coconut rice cooked in coconut milk and served with a spicy and sweet chili sambal. WHY:  You haven't really had rice until you've tasted nasi lemak.  And if you have tasted nasi lemak and consider this statement grossly exaggerated - as I once was - then it's highly probable that it's because you haven't had this nasi lemak.  Best yet, most components can be made days ahead of time. HOW:  Let's face it.  There are a lot of underwhelming nasi lemak out there.  And I say this with the full acknowledgement that it's an explicitly personal opinion resulting from my deeply rooted disagreement with more than one of its traditional, possibly beloved, practices.  The coconut rice, without any dispute, is the heroine of the entire dish.  We should all agree that if this part isn't done right, then none of the others shall matter.  But in my three to four encounters of nasi lemak in Malaysia and Singapore, more often than

0
×