Hawker Home Recipes: Fatty Cheong's Char Siew

A trip to Fatty Cheong's Char Siew is regular after-church ritual for the family. The kids love it, the in-laws love it and most importantly, I also love it. Ok lah, we always try to bring the kids to what they like to eat, but it is always a bonus if I also like the food as well. Parents, you know what I mean right?

After blogging a few Char Siew places, we are always drawn back to Fatty Cheong's as his Char Siew is consistently juicy and well charred. Anyway, for those of you who like to try making Char Siew at home, I managed to convince Fatty Cheong to share with us his Char Siew recipe.

According to him, the following are the ingredients he actually uses at the stall. Of course, the big difference is that he has a charcoal oven but many of us don't. So you will have to use your conventional oven or one of those "Xue Di Zi" aka Turbo Broiler if you have one of them. Incidentally, you probably know of the "Xue Di Zi" (Flying Guillotine) if you are about my age (or older) as it was one of those iconic weapons in old Kung Fu films. My mother-in-law affectionately named her Turbo Broiler (also an iconic kitchen weapon in that era) "Xue Di Zi" because of the similarity in shape. I wonder if it is just her or does everyone else also call it a "Xue Di Zi"?

Fatty Cheong's Char Siew Recipe:

1 kg Pork Collar (if you like it juicy) or Pork Shoulder (if you like it leaner)

500g Sugar

300g Oyster Sauce

300g Bean Paste (Dou Jiang)

200ml Soya Sauce

3 teaspoon Rice Wine

2 teaspoon Black Soya Sauce

2 teaspoon Red Colouring

Mix all the ingredients together to make the marinade then use it to marinade the meat for at least an hour or even better if you can marinade it overnight.

Roast in a moderately hot oven for half and hour, turning and basting the meat till it is cooked and slightly charred.

Conclusion

As with all hawker recipes, a lot of "Agarism" (estimation) is involved. So you might have to tweak it a little to suit your taste. And if you find it too tedious, you can always pop down to Fatty Cheong's to get some freshly roasted Char Siew!

Do write in and let us know if the recipe works for you!

Fatty Cheong
ABC Brickworks Food Centre
6 Jln Bukit Merah #01-120 (near POSB ATM)
Open 11am till about 8.30pm
Closed Thursdays
98824849, 94281983

What to do next:

Read more about the Xue Di Zi here

Watch "Master of the Flying Guillotine" here (Get ready for a great 70's Kung Fu flick)

Check out the other famous places for Char Siew

Yan Ya: Smoked Duck Specialist

With SCS Butter


Tucked deeper in this little Coffeeshop in Siglap is a smoked duck joint that looked pretty promising. Actually this LTN coffeeshop is pretty horribly laid out. There is little exposure for the stalls that are deep inside the coffeeshop but I am beginning to appreciate just how many gems there are in there. Right towards the end there is a Tandoori stall and a Vadai stall which are both pretty good which I have yet to take some pictures of.

But anyway, the one that caught my attention was this stall that claims to be the specialist in smoked duck. Yeah, my sentiments exactly. What's the diff between smoked duck and roast duck? Seems like the same deal to me.

But the duck actually turned out to be unexpectedly good! And I must say that the flesh has actually got a smoky flavour to it. (Or is this just a case of auto-suggestion?) Anyway the duck was quite enjoyable and the char siew was also quite pleasing. Don't mind eating here at from time to time since it is so close to home. 4.25/5

Conclusion

Not bad, not bad at all! I'd say this is a "yet to be" rated Roast Duck. Only problem is that they don't have the plum sauce to go with it.

Yan Ya
936 East Coast Road
LTN Eating House
10am to 10pm

Golden Horse Roast Meats: More like Golden Pegasus!

I don't know about you, but I don't really think much of the typical BBQ chicken wings. I generally feel that most of them are too conservative. What I look for in a good BBQ chicken wings is that sticky sweet and spicy caramelized glaze that gives you that eye opening oooomph when you bite into it. A few years back, there was this particular stall along Zion Road which sells the most shiokalicious wings and Char Siew. But sadly, they moved out and last I heard, they have retired. I have since been searching high and low for beloved BBQ chicken wings.

That is why I am so excited to have found this "undecorated" stall while searching for something to eat at Bukit Merah View Food Centre. They don't seem to have a lot of wings or Char Siew on display but the wings looked so good, I just had to give one a try. Phwa! Phwa phwa phwa! I found it, I found it! These spicy sweet chicken wings will sure hit the spot if you have just spent the last week preparing for your cholesterol test and have just gotten a good result. The glaze is sticky and sweet and has just the right amount of spiciness to give you that zing when you bite into the juicy and succulent meat. Of course I had the fortune of eating it when it was just taken out of the oven! I could easily down half a dozen of these before going for the Char Siew! 4.5/5

Now, this little shop is what I would call a boutique Roast Meat stall. By "boutique" I mean that they only make a small amount everyday and the owner lovingly glazes each item till it is cooked till perfection. It was just a thrill to see how much effort went into glazing the few strips of Char Siew and then putting it back into the oven, then pulling out the wings, glazing them, putting them back in the oven, then taking out the Char Siew again...........



The Char Siew is unsurprisingly, also very very shiok. Apart from the sticky glaze, the texture of the meat is also very different. By using pork collar meat and controlling the roasting process to perfection, they managed to get the texture of the meat to almost a "fishball" like consistency. The meat is really chewy and tender at the same time! Excellent Char Siew! 4.5/5



Conclusion

Totally and unexpectedly delighted. This stall has been around for over 20 years, but there is hardly any write-ups displayed on their stall front. Just looking at the one white chicken, 2 roast chicken, 4 charsiew and one rack of chicken wings, one can be forgiven to just pass on by. But boy was I sure glad I took the chance and tried one of their chicken wings. It's a real gem of a find!

Golden Horse Roast Meats
Bukit Merah View Food Centre
#01-283
10.30am to 10pm
Closed on Sun and Pub Hols

Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint: Move over Colonel Sanders, I also got 11 Herbs and Spices!

With iwatch_ueat and SCS Butter


I am beginning to realize the only common thing about Char Siew is the fact that it is long strips of marinated meat! No, some people don't even BBQ their Char Siew and it still passes off as Char Siew. (I am not in anyway endorsing this, but I even see it in Hong Kong!) It does not have to be red in colour, some are dark brown or even near black. And the number of recipes for Char Siew abounds. My last post on Char Siew featured a Teochew style Char Siew which uses Tau Cheo (Fermented Beans) and malt. The Fatty Cheong Char Siew was an Oyster Sauce and caramelised sugar version. Now I discover Kay Lee's Zhu Jiang version which uses Yao Chai (Herbs) in the marinade!



The Lao Ban Niang is a colourful character who is fiercely passionate about the Zhu Jiang heritage of her Char Siew and Roast Duck. She insists that she has tasted all the best Char Siew in Singapore and still feels hers is the best.

"We don't use any MSG in our marinade! My sauce is the only one of its kind in Singapore. When you taste it, it leaves a Karm Karm (Astringently sweet is the best I can describe this word) taste in your palate, AND you never get thirsty from it!" She boldly declared. Even the method of chopping the duck is special. She chops it diagonally, insisting that it makes a difference to the texture of the meat.

The only thing I love more than people with passion is expressive people with passion!



The Char Siew here is very shiok and, as the Lao Ban Niang said, the sauce is very special. And most importantly they use the pork "Armpit" meat which is beautifully marbled. It's wonderfully tender and chewy at the same time. 4.5/5

SCS Butter and I had differing opinions on the duck. I thought it was one of the best ducks I have tasted in Singapore though it still lacks that extra ooompph that I referred to in my last Roast Duck post. The special thing about it though, is that the skin is crispy which sets it apart from a lot of other Roast Ducks. 4.5/5



The Sio Bak here is very good. The skin is crispy and the meat has got enough five spice and salty flavour. Unfortunately we ate it in the afternoon so it was not fresh out of the oven. It would have been even better then! 4.25/5

The steamed soup here is excellent. I liked the watercress soup just slightly more than the winter melon. Those who are fat conscious should skim off the layer of fat on top of the soup which is evidence of how long the soup has been steamed. Lao Ban Niang claims that they are slow cooked for 6-8 hours to extract all the flavours. Again she claims that no MSG is added! With the soup so tasty, I was of course a bit skeptical. But we all can say that we did not have that "post MSG thirst" that you usually get with poor quality MSG.



I have saved the best for last!

This is my discovery of the month! Hakka Salt Chicken! I am not sure if there are other stalls in Singapore that sells this but this is the first time the 3 of us were eating this dish. The chicken is first boiled then roasted. After it is chopped into bite sized pieces, a special condiment made from fried garlic, ginger and lemongrass is liberally spooned on top of it. I think God must have made Chicken and Ginger to go together! Somehow the combination just tingles the tastebuds like a well composed symphony. First bite was a "Phwa Sayah, where have you been all my life" experience. If you don't come all the way from Choa Chu Kang for the Char Siew, you must come for this chicken! 4.75/5

Conclusion

Excellent roasted meat with a unique sauce that is not commonly found. The hidden pearl is the Hakka Salt Chicken which is a really Must Try!

Kay Lee Roast Meat Joint
125 Upper Paya Lebar Road
67438778
kayleeroastmeatjoint.com
10am to 7pm
Closed on Tuesdays

Lau Phua Chay Roasted Duck: Teochew Style Roast Meat Anyone?

With Tag, Carnineviand, iwatch_ueat and Bashful Hunter


If there is one thing the Teochews are not well known for is Roasted Duck. We are more famous for our Braised Duck. So when this Teochew Ah Hia told me that his Char Siew and Roast Duck is Teochew Style it threw me absolutely off balance.

So what is so special about Teochew style Roast Meat? I am seriously wondering if you can find this type of Char Siew if you went to Swatow today! Did this man invent his own style of Roast Meat or does this style of Char Siew really exist in Swatow? Will some Teochew Ah Zhek (uncle) please let us know?

The stallowner explained that Teochews love sweet things. (Think Orh Nee and Teochew Bak Chang which has sweet bean paste inside) So the Char Siew is much sweeter then usual. He shared that his marinade has got bean paste and malt in it. Certainly the sauce that he liberally pours over the rice is unique. It was pretty lumpy and was quite sweet which suited my palate very well.



Undoubtedly the Char Siew here is the star of the show. Don't be alarmed, he does serve leaner cuts, but when asked which bits are the best bits, he joyfully cut up the sample shown in the picture. Oooooh, I feel my tongue tingling and my coronary vessels stiffening up at the same time! There is nothing more sinful and shiok than burnt fat with caramelised sugar! 4.5/5

Both Sio Bak and Roast Duck here are competent but not as outstanding as the Char Siew. So I will give it a 4/5 and say no more.

Conclusion

Have to add Teochew Style Char Siew into your Char Siew resume, don't you think? Worth travelling all the way from Tampines for.

Lau Phua Chay Roasted Duck
Alexandra Village Hawker Centre
Stall 01-20
11am to 7pm
Saturday closed

Foong Kee Wanton Mee: Wanton Mee Challange Part 1 of 3

$3 portion with extra Char Siew (Normal $2.50)

Wanton Mee is the quintessential street food and yet I have had so much difficulty finding one that I truly "die die must try" (ddmt). I really cannot understand why it is so difficult to make a great Wanton Mee. The way I see it, you need 1. Great Noodles 2. Great Sauce 3. Great Char Siew, 4. Great Wantons. If you look at the list of Wanton Mee Stalls that I have blogged so far, none of them have actually scored a 4.5. It would seem that Wanton Mee sellers have really been wanton about their Wanton Mees. Can't someone just dish out a truly ddmt Wanton Mee such that people will stop talking so fondly about the ones in Hong Kong?

Perhaps my problem is that I have yet to taste the best one! Fine, so I went on a Wanton Mee hunt and tasted three of the most talked about Wanton Mees in Singapore. Let's see if any of them can truly be called great.

First up is Foong Kee, who was rated #1 in a Sunday Plus article.

This stall has only been in operation for four years, but it has quickly risen to the top of the rankings. You could wait up to an hour during peak periods to get a plate of this Wanton Mee. The strength lies in the fact that they roast all their own Char Siew and they use a very good cut of pork so that the Char Siew is tender and juicy.



Their noodles are also made to specially from the factory so that they do have a quality taste and texture about it. It was better than most but I still had a niggling feeling that there must be a better one out there. The sauce was good, but just a little too bland for me. To zest it up, I asked for extra char siew sauce and chilli. Ohhh that really hit the spot! The wantons and shui gao were also very good but not outstanding. For a char siew lover like myself, this can be considered a very good plate of Wanton Mee. 4.25/5

Conclusion

The strength of this Wanton Mee lies in the quality of the Char Siew. It's certainly one of the best ones I have tasted in Singapore so far, but still a few elements short of it being legendary.

Foong Kee Coffee Shop
6 Keong Saik road
96953632
Open 11am to 8pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays