I had a blast presenting the Makansutra culinary masterclasses conducted by some of the exponents of our Chinese dialect food at this year’s Singapore Food Festival. Eating the signature dishes at their respective restaurants is one thing, but having the opportunity to regale the little details of execution and technique in making it, is truly an eye opener, even for me. Seven of the most iconic and traditional dialect food masters have agreed to come on board to share their secrets with the food loving public in this year’s festival. They have banded together to offer 10 Makansutra Culinary Masterclasses over this whole week.

The artfully constructed and fried Ming Zhu Chuen (ming zhu rolls) by Mr Liew Choy of Keng Eng Kee Restaurant

“What’s da big”, you say. But when chefs like Mr Liew Choy of Keng Eng Kee showed, in his hands-on class last Sunday at the professional set up at the Singapore Culinary Institute, how his all time top signature Ming Zhu Chuen parcels were made, it reflected one thing, his confidence. He was not afraid to show you the secrets behind this money spinning starter snack , which is literally found on every table at every evening at their restaurant. I have a lot of respect for chefs with this attitude. They share their skills in a multi sensory manner which dispels from the old notion that Chinese chefs never reveal all to their disciples as they rather hold that 20% of skills to save their dignity and reputation. Chef Liew took a taupok (dried sponge tofu), stuffed it with shrimps, ham, salted egg yolk, mushrooms and chopped greens and then wrapped it in bean skin before steaming it. Then he battered in with an egg and cornstarch mixture and deep fried it till it came puffy and crispy. He glossed over, in slow motion and step by step, how the tofu parcels was to be firmly wrapped and stuffed, and even supervised the fire strength when frying, with the participants. It was heaven when they dipped the Ming Zhu Cheun in mayonnaise. And before long, he was going on about how the minced old ginger, infused with wine and sesame oil, had to be gingerly balanced for flavours and not let the seasoning overwhelm the distinct spicy minced root. He was showing just how a traditional Cantonese minced ginger chicken , much like a Samsui Chicken, is made. “Be careful not to oversteam the chicken as it’ll come out dry and won’t sit well with the minced ginger topping.”, was Mr Liew’s reminder to the participants.

An old Cantonese icon revisited by Mr Liew Choy of Keng Eng Kee Restaurant…the minced ginger steamed chicken

I was taken aback by the charming and warm sighs from the participants at Four Heavenly Kings Masterclass when I deconstructed the story behind how the iconic local Cantonese Yam Pot Ring was created by one of them. When Mr Hooi Kok Wai was once a hot chef dating a hot babe way back in the 60’s, it came at time when she said “lets meet my folks”. Mr Chef Hooi declared that it should be done over a complete feast that showed off his culinary prowess. As it turned out, her “folks” were actually guardians who are nuns from a local temple that had raised this fine orphan. He had only a couple of days to turn this around and decided to create a unique vegetarian dish. He mashed steamed yam, moulded in into a ring, battered and fried it up, then topped it with julienned greens, carrots, red and green peppers. It was a hit and they later married, consummated their joy with a baby named Chris Hooi (who now runs their Dragon Phoenix Restaurant at Clarke Quay) and the rest, is history, or rather Singapore’s culinary heritage. The Yam Pot Ring was born out of a love story in Singapore. Sigh…

Ah Heng of Tian Jin Hai demonstrates how more flavours can be infused into the simple Teochew stir fried fish maw with prawns

Then there was Ah Heng, boss of Tian Jin Hai Seafood Restaurant, who demonstrated the finer art behind comfort Teochew dishes like fried Chai Po (preserved radish) Kway Teow and how flavourful the stir fried fish maw and prawns can be, “you have to boil the fish maw gently in stock first.”, was one tip he offered. I was enlightened by how Mr Li Jin Kun of Xing Hua Hometown Cuisine Restaurant, created the all important stock behind his Heng Hwa lor mee noodle dish. The amount of vongole they used set theirs apart from their lesser peers.

If you want to see and learn how Mr Lai Fak Nian of Plum Village Restaurant creates his classic red wine prawns and how exactly do these Hakka folks make their famous yong tau fu, or even see how vanishing dishes like Lo Kai Yik are made or are curios about cereal prawns or coffee prime ribs , do visit www.singaporefoodfesival.com.sg to join the relevant classes this week.