FEATURE

tasting Key Eat for the:

Crunch

Complex flavour

Juice

Spiciness

Fragrance

Must, must, The Appetite team conducts a taste test must be eaten hot!!! on one of mankind’s favourite . It’s a difficult job, but someone’s got to do it.

Have you met anyone who’s immune to the simple, glorious charm of ? We haven’t. The appeal is so universal that there’s hardly a single culture in the world that lacks its own version. Cheap ingredients, a straightforward method, and a whole spectrum of flavoured possibilities make fried chook one of the most beloved and versatile dishes around. have their wings sweet PERFECT!!! and spicy and impossibly crunchy. The Japanese prefer boneless pieces, dipped in -based dips. Huge crusty pieces dominate the tables of America’s South, while the Taiwanese nibble on ridiculously large slices on the streets. In the spirit of cultural exchange and scholarly evaluation, we ignored doctorly advice and plunged into the hallowed Yangnyeom grease-lined universe of fried fowl. We considered the finer nuances of , typically double-fried for a crackly, skin crunch, meat flavour, aroma and ancillary elements; we assessed brittle crust and dipped in a potent house-made glaze. the relative strengths and weaknesses of popular varieties; and we bestowed each contestant its very own award – everybody’s a winner, after all. It’s the last month before those dreaded New Year resolutions [ Tasting Notes] [ Have with] come into play (for a couple of weeks, at least). Go on, give in to the Skin: Deafeningly crackly. The skin and Beer, soju, and cubed pickled radishes thin coat of is minimally seasoned; (these cut the grease perfectly). ters beckoning wingtips of man’s best fowl friend. Tas flavour is concentrated in the seasoning, Samantha Lee, Tan, usually a garlicky soy or fiery chili glaze. [ Find at] Christopher TEXT By Samantha Lee (Recipes are house secrets and Woori Nara, #01-02, 19 Lorong Kilat. avid Yip D Photography by Kiyoshi Yoshizawa, Jambu Studio guarded jealously.) Tel: 6464 9282 | Kko Kko Nara, 57 Tras ILLUSTRATION by PRISCILLA WONG Meat: Moist and soft when well- Street. Tel: 6224 8186 cooked, a divine contrast to the brittle skin. [ Fun facts] Experts say: “Must, must, must be The crispiness comes from a typically eaten hot.” Asian double- technique, which Award: Most fun to eat with friends renders from under the skin.

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ADD A LITTLE ! calamansi Har cheong kai lime juice This pungent golden-red variety, marinated in heady har Uniquely Singaporean cheong (Chinese fermented shrimp ), is a local zi char staple. fried chicken Distinctly local, unique, and long-lived homegrown brand. Local contender to KFC. [ Tasting notes] [ Have with] Skin: Either thin with no coating, or A small dash of calamansi lime juice and covered in a dry floury crust with a garlicky chili dip. filigreed crunch. Both varieties yield, [ Tasting notes] Experts say: “Tastes like how KFC nevertheless, the potent, salty fragrance [ Find at] Skin: Thin and tasty, pepped up with a used to in the ‘80s.” of fermented . Almost ubiquitous at zi char stalls. secret medley of spices and a mild spicy Award: Most patriotic Meat: Piping hot and juicy, straight A couple of favourites: kick. Undertones of MSG, but nowhere out of the . Permeated with har Holland Village XO Fish Head Bee near excessive. [ Have with] cheong flavour. Hoon stall, #01-05 Jumbo Coffee Hub, Meat: The benefits of using farm fresh Liberal splashings of ketchup and chilli. Experts say: “Good versions should 19A Dover Crescent. | Zi char stall spring chicken: relentlessly juicy and Mashed (made, we suspect, with include Chinese wine and to at PP 881 Eating House, 146 Potong Pasir tender meat (even upon home delivery). instant mix, but delicious all the same) balance the aggressiveness of the Avenue 2. and coleslaw. shrimp paste.” Award: Most polarising [ Fun facts] [ Find at] not for Though har cheong is a Cantonese Tastes like Arnold’s Fried Chicken, #02-99 City the faint “Good versions should include ingredient, har cheong kai is unique how KFC used Plaza, 810 Geylang Road. Tel: 6746 2372. of heart to . Delivery hotline: 6276 6537 Chinese wine and ginger to to in the 80s balance the aggressiveness [ Fun facts] of the shrimp paste.” Halal-certified. Est. 1984

Best eat with Malay-style fried chicken, harbouring a flavour profile chilli MSG similar to the Indonesian variety. powder galore! Ji pai "i AM AS BIG AS YOUR FACE!" Deep-fried and flattened chicken breasts [ Tasting notes] [ Have with] hailing from Taiwan’s night markets. Skin: Typically browner and crispier Rice flavoured with chicken stock, and than that of . Rubbed with chilli . a similar spice base, but overall a tad less complex and fragrant. [ Find at] [ Tasting notes] [ Have with] Meat: Mild, homey flavour. Delicately As-Shifaa, #06-52 Lucky Plaza, 304 Crust: Pebbly, sandy texture that Lots of water. scented with , and Orchard Road. crunches well in the mouth. Double- other spices. edged sword: retains nose-twitching [ Find at] Experts say: “Reminiscent of home- [ Fun facts] chilli powder rather well, but also catches Hot-Star Large Fried Chicken, #B4-70, cooked fried chicken.” Have a mouthful of the rice, and its rogue lumps of MSG-laden seasoning. Ion Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn. | Shihlin Award: Most Mom-and-Pop. origins become clear – it’s a fluffier, less Meat: Tender (we suspect the use of Taiwan Street , #B3-50A, 313@ greasy cousin of . Rice, rice tenderiser). Pulls off in appetising strips, Somerset, 313 Orchard Road. baby! infused with a marinade including, but not limited to, , , five- [ Fun facts] spice powder. Averse to spiciness? Swap the dusting Experts say: “Too much MSG!” of chilli powder for sour plum, , or Award: Most fantastically excessive. seaweed-flavoured seasoning.

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“Soaking the chicken in a herbed-up buttermilk brine Ayam penyet flavours the Indonesian fried chicken, ‘smashed’ before serving to make meat and locks the meat softer and easier to peal off the bone. in moisture upon deep-frying.” [ Tasting notes] [ Have with] Skin: Redolent of spices which include Rice, fried , vegetables, turmeric, galangal, garlic, ginger, and blazing hot sambal, and the essential amongst others. Very aromatic. kremes topping. Tanned a golden light brown. Meat: Usually not as well-seasoned as the [ Find at] skin, but still tender and well paired with Ayam Penyet Ria, #01-45 Lucky Plaza, the fragrant topping of kremes (crispy- 304 Orchard Road. | Ayam Penyet fried batter). President, #03-36 Lucky Plaza, Experts say: “Kremes should be made 304 Orchard Road. with pounded herbs for maximum flavour.” Award: Most fragrant [ Fun facts] The dish originated in fried croak! , . tempeh croak!

Crumbly, mildly Fill with sweet meat, biscuits veggies, and even Thai stuffed wings Chicken wings are deboned and stuffed with different combinations of minced meat, vegetables and herbs. American fried chicken The ultimate all-American comfort . Who [ Tasting notes] [ Find at] doesn't love a Skin: Marinated in a simple soy sauce- Yhingthai Palace Restaurant, tangy dollop based mix, then fried till an even dark 36 Purvis Street. Tel: 6337 1161. | [ Tasting notes] [ Have with] of slaw? brown. Not particularly crisp, but Thanying Restaurant, Amara Hotel, extremely flavourful. 165 Tanjong Pagar Road. Tel: 6222 4688. Skin: A thick, floury crust that’s matte, Gravy made with chicken drippings, Meat: Flavoured through with the not overtly oily. Flavoured with light, biscuits, corn-on-the-cob, and coleslaw. marinade, as well as ingredients and [ Fun facts] aromatic herbs (vary with region, but spices in the stuffing. (N.B. In Yhingthai Types of stuffing vary from region, may include cayenne pepper, black [ Find at] Palace’s superb version, the stuffing restaurant, and cook. Common pepper, paprika, garlic, and sage.) Outpost 903 Gastrobar, of asparagus and shiitake mushroom components include vegetables, minced Meat: Succulent. Soaking the chicken 903 Bukit Timah Road. Tel: 6468 4903. | imparts a fresh, vegetal savour to , shrimp, breading, noodles, and in a herbed-up buttermilk brine flavours Communal, 12 North Canal Road. the meat.) kroeung (a paste). the meat and locks in moisture upon 6221 7790. Experts say: “Deboning a chicken deep-frying. wing takes a lot of work and/or a lot of Experts say: “Reminds me of the [ Fun facts] Dip in spicy-sweet experience. Remember that whenever time I was in the Midwest. After days of The Americans know how to do it right: you eat one of these.” Thai chili tired salads and tough steaks, I stumbled National Fried Chicken Day is celebrated "SAWADEE-KA! I am from Award: Best value for money upon a supermarket that sold fried on 6 July each year. !" chicken over the counter. It was crispy, [ Have with] salty, tender – the best meal I had there.” Thai chili for a spicy-sweet kick. Award: Most soul-warming.

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