Feng – An Exotic Highlight of the X’mas Table!

The majority of Eurasians in Malaysia and Singapore are descendants of early Portuguese navigators and explorers, who arrived on these shores about 500 hundred years ago. These intrepid men braved the then uncharted waters of the world in search of wealth and glory, travelling from Lisbon to Africa, and eventually to Asia. When they reached Southeast Asia, these Europeans immediately set up an outpost in Malacca, the gateway between East and West, to monopolize the highly lucrative spice trade of the region.

The Portuguese ruled Malacca under a hostile social environment: so as not to be outnumbered by the natives, and to create harmony under colonial rule, the Portuguese promoted inter-racial marriages between themselves and the local people. They even brought women from their own country known as “Orphans of the Queen”; these women came from all castes of Portuguese society, including even the nobility. However, the local spouse would have to convert to Catholicism before the marriage could take place, in line with the missionary objectives of the conquerors.

From these marriages a new ethnicity was born, known as Eurasian -- or more accurately Cristang. With their exotic blend of European and Asian parentage, the Eurasians were accorded many rights and privileges enjoyed by the governing classes, and bequeathed a rich and fascinating legacy to our modern cultural mix, most famously, in food.

Combining western cooking methods with Eastern ingredients, the Eurasians created a cuisine with a unique identity. Like their European counterparts, Eurasians usually marinated their food with lime, lemon or vinegar, and, at the same time introduced chilies, galangal, and lemon grass into their curries. The Malaccan Eurasians also came to acquire the Peranakan and Chinese fondness for sweet-and-sour dishes, and the practice of stir-frying their ingredients. The most famous Eurasian dish in this region would probably be Devil Curry.

Christmas is an important celebration for Eurasians as it is a time for sharing joy and love among one other. Preparations would start weeks ahead. Beginning with the spring-cleaning of the house, and preparation of Christmas treats and cookies, until the eve of Christmas when the family would return from church, wish each other season’s greetings and sit down to a festive supper. Celebrations continue until Boxing Day with more food being served, feng (pronounced ‘fing’) being one of the “musts” for Christmas, and also at weddings.

It was believed that feng came about from the first Portuguese sea explorations to Asia. Animals were taken onboard the ship to be killed for meat, and because of the scarcity of food, no part of the animal was to be wasted. Feng became a dish where the innards and the poor cut, especially pig’s entrails and offal, were stewed with spices and eaten over days.

Feng

Pork belly                   300 g

Pig’s tongue               1

Pig’s intestine             150 g

Pig’s ear                      2

Pig’s heart                  1

Pig’s kidneys              2

Pig’s liver                    200 g

Water                          1½ litres

Cloves                         15

Star anise                     2

Cinnamon sticks         5

Oil                               ¼ cup

Ginger                         50 g, julienned

White vinegar             5 tbsp

Salt                              3 tsp

Brown sugar               3 tbsp

Dark soy sauce           1 tbsp

Paste (blended into fine paste):

Shallots                       500 g

Garlic                           25 g

Spices (ground):

Coriander seeds          6 tbsp

Cumin                         1½ tbsp

Fennel                         1½ tbsp

Black peppercorns     1 tbsp

Cinnamon                   2 cm

Star anise                    1

Turmeric                     20 g               

Method:

1. Boil water with 8 cloves, 1 star anise, and 3 cinnamon sticks.  Cook pork belly for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Cook pig’s tongue, ear and intestine for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside. Scrape skin off the tongue and rinse thoroughly.
3. Cook kidneys and liver for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.
4. Dice all cooked meat into cubes.
5. Saute ginger with oil. Add the remaining cloves, star anise and cinnamon sticks. Lower the heat when you can smell the fragrance.
6. Add blended paste and fry for 15 minutes under low heat. When the onion starts to caramelize, add the spice mixture. Increase the heat to medium and continue to stir-fry until oil is seeping through the paste.
7. Add pork belly, intestines and white vinegar. Stir-fry on low heat for about 10 minutes.
8. Add ear, tongue and 1 cup of sieved stock; simmer for 10 minutes. Add the rest of the meat and simmer for further 10 minutes.
9. Season it with sugar, salt and dark soy sauce. Cook for another 2 minutes before turning off the heat.
10. Let the dish stand for 30 minutes or keep it overnight before serving.

Note: Coriander seeds should be dry-fried until they are fragrant before grinding to yield a strong flavor. 

The Jumping Table -- Hakka Legacies

I recently wrote a commissioned article for a leading culinary magazine in Singapore, and in the course of my research I visited the office of the Nanyang Khek Community Guild at Peck Seah Street. One thing led to another, and before I realized it, I found myself talking one afternoon to Mr. Lai Fak Nian, chef and owner of Plum Village Restaurant.

During the chat with the affable Mr. Lai, he gave me a quick lesson on the various Hakka dishes found in Singapore, and how they had evolved from their origins in China.

The Hakka were originally nomads from the northern regions of China. In historical times, they were uprooted from their homelands, and forced to move south in five major exoduses. The majority of Hakkas eventually settled in the area around Guangzhou, in Canton province. Their famous settlements, with their unique architectural style, can still be seen in Canton, Teochew, Shenzhen, and the New Territories (SAR). The Hakka lived on challenging terrain, and had to work hard to support themselves. They cooked whatever the land provided, thus developing a cuisine that was versatile and down-to-earth. Their diet consisted mainly of carbohydrates, salt and oil, to provide the necessary energy. As they also needed to travel long distances, they would prepare rice cakes or other food to sustain them for the journey. Meat was scarce during much of Hakka history, and was eaten only on festive occasions.

I found what he told me so interesting, that I asked Mr Lai to prepare a 10-course meal of some of the seldom seen or near-disappearing Hakka dishes of Singapore. Although he had less than 5 days to prepare the meal, Mr Lai and his kitchen team managed to “wow” our table again and again…

HAKKA RADISH BALLS 梅洲箩卜丸

This unique dish, a steamed mixture of shredded radish and meat, is served during festive banquets. The radish was a crop that grew abundantly in Meizhou, the main home territory of the Hakka; and this is one of the ways the Hakka would make use of this vegetable in their cuisine.

When served, it looked like plain fish balls with loose strands of radish sticking out of them. The meat was minced, pounded and mixed so that the protein became ‘QQ’, as the Taiwanese would call it, meaning the ball acquired a slight bouncy feel when bitten into. The shredded radish gave a distinct sweetness to the balls; in fact, this was one of the favourite dishes of the evening.

STEAMED EGG CUSTARD IN PIG’S INTESTINE 丰顺春灌肠

During festive celebrations, animals would be slaughtered as offerings. Their offal was not wasted, but instead prepared in various ways for human consumption. Chicken intestines were originally used for this dish, but were subsequently replaced by pig’s intestines. A whisked egg mixture is poured into the intestine, which is then steamed, cut, and blanched. In the Hakka dialect, “egg” sounds like chun; therefore this dish is also known as chun guan chang.

I was amazed to learn that the last time this dish was prepared in Singapore was more than 30 years ago! The dish looked so simple, even boring. The taste of the egg was rich but light. How I wished that duck eggs had been used instead, as it would have made the sausage more dense and robust. I would also think chicken intestine, which was less chewy, would have tasted better than the pig’s intestine; but unfortunately chicken intestine is banned in Singapore. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable dish.

MIXED PIG’S OFFAL IN WINE LEES 酒糟及第汤

As the Hakka were a nomadic people, they practiced frugality by seldom wasting any food. In this instance, wine lees is added to warm up the body during the colder season, and pig’s offal is not gone to waste but put to good use.

At first sip, the soup tasted sweet, almost dessert-like. The second spoonful seemed more palatable, as the meat stock and rice wine slowly tickled the taste bud. And before I realized it, I was reaching for the second bowl!

STUFFED MINCED PORK BEANCURD  酿豆腐

While most people are familiar with Hakka Yong Tao Fu, not many are aware that this pocket of meat actually evolved from the north of China.

The Hakka were originally inhabitants of the Yellow River region, and after their migrations they eventually settled in southern China. The northern type of siew mai was one of their early staple foods; but in the south, the Hakka used bean curd and its related by-products to replace the siew mai skin, giving rise to the version that we are familiar with today.

The stuffed tao fu was slight braised in a light broth brewed from soy bean, meat stock and dried cuttlefish. However, the mainland version would use soy bean sprout instead of the soy bean used here, as it gives to the broth a sweeter vegetable-like taste.

DEEP-FRIED STUFFED DRIED OYSTERS 酿蚝干

This dish evolved during the exodus period, and eventually became one of the classic representatives of Hakka cooking. Dried oyster, dried sole and pig’s membrane were uniquely Guangzhou delicacies, which the Hakka co-opted into their cuisine when they arrived in the south. This dish is cooked only for important occasions.

Mr Lai wrapped the dried oyster in minced pork; and instead of further enveloping it in pig’s membrane as is traditionally done, he substituted bean curd skin.  I prefer the original version, as pig’s membrane would actually moisturize the meat patty, as it was being deep-fried and turning crispy.

RICE WINE CHICKEN WITH GINGER 姜酒鸡

Yellow wine made from fermented glutinous rice is a classic ingredient of the Hakka cuisine. Here, it is used in a dish specially cooked for women in confinement, as it is believed to nourish and promote blood flow.

In the past, mothers would prepare this dish for their daughters after childbirth; hence it is also commonly known as “Mother’s Wine”.

It was a pity this dish turned out tasting quite similar to the Mixed Pig’s Offal in Wine Lees, for I thought it would be less soup-like and more like braised chicken.  

ABACUS BEADS 大埔算盘子

No Hakka meal would be complete without Abacus Beads. The Hakka would grow yam and sweet potato in the mountains, hence the bulk of their diet came from these crops. One of the methods of cooking yam would be kneading yam dough into abacus beads, which was believed to be an auspicious food, bringing prosperity for the coming year like ‘counting money with their abacus’. For our dinner, the abacus beads were fried with minced meat, mushroom and bean curd, but the Hakka living around Xiamen would cook them in soup.

Most places would use less yam in the beads to cut cost, but here I could taste the strong yam flavor, which made the dish far more robust, and returned it to its rustic, rural roots. The crust was slightly burnt, making the “wok hay” very obvious. This was one of the best versions I had ever tasted.

SALT-BAKED CHICKEN 东江盐鸡

Salt-baked chicken was another dish created during the Hakka’s ancestral exoduses. Meats were heavily preserved in salt, so that they could be eaten on the move from place to place. This is one of the dishes that evolved, where chicken is baked in salt. It is a dish normally served during the festive season to remind the Hakka of their history.

In the past, the chicken would be seasoned, wrapped in fresh lotus leaf, buried in coarse salt, and baked for an hour. These days, the lotus leaf is scarce, so it has been replaced by baking paper.

Tonight’s version was superb. The skin was slightly crispy and the chicken meat succulent, with a hint of saltiness on the tip of the tongue.

YI ZI BAN 忆子粄

The story goes that a mother greatly missed her son, who was serving Admiral Cheng Ho in one of his expeditions to Taiwan. She would prepare her son’s favourite snack during the Mid-Autumn Festival, hoping he would return to the family soon. Eventually, the son returned after being away for 30 years, and this snack became known as “Remembrance of her son”.

This dish was much anticipated. In fact, a friend of mine from Hong Kong kept asking me to look for it when I mentioned that I was researching heritage foods. The skin of the cake was filled with the taste of yam; its bite was soft as expected of tapioca flour. The minced meat stuffing was blended with Chinese celery that actually perfumed the dish.

SWEET POTATO SOUP 甜薯汤

A simple dessert made of sweet potato, water and sugar. It is the Hakka’s take on the Cantonese “sweet potato dessert”, made typically without much frills.

Plum Village Restaurant

16 Jalan Leban

Singapore 577554

Telephone: 6458 9005

Photography by: Mark Ong

A Special Dish to Honor the Winter Solstice

I was raised in a traditional Chinese family. Every festival or social occasion would be celebrated and observed with religious detail. Like all the generations of my family before me, each ritual, each incantation, each altar setting, even the specific ‘food’ or other votive offering to a particular deity, would have to be executed to the tee.

The coming Winter Solstice (冬至) -- 21 December -- was one such occasion. In the past, the Winter Solstice celebration was regarded as far more important than the Chinese Lunar New Year.

As China was largely an agrarian society in those times, the festival held great importance for another reason. The weather on the day of festival was believed to presage the weather for the coming year -- a prime concern for farmers. For instance, the saying: “冬至冷，春节暖；冬至暖，春节冷”, foretold that “if the day was cold, we would have a warm Chinese Lunar New Year, and vice versa.” The Winter Solstice festival also marked the lengthening of the daylight hours, and thus the astronomical beginning of a new year. For all these reasons, it called for a grand celebration.

In Imperial China, the emperor would lead the country in prayers for good weather and fortune. Family members would be obliged to return home for a reunion dinner, and visit the graves of their ancestors for blessings and good fortune. Food-wise, the northern Chinese would prepare meat dumplings or wonton (馄饨)as part of the celebratory menu; and for the southern Chinese, the tangyuan (汤圆).

In my family, this became another excuse for a celebratory feast. In the weeks leading up to the actual day, the word “九大簋” would often be heard on the family elders’ mouths; the last character “gui” being the ancient Chinese description of a large “food urn”, and “jiu da” meaning “nine major ingredients”. Simply put, the phrase means that everyone would have to decide what to prepare for the feast, and someone would have to be put in charge.

This year, the Winter Solstice would fall on 21 December 2012, and Old Hong Kong Legend has specially created a “九大簋” for this special occasion. In it, nine different types of ingredients such as fresh water carp balls, winter shoot, dongpo rou (东坡肉, mushroom, and abalone are placed in a large bowl and braised in abalone sauce.

There was a nice twist to the traditional tangyuan: the red bean was cooked to a paste, and acted as a bed on which to rest the tangyuan. The flavor of the red bean paste was more robust with a hint of dried tangerine peel.

Old Hong Kong Legend

#02-18 Raffles City

Singapore

Telephone: 6336 3038