Humble ingredients taking root among upscale restaurants in Singapore

CNA Lifestyle

Humble ingredients taking root among upscale restaurants in Singapore

Ingredients like kangkong, garoupa, dried scallops and petai – more commonly associated with Southeast Asian abode kitchens – are now par for form at European-style restaurants.

fifteen Jul 2022 02:58PM (Updated: 03 Jul 2022 01:33AM)

SINGAPORE: Sourcing unique ingredients from all corners of the globe has long been a manner for chefs to entice diners to their restaurants. Prawns from Mozambique, cheese from a modest farm in Switzerland, and beef from cows that get regular beer massages in Japan take all been brought to the table in the proper name of giving customers something exceptional to eat and talk almost.

Today, that round-the-world trip seems to accept come total circle as more than and more chefs in Singapore turn to the apprehensive wet marketplace to find fresh and affordable produce.

Ingredients similar kangkong (water spinach), garoupa, stale scallops and petai (biting bean) – more unremarkably associated with Southeast Asian home kitchens – are now par for course at European-style restaurants such as the recently opened Nouri, pop-up restaurant Bistro November, and the newly minted one-Michelin-star Whitegrass.

KEEPING Nutrient AFFORDABLE

For Jeremy Gillon, executive chef of modern French bistro Audace, shopping for ingredients at Tekka Market place serves every bit a way to practice his restaurant's edict of offer taste experiences that push boundaries.

"Going to the market and picking out ingredients, some of which I take never seen or worked with before, is interesting for me as a chef and surprising for local diners familiar with the produce," said Gillon.

Jeremy Gillon, executive chef of Audace, shops for ingredients at Tekka Market. (Photo: Audance)

"Plus, people don't want to pay so much for food these days, so we need to propose adept and more affordable food (and this is one way to do so)."

In the near two months since Audace opened at Wanderlust Hotel, Gillon has served dishes similar sauteed kangkong with wasabi-flavoured mashed spinach and sous vide chicken breast, likewise as torched Malaysia white tuna marinated in French herbs, oil and vinegar.

GETTING TO KNOW THE Culture

Similarly, chef John-Paul Fiechtner of Bistro Nov bakes pomfret – a fish Singaporeans typically serve steamed or fried – and tops it with capers and the pinkish pulp of finger limes. He has also cured garoupa into a ceviche, a cooking method that will surely surprise locals.

Ane of Bistro November's signature dish is the baked pomfret. (Photograph: Bistro November)

"Coming from Australia," he said, "I didn't want to be that guy who cooks only imported food from Australia and Europe. I'm always conscious of where things come up from and what information technology takes to get nutrient on the plate. So (shopping for produce at the moisture market place) is a natural progression.

"When I landed in Singapore, I didn't know a single person, so it was easier to get to the wet market place than detect suppliers. The moisture market is also a good introduction to what Singaporeans are eating and cooking, and a quick way to understand the local culture."

CONNECTING THROUGH INGREDIENTS

For chefs who have lived and worked in Singapore for an extended time - like Ivan Brehm - shopping at the wet marketplace helps to connect his food to Singaporeans in the most familiar way. "For me, being a good melt ways translating ideas to a language that people can empathise," he said.

Chef Ivan Brehm has lived and worked in Singapore a while and shopping at the wet market helps connect his food to Singaporeans. (Photo: Robin Thang)

At his recently opened fine dining institution Nouri, Brehm serves what he calls "crossroads cuisine", a term that encapsulates the meeting of techniques, tastes and season impressions from cultures he and his team accept been exposed to.

This might take the form of acaraje (a white pinto bean fritter rooted in African traditions) served with a turmeric and coconut sauce with all the deep redolence of a Thai yellow back-scratch, and garnished with ikan bilis (dried anchovies) and okra (ladies' fingers) caviar.

Though the dish is an amalgamation of then many different cultural inspirations, it is equally familiar as eating Indian vadai in an umami-laden curry sauce.

WHAT PRICE, FAMILIARITY?

Just how exercise Singaporeans feel about paying a premium for eating ingredients from their local moisture market? Avid restaurant-goer Jasmin Chen, who eats at fine dining restaurants regularly, said she is happy to pay the price as long equally the food delights and surprises.

The Black Pepper Fish from Nouri uses locally farmed grouper, black pepper and vanilla sauce and charred pickled carrot. (Photograph: Robin Thang)

"The nutrient shouldn't be presented in a way that makes me think my mother or someone in my family unit could do it amend," she explained. "It should be artistic and brand me think about how ingredients nosotros are so used to seeing at domicile tin be cooked in an entirely different and unexpected ways. Of course, the dish should besides be delicious."

Brehm admitted that when he offset started serving what is widely deemed as apprehensive local ingredients, he was nervous about how Singaporeans would answer.

"Once they encounter how much work goes into the food and that we've given them something they've never had before, they are unremarkably happy with it.

One of Audace signature dishes – Pork Beetroots. (Photograph: Audace)

"As foreign chefs, we don't have the luggage of growing upwardly with these ingredients … that allows us to run into them differently," he connected.

"But as a chef, you lot take to be pretty smart about what yous're going to practise with them. First, you lot have to be humble and learn about the produce. I remember there'south an element of exploring the moisture market that makes usa better cooks. A lot of my ideas came by passing stuff I'd never seen before. When I first picked up a petai foliage, I thought: 'That stinks!' But I've since learned how to use it and bring out the all-time of it in the food I cook."

Humble ingredients taking root among upscale restaurants in Singapore

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