Sharing Singaporean-Style Crabs

When we visited Singapore last month, we were told we must try the chilli crabs and the black pepper crabs.

Our friend Danny, a native Singaporean, enthusiastically explained we must eat these crabs specifically at Jumbo Seafood in the East Coast Seafood Centre. When a native person tells you where to eat, you listen!

Diners enjoying lots of seafood at Jumbo Seafood in Singapore.

We hailed a taxi, ordered the crabs and drunken prawns, hammered away at our crabs and had a finger-licking-outrageously-messy good time! Even our taxi driver told us Jumbo Seafood was one of the best places to eat these crabs in Singapore.

Jumbo Seafood's Chilli Pepper Crabs

Gigantic crab claws dipped in the black pepper paste.

Now, I’ve tried Maryland’s Old Bay-style crabs several times, but these crabs were so different. I preferred the spicy black pepper crabs while hubby liked the chilli crabs best. Then we sopped up the yummy juices with steamed Asian buns.

Lucky for us, Jumbo Seafood sold take-away spice packets in the restaurant. We bought a box of each spice blend so we could whip up these tasty Asian crabs at home. (Unfortunately, it looks like the spice packets are only sold in the Singapore restaurants. Make friends with someone to get your own.) Since I’ve never seen crabs in Turkey, we decided to bring the spices with us to the U.S.

During our whirlwind driving tour on the East Coast, we stopped in Baltimore and bought 2 dozen Maryland crabs in Fells Point.

On Christmas Eve and Day, hubby and his brother steamed the crabs here in North Carolina. 

Great photo opp! But our nephew was like "do I have to?"

The crabs enjoyed a brief moment of freedom before they were dropped into the steamer basket.

Then, Jason proceeded to cook up the spice mixes on the stovetop. For the chilli pepper crabs, he mixed ketchup, soy sauce, two eggs, cornstarch and water with the spice blend while the black pepper mix only required chicken stock and soy sauce.

Chilli pepper Maryland crabs

Christmas Day - Hubby shows off his Singaporean-Maryland crabs.

As you can see, the crab mixture we made looks nearly identical to the crabs we enjoyed in Singapore. One major problem is the size of crabs we bought in Maryland – they were small. Eating these crabs was difficult because they were a lot of work for just a little bit of meat inside.

Unfortunately, Jason and I were the only ones who preserved at picking away at the crabs for awhile. The majority of the family tried a few of the crabs while others refused to try them at all. Raw and steamed oysters were the clear winner over our Singaporean-style crabs.

Sigh! Well, at least we tried to share some new flavors with our family members.

In Singapore, Jumbo Seafood Chilli and Black Pepper Paste retail packs are available at Jumbo Seafood Singapore restaurants located at East Coast Seafood Centre, Serangoon Gardens Country Club, Riverside Point, The Riverwalk, Singapore Indoor Stadium, NSRCC, Dempsey Hill and Singapore Food Festival Village at Clark Quay.

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Good Eats: Singapore’s Chinatown

Singapore - I fell in love with Chinatown!

During our recent trip here, we basically spent two afternoons food hopping from one hawker stall to the next in Chinatown. (When I say I want to eat my way across Turkey and our other travel destinations, I mean it.) And there was plenty of pork!

Fried pork dumplings - don’t mind if I do! 

Steamed pork buns - of course!

Steamed pork buns and one order of shark fin dumplings, right, which tasted like chicken!

A piping hot bowl of steaming Laksa noodles with prawns - yes, please!

Chinatown’s various hawker complexes are nothing like the bland American food courts filled with tasteless fast food. Thank goodness!

Each one is filled with dozens of tiny stalls selling just about any type of authentic cuisine you could ever want! First, you scout out a stall’s menu and see what you want to eat. Then, order. Second, find a table. If there’s two of you, one person should get the food while the other person obtains beverages - preferably Tiger beer. Sit down, eat. Go find some more tasty nibbles and repeat.

Lunching with the locals at People's Park Complex, Singapore.

We only had 3 days in Singapore, which was not enough time to eat, sight-see, shop for Christmas presents and eat some more. But I’ll share some of my favorite photos and good eats from our trip below.

At People’s Park Complex, 32 New Market Rd.,  we started out with a large order of the fried pork dumplings at Tian Jin Fong Kee, a dumpling stand in business since 1948. Crispy pork goodness! Cost: 6 SGD for 12 dumplings.

Then, about two blocks away, we stopped at the Chinatown Complex, 336 Smith S. The main floor is filled with clothes and some touristy souvenir shops while the huge food center is on the second floor, divided into colored sections.

Several tables filled with durian greeted us, but we didn’t stop to try this stinky fruit. Maybe next time!

Instead, we found the friendly owner at Terry Katong Laksa #02-94, who was touting his MSG-free Laksa noodles. Apparently, Katong Laksa is a strong contender for the title of Singapore’s national dish. The bowl of broken noodles was filled with prawns and cockle pieces with a spicy, fish broth. It was good, but a bit too fishy for me. Cost: 3.50 SGD.

While we ate our noodles, the owner chatted with us and we were entertained by the Singapore Funny Man. He makes funny noises with his mouth or can be found twirling an umbrella on the tip of an ink pen.

Singapore's Funny Man can be found on YouTube.

Next, we stumbled upon a new beer stall called The Good Beer Company, stall #02-58, started by a young man, Daniel Goh and his uncle. We were thrilled to find some premium and craft beers such as Storm IPA, Samuel Adam’s, Hoegaarden and more. Real beer! (May 2013 update: Sadly, "Beer Uncle" passed away in April this year.)

The Good Beer Company's good beer menu.

Jason ordered us some ales, and I went searching for more food. I found large, pillow-like steamed pork buns at Hong Kong Dim Sum, stall #02-101. So cheap! 3 orders of dumplings were only 6 SGD.

We ended up chatting and enjoying several pints of beer with Goh and Mr. Goh, his uncle, as I called him. What a lucky find!

On our return trip to Chinatown, we visited the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple and Museum, thanks to a local Singaporean who chatted with us while we figured out directions on our map. This temple and museum is well worth a look as it is filled with ancient Buddhist artifacts and very detailed story boards explaining Buddhism and its history.

In the pouring rain, we ran across the street to have lunch at the Maxwell Food Centre, 12 Murray St. My main reason to eat here was thanks to celebrity chef and “No Reservations” host Anthony Bourdain, whom I am totally gaga over!

In one of Bourdain’s previous shoots in Singapore, he recommended the “flavourful” chicken rice at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice, stall #01-10. I waited in line for about 15 minutes for two orders of this famous dish while Jason bought two bottles of Tiger beer. It’s rather a simple dish featuring super moist chicken served atop a bed of fluffy rice and a super spicy, homemade chili sauce on the side. 

The dish was good, but I was not as impressed as Mr. Bourdain was.

We did a bit of Christmas shopping in Chinatown and then decided to head back to The Good Beer Company for one last round of proper ales. Of course, we needed something to eat with our beer. We found stall #02-44 that had lots of pork products hanging in its window and ordered the pork sampler rice platter.

BBQ pork, Chinese pork sausage and more pork served with a Chinese-5-spice-like dipping sauce.

After stuffing ourselves, we wandered down a random side street in Chinatown and sampled - what tasted like crispy, chewy pork jerky at Bee Cheng Hiang, 69-71 Pagoda St. Brilliant! 

We bought two boxes of this succulent treat, BBQ pork and BBQ chili pork, and four links of Chinese pork sausage. At first, I thought the guy was grilling pork skin, but turns out it is compressed leg and thigh pork meat. I just call it delicious!

A new, fun way to enjoy pork on the go!

Beer and pork - I can’t imagine a better way to end our trip in Singapore!

Afiyet olsun!

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Singapore's Street Food I

My favorite meals in Singapore have been in the crowded, noisy hawker centers and on the street.

Today, for example, we got stuck in a downpour near the Bugis subway stop and decided to grab a light lunch at an outdoor stall. This tiny stall was nothing fancy - plastic bowls and spoons, but quick service and good, cheap food. The two women working there were quite efficient as a crowd had settled in nearby to take respite from the rain.

I ordered a bowlfull of wonton noodles, pictured, which was served in a sweet-soy sauce and with 3 fried wontons. Jason ordered a huge bowl of wonton soup with a dozen delicate wontons floating in the broth. Total cost: 6 SNG or about $4.75.

This meal was enough to tide us over until we got to Chinatown proper where we spent the rest of our afternoon. Nothing wrong with eating all day, having a few drinks and picking out a ton of Christmas gifts for our families!

Afiyet olsun!

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Good Morning from Singapore

It's another hot and steamy day here in Singapore - definitely twice-a-day-shower weather.

I am loving the hawker center food here! (Whenever I find a place where I'm nearly the only Caucasian person, I know I can count on good food!)

Yesterday,  we tried fried pork dumplings, steamed dim sum pork buns and even steamed shark fin dumplings as well as a bowl full of traditional Katong Laksa in Chinatown.

This Laksa, from the Katong area of Singapore, features cut up noodles and a hearty fish-based broth with hints of lemongrass and ginger. Ours was topped with prawns and cockle pieces. The broth was a bit too fishy for my liking, but drowned in a Tiger beer - not too bad. We made friends with the stall's owner, who spoke a bit of English, and the nearby older Singaporean men. Everyone is so friendly!

Well, we heading to our next flight. I'll try and post when I have Internet access again. Stay tuned for more photos!

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Balinese-Inspired Noodles Kick Off Our Bayram Trip

Today, we are embarking on an adventure I never would have dreamed of doing when I was younger.

Southeast Asia seemed a million miles away from small-town life in the Midwest, United States. But now, living in a different part of the world makes me feel like nearly anything is possible.

This is a big trip for us! We've used many connections to make this trip possible.

Today, we are heading to Singapore where we will spend part of the Kurban Bayramı ** as well as four days in Bali, Indonesia. I am behind ecstatic! I’ve been planning our itinerary for weeks down to the specific hawker stalls I plan to eat at in Singapore.

Yes, I’m that anal when it comes to planning our trips, but if something would deter us from my detailed plan, I wouldn’t be devastated either. Adventures...mishaps....sometimes lead to even better discoveries or at least provide great travel stories! (See: Strangers, Stranded in Samos.)

While we are in Bali, we are taking a Balinese cooking class and market tour. I’m always looking for ways to expand my skills in the kitchen and this was right up my alley.

A couple years ago, Jason bought me a cookbook called “Bali Unveiled: The Secrets of Balinese Cuisine” by Chef Heinz von Holzen. I had hoped to take a cooking class from von Holzen, but his classes were full.

Because many of the ingredients are difficult to find or don’t even exist in Istanbul, I’ve had to heavily substitute for the original recipe so this is definitely an expat fusion recipe. On this trip, I plan to stock up on exotic ingredients such as lemongrass, coconut oil, galangal, palm sugar and fresh tumeric.

Earlier this year, I learned what galangal was when I took a Thai cooking class here from another expat. Galangal is a rhizone similar to fresh ginger root but has a delicate pine, ginger-like aroma. I had a small stash here thanks to one of my British friends whom travels often to London.

Galangal does look like ginger, doesn't it?

This is another one of those recipes that requires quite a bit of prep time because of all the chopping and measuring that’s necessary. If you have the time and the ingredients, you will be rewarded with a spicy and aromatic broth for the noodles. Delicious!

Afiyet Olsun!

A bowl full of my Balinese-inspired chicken noodle soup. This should help ward off any winter colds! =)

Balinese Spice Paste for Chicken (Base de Siap)
(Heavily adapted from von Holzen’s cookbook)

Ingredients:
25 g. (2 ea.) aci Turkish chilies or hot peppers, finely sliced
110 g. (3/4 c.) shallots, chopped small
60 g. (1/2 c.) garlic, chopped small
25 g. (1 ½-inch piece) fresh ginger, chopped small
30 g. (1/3 c.) galangal, chopped small (or omit)
1 ¾ tsp. ground tumeric powder (subbed for fresh tumeric)
50 g. (3.5 T.) blanched almonds (subbed for candlenuts)
25 g. (2 T.) brown sugar (subbed for palm sugar)
75 ml. (-1/3 c.) sunflower oil (subbed for coconut oil)
2 ea. lemongrass stalks, crushed and chopped small
125 ml. (1/2 c.) water
1 tsp. salt

Many ingredients! Thank goodness, I even found these peeled shallots here!

Combine all ingredients except the lemongrass, water and salt, in a stone mortar or food processor and pulse until coarsely ground.

In a medium-sized pot, add all the ingredients and cook over medium heat for about 1 hour or until all the water has evaporated and the paste takes on a golden hue. 

This is what the spice paste looks like as it is cooking down.

Balinese-Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 T. sunflower oil
125 g. (1/2c.) spice paste from above recipe (Reserve the extra paste in a glass jar in the refrigerator and use a spoonful whenever you want to jazz up future noodle/soup dishes.)
500 g. (1#) chicken, chopped small
2 ea. carrots, cut into 1-inch matchstick pieces
1 L. (1 qt.) chicken stock
TT salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: fresh green onions and cilantro

In a large stock pot, add the oil and spice paste and sauté until fragrant. Add the chicken and cook for about 10 minutes until the meat is evenly coated and partially cooked.

Add the stock and remaining ingredients. Simmer the soup for about 30 minutes. Ladle the soup over your favorite cooked noodles - rice noodles or even spaghetti noodles work great! Garnish the soup with chopped green onions and cilantro.

** The Kurban Bayramı, also known as the Feast of Sacrifice or Eid el-Adha, is the most important Islamic religious festival of the year and lasts for several days, Nov. 5-9, 2011. The festival celebrates the Biblical and Kur’anic account of Abraham’s near-sacrifice of his son, proving Abraham’s complete trust in God. In the story, a ram is provided for the sacrifice instead. Following this tradition, the head of each Turkish household hopes to sacrifice a sheep on the morning of the first day of the holiday period and the meat is shared among family, friends and the poor.

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