The smoky smell of burning charcoal used to float from household to household and street to street. But it diminishes as gas stoves and microwaves takes over the kitchens. Today, cooking food over charcoal is rare in Singapore. Having said that, some hawkers still swear by the old school fuel. They say chicken wings are not considered barbequed if charcoals were not used; customers will stop patronising their stalls if they use gas to cook their claypot rice; and the real master only uses charcoal to cook Hokkien mee.

 

 

Do these statements have any basis? Does charcoal really add an extra oomph to food? Is charcoal-cooked food always preferred? To find that out, we conducted a blind test on three Makansutra’s eating khakis, Alice Foo, Andrew Wong and Alfred Song. Here’s the result:

Case one: Chicken Wings
 

 
A:
All three of them said the chicken wings smelled of something burnt. Song said the smell reminded him of Bak Kwa, which is cooked over charcoal at most places. Wong commented that he tasted a slight bitterness in the meat. Foo said the bones released a smoky flavour when she chewed on them. 
 
B: 
They couldn’t taste or smell anything that says charcoal. Foo commented that it tasted like something that came out of her oven.
 
Conclusion: 
Foo and Song decided very quickly that A was charcoal-grilled. Wong, however, thought it should be moister and colour of the skin should be brighter if they were right, so he placed his bet on B. In terms of taste, all three of them preferred B.
 
Verdict: 
A was charcoal-grilled, while B was electric-grilled.
 
Case two: Fried Hokkien Mee
 

 
A:  
None of them could taste any smokiness. Wong pointed out that the yellow noodle has a very strong alkali taste, and it might have overshadowed the smokiness if there was any.
 
B:
All of them agreed that it has a stronger wok-hei aroma. Wok-hei refers to the ‘chi’ of a hot wok imparted on the food. However, the wok could be heated by gas or charcoal. Wong took a chance and suggested that it was derived from wood fire. Song, however, reminded him that B has more beehon than A, and beehoon usually absorbs the wok-hei better than other noodles.
 
Conclusion: 
It was a difficult choice, but all three thought B stood a better chance to be the correct answer, even though the stronger wok-hei wasn’t a good enough indication. They also preferred B for its more intense and charred flavour.
 
Verdict: 
A was cooked over charcoal, while B was cooked over gas.

 
Case three: Claypot Rice
 

 
A:
There was no distinct aroma either. However, Foo noted that sausage and chicken were softer than those in A, usually the case for charcoal-cooked food because the flame is softer and more spread out. Andrew agrees that the meat here is moister.
 
B:
They couldn’t smell anything, and suspected that the larger amount of dark soy sauce used might have doused the charcoal aroma if there were any.
 
Conclusion: 
Foo and Wong thought A is charcoal-cooked based on their analysis of the meat. Song gave up choosing altogether. All of them liked A better because the meat was more tender and had a better balance of dark soy sauce and rice.
 
Verdict: 
A is cooked over charcoal while B is cooked over gas.
 
Roundup:
It seems that the taste test gets harder as the barrier between the flame and the food during the cooking increases. Case one was an easy guess for all our makan khakis because the chicken wings were cooked directly over charcoal fire. Similarly, the smokiness of the charcoal fire permeated through the porous claypot to the rice and meat. Wok, however, is impenetrable. But we will not go so far as to say that it is pointless to cook Hokkien mee with charcoal fire. Maybe some culinary prodigy could get around the wok and infuse the noodle with the desired smoky flavour? Besides, the softer and wider coverage of flames prevents food from burning at the bottom.
 
Mindless fans of charcoal cooking may be interested to know that the fact that your hawker is using charcoal doesn’t guarantee that your food will be better, as seen in case one and two. Too much dark sauce, too much mee or just a case of bad cooks handling your food may turn what would have been a delicacy into a disaster.
 

 
Chicken Wings from: 
Huat Huat Barbeque Chicken Wings @ NEX 
BBQ Delights @ NEX 
 
Fried Hokkien Mee from: 
Geylang Lor 29 Fried Hokkien Mee 
Hai Nan Fried Hokkien Prawn Mee 
 
Claypot Rice from: 
Golden Mile Claypot Rice 
 
NOTE: These stalls were selected on random basis and not necessarily rated by Makansutra.