Saturday, April 17, 2010
Food in Singapore 4: Hokkien Mee
This post shall be talking about Hokkien Mee. (or Fried Prawn Hokkien Mee,which ever name you prefer)The Hokkien Mee
As the name suggest, this dish is of Hokkien origins. It is a dish of fried noodles that originates from the FuJian Province in China. This dish is mainly served in Singapore and Malaysia. There are two types of Hokkien Mee:
1. Hokkien Prawn Noodles (Hokkien Hae Mee): Common in Singapore
2. Hokkien Fried Noodles (Hokkien Char Mee): Common in Malaysia
The Hokkien Fried Noodles
For this post I will be mainly talking about the Singapore variation, the Hokkien Prawn Noodles.
What makes up the Hokkien Prawn Noodles
The noodles used to cook this dish are yellow egg noodles and white rice noodles. It is stir fried with lard and together with other ingredients such as shirmps, dried prawns, sotong, and fried pork fat (however, several stalls are no longer adding the last ingredient due to health issues). It is usually served with fresh lime and sambal chilli.
Personal Opinion
I don't really have alot to say about this dish. Even though it is very common in Singapore, most of the Hokkien Mee that I have eaten don't really taste horrendous - they either taste good or they taste average. However, I feel that something important about this dish is the sauce/stock that comes with it. I find this sauce/stock very tasty and feel that it is what gives the dish it's flavour. Without this sauce/stock (in other words the noodles is too dry), I doubt the dish will taste the same.
Another thing I feel is important is the samba chilli. This is due to my personal preference to spicy food - I always request for chilli whenever I eat Hokkien Mee. Lastly, I feel that the sotong is also important - because I like sotong.
Food for thought
Compare this dish to other local delights, such as Char Kway Tiao(fried noodles with soy sauce) and Chai Tow Kway (carrot cake). Which do you prefer, and why?
Kim Yao
Credits:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Newton_HokkienMee.JPG
http://www.grampianspyreneespcp.org.au/Image/Agency%20Logos/Food%20For%20Thought%20Logo%20Reversed.jpg
http://theeatenpath.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/taste_good_malaysian_hokkien_char_mee.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8293634@N07/3488010240/
Monday, April 5, 2010
Food in Singapore 3: Hainanese Chicken Rice
The dish for this blog post will be Hainanese Chicken Rice.As Singaporeans, I'm sure that you have heard of this "National Dish". Please do not be mistaken by it's name, and think that we are eating Hainan-Chinese food. No doubt, the dish originates from China, but the Chinese population in the nanyang area (a.ka Singaporeans and Malaysians) have adapted and "modified" this dish to suit the local flavour.
This dish is oftenly used to represent Singapore at international and global events. It is also one of the few local dishes served on Singapore Airline flights.
Not only the chicken and the rice
Chicken Rice usually comes with a few side dishes such as hard boiled egg, chicken liver, firm tofu and the vegetable kailan. Usually, you will have to buy the side dishes yourself for extra money. There are also dips such as chilli sauce, pounded ginger and soy sauce to enhance the taste of the dish.
The chicken used in this case, can be roasted chicken or a steamed chicken know as "white cut chicken".
When you order Chicken Rice, you will usually get a bowl of soup. Oftenly this soup was made with herbs so it has a herbal smell or taste to it.
Personal Opinion
Chicken Rice is no doubt a national dish of Singapore. But this also means that there are ALOT of stalls in Singapore that are selling chicken rice. In my opinion, there are two really important factors in determining whether a plate of Chicken Rice is nice.
1. The Rice
The rice is really important. A plate of bad tasting rice can ruin the taste of the entire Chicken Rice dish. Some rice are hard and difficult to swallow The customer will then dislike this particular stall, even if their chicken is very nice.
2. The Chicken
Chicken, being the main component of the dish, is no doubt a very important factor to take note of. The Chicken should be tender, fresh and hopefully boneless so that the consumer will think that the dish taste nice
This two factors are definitely more important then minor things like the taste of the soup and the side dishes. But of course, good soup and side dishes are bonus to the overall taste of the dish.
And do not forget the usual reasons to why a dish taste nice - the aroma of the dish, does the dish look appealing at first sight, etc.
Good Chicken Rice stalls in Singapore hard to find. Hunt around in your neighbourhood and look for you "perfect" Chicken Rice!
(Alternatively you can try going to Boon Tong Kee or Loy Kee Chicken Rice. Both are famous for selling chicken rice in Singapore. But of course if you are going to have you meal there be prepare to foot a slightly larger bill)
Food For Thought
1. What do you think is the most important thing when you are eating Chicken Rice i.e. Which food aspect matters the most, is it the chicken, or the rice, or the soup, etc.
2. Do you prefer roasted chicken meat or steamed chicken meat (the "white cut chicken")
Kim Yao
Credits:
http://newasiancuisine.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/hainanese_chicken_rice.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/BeiQieJi-WhiteCutChicken.jpg
http://www.grampianspyreneespcp.org.au/Image/Agency%20Logos/Food%20For%20Thought%20Logo%20Reversed.jpg