By SGN | 22 Jan 2024
This Dragon New Year, we reached out to Singaporean chefs from all over the world to share recipes to recreate new year dishes from the comfort of your home – no matter where you may be.
Yee Sang Prosperity Toss by Alan Chong
Chef and Owner of Tian38 in Melbourne
COVID struck Melbourne just six months after the soft launch of Alan’s restaurant Tian38, throwing his business into great uncertainty. For certain segments of the city’s population, however, the lockdowns hit even harder and left them with scant access to government assistance.
“It was an opportunity for the community to step up, and I was blessed to have many join us in lending a helping hand to those in need,” he recalls. “We served more than 5,000 meals and provided care packages over 17 weeks during the lockdowns.”
The food and hospitality veteran – who moved to Australia for university and currently has a stake in Panamericana, Fireside and Bamboo Bowls in Singapore – emerged from the pandemic with a new perspective.
He relaunched Tian38 with a strong Singaporean focus, while incorporating local tastes. “With Australia being a wonderful melting pot of cultures, we can afford some liberties when it comes to finding inspiration and combining cuisines,” he says.
The pivot paid off. In the ensuing years, the restaurant was twice awarded the Australian Good Food Guide’s Readers’ Choice Award and twice named finalist for the Restaurant and Catering Association’s Best Asian Restaurant in Melbourne.
One of Tian38’s signatures is the chilli crab jaffles. “The humble jaffle is simply two pieces of bread toasted together with any desired filling,” Alan explains. “I chose to combine chilli crab and cheese to make a unique Singaporean-inspired version of this Australian dish.”
Another favourite on the menu, beef rendang, is a fairly familiar dish in Australia; even former Prime Minister Scott Morrison shared a post of himself cooking it. “My version uses osso bucco (veal shank), where the marrow cooks down with the rempah, and also features a hint of vegemite for that extra umami,” Alan says.
When it comes to Lunar New Year, celebrations in Australia are very multicultural. “We live alongside many other cultures such as Vietnamese, Korean and Thai, and share in the festivities,” he notes. “At Tian38, we do one of the best yee sang prosperity tosses in Melbourne, and it’s a tradition I love. Ushering in the new year with a prosperity toss with loved ones is a ritual that cannot be missed.”
YEE SANG PROSPERITY TOSS
Ingredients
- 1 fillet sashimi-grade salmon
- 1 continental cucumber
- 1 large daikon
- 1 large carrot
- 1 cup seasoned wakame
- 1 cup pickled sushi ginger
- 1 cup pomelo segments
- 1 cup diced dragonfruit (to celebrate the Year of the Dragon!)
- 2 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts
- 1 handful coriander
- 2 wedges lime or calamansi
- Warm water
- Sugar
- White vinegar
- (Optional) Gold leaf or baker’s gold dust
Condiments
- 3 tbsp plum sauce
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp five spice powder (placed inside a lucky red envelope)
- 1 tbsp white pepper (placed inside a lucky green envelope)
- 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1 cup wonton skins (cut into thin strips)
- 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
Instructions
- For the vegetables. Use a spiraliser or julienne peeler to achieve extra-long strips of cucumber, daikon and carrot. Place each vegetable in a separate container.
- Sprinkle some salt over the vegetables and set aside for 30mins for liquid to be drawn out. Use a paper towel to draw out excess liquid prior to pickling.
- Make a pickling solution using a ratio of 4 parts warm water, 3 parts sugar, 2 parts vinegar.
- Pour pickling solution into the containers of julienned vegetables and set aside for 24 hours. Pickling them separately ensures no colour bleeds and you can plate easily at the end.
- For the salmon. Ensure pin bones are removed and slice thinly against the grain. (Please ensure your salmon is sashimi-grade as this will be eaten raw. You may use smoked salmon if that is your preference.)
- For the wonton skins. Heat vegetable oil in a pot and bring to temperature. (It should bubble when a wooden chopstick is dipped in.)
- Deep fry wonton skins to a golden hue. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
- Plating the yee sang. Starting from the middle of a large platter, build a salmon rosette using the thinly sliced salmon. Form a tight circle and gradually build outwards.
- Squeeze out as much pickling solution from the vegetables as you can, then pat dry.
- Build small mounds of each vegetable around your salmon rose.
- Build small mounds of pickled ginger and wakame, also ensuring pickling solution is squeezed out.
- Build small mounds of dragonfruit, pomelo, coriander and peanuts.
- Garnish with two wedges of lime.
- In separate ramekins, place your condiments and decorate around the platter.
- To make your yee sang extra boujee, place some gold leaf or baker’s gold dust over the platter!
How to Toss for Prosperity
- Start by squeezing lime whilst saying “Da Ji Da Li大吉大利” for healthy finances for the new year.
- Say “Nian Nian You Yu年年有余” for abundance throughout your years.
- Take the envelopes with seasoning and pour over, saying “Hong Yun Dang Tou鸿运当头” for good fortune and “Qing Chun Chang Zhu青春常駐” for youth and vitality.
- Pour vegetable oil in a circular motion, saying “Cai Yuan Guang Jin财源广进, Yi Ben Wan Li一本万利” to increase your profits ten thousand times.
- Pour plum sauce over, saying “Tian Tian Mi Mi甜甜蜜蜜” so your life is as sweet as honey.
- Pour sesame seeds over, saying “Wu Gu Feng Shou 五谷丰收” to encourage lots of wealth to come.
- Top off your yee sang platter with fried wonton crisps, saying “Jin Yu Man Tang 金玉满堂” so your home may always be filled with wealth and treasure.
- Toss away and wish each other “Gong Xi Fa Cai 恭喜发财” (wishing you wealth and prosperity), “Lou Hei, Lou Hei捞起捞起” (upwards and upwards), “Wan Shi Ru Yi 万事如意” (may everything be as you wish)!
Ang Ku Kueh by Deborah Ong
Chef and co-owner of Masak Masak in Melbourne
Based in Melbourne since her college days, Deborah has worked in such esteemed establishments as brunch hot spot ST. ALi and one-hatted restaurant Copper Pot.
When Copper Pot closed last year, a cafe space – situated two minutes from where she and her husband Julien live – was put up for sale. “We kind of took it as a sign from the universe,” she says.
Within months, Masak Masak was born. The cafe, in the western suburb of Yarraville, is their second together. Deborah heads the kitchen while Julien, who also has chef experience, leads the service.
Encouragingly, the joint has already received a glowing review in The Age and an enthusiastic response from patrons, many of whom knew Julien when he worked part-time at an earlier cafe in the same space.
On their food philosophy, Deborah explains, “Masak means ‘to cook’ in Malay, but masak-masak is just kids playing around with pots and pans.” The menu spotlights the comfort food the couple grew up on while leaving room for play, drawing inspiration from across Southeast Asia and paying homage to the diversity of Melbourne.
For instance, their Sarawak laksa is a nod to Julien’s father’s roots in East Malaysia, and the roti john – made here with lamb shoulder – is warmly reminiscent of pasar malams (night markets) in Singapore.
Growing up, Deborah tucked into two very different feasts at each Lunar New Year. “Mum’s side is Peranakan, and would have buah keluak, kari kapitan, babi pongteh,” she shares. “Dad’s side is Hainanese, and would have steamboat and Hainanese chicken rice.”
In Melbourne, she and Julien celebrate at home with (mostly non-Asian) friends from work. For the past couple of years, she has enlisted young colleagues in the production of popiah, kueh pie tee and ang ku kueh. The last of these is a particular favourite, one that she makes fresh every morning at Masak Masak, filled with peanut, mung bean, taro or inti (sweetened coconut).
“Ang ku kueh is the kueh I enjoy making the most because it’s festive and very easy to make. It’s more fun if you do it with a couple of friends.” The process, she says, is like moulding Play-Doh and steaming it – the true spirit of masak-masak captured in a tortoiseshell-shaped delicacy.
ANG KU KUEH
Ingredients
For the skin
- 230g glutinous rice flour
- 150g water
- 80g coconut milk
- 30g tapioca flour
- 1 tbsp caster sugar
- 8g red yeast rice powder (or 2-3 drops of dark red food colouring)
- ½ tsp salt
- 130g orange sweet potato (steamed and mashed)
- 25g vegetable oil
For the filling
- 200g split mung beans (skinned)
- 20g pandan leaves (cut into short lengths)
- 80g coconut cream
- 100g caster sugar
- Pinch salt
- 20g oil
You’ll also need
- Kueh moulds (wooden or plastic)
- Fresh banana leaves (cut into rectangles slightly larger than moulds)
- Tapioca starch for shaping
- Extra oil for brushing
Method
- Mix glutinous rice flour and water together to achieve a damp, crumbly texture. Cover and chill overnight (or at an absolute minimum of 4-6 hours).
- For the filling. Soak mung beans in water for 2-3 hours, until plump. Then steam until soft and mash with a fork while hot.
- In a heavy-bottomed pan, on low-medium heat, combine pandan leaves, coconut cream, sugar and salt. Once sugar is melted, add in mashed beans and oil. Continue stirring over low-medium heat for 5-6 mins until the mixture comes together and looks like mashed potatoes. Transfer into a small bowl and cover with cling wrap to prevent a skin from forming.
- For the skin. Sieve glutinous rice flour mix into a large bowl to break up any lumps.
- In a small non-stick pot, combine coconut milk, tapioca flour, caster sugar, red yeast rice powder. Stir constantly over low heat until mixture comes together into a sticky blob. Scrape into the large bowl with the sieved glutinous rice flour and let cool.
- Once cool, add mashed sweet potato and oil to the bowl. Mix until combined and ingredients come together into a ball. Knead together till the dough has the texture and look of plasticine. Adjust with more glutinous rice flour or water if needed. Wrap dough and let rest for 20-30 mins.
- Set up your steamer.
- For kueh production. Take your mould and fill it to the brim with dough. Weigh the dough and divide the number in half. This number is the portion weight for both dough and filling (1:1) for each kueh. Divide both dough and filling into balls of this calculated weight.
- Lightly brush banana leaf rectangles with oil.
- Lightly dust your hands with tapioca starch. Take a ball of portioned dough and flatten it in the palm of one hand. Place a ball of the filling in the middle and wrap the flaps of dough over the top to seal. Be careful to not trap any air in it.
- Roll the filled dough ball gently between your palms to ensure a tight seal. Lightly dust the mould with tapioca starch, then press the ball into the mould with the heel of your palm.
- Invert the mould and tap the handle at a 45° angle on the corner of your work bench to release the kueh. Place the kueh on an oiled banana leaf rectangle. Follow suit with the rest of the dough and filling.
- Place kuehs in steamer, leaving 1-2cm between them as they will expand when cooking. Steam kuehs over medium-high heat for 5 mins, and then briefly lift the lid of the steamer to release trapped steam. Steam for 5 mins more.
- Once kueh is cooked, transfer to a tray to let cool for 2-3 mins, then brush with oil.
Extra Tips
- If you’re using new wooden moulds, rinse off any dust and air-dry a few days before use. Then, generously brush and rub with food-grade oil and let stand in the open. You may have to do this a few times as wood takes on quite a bit of oil.
- If you prefer a peanut filling, pulse 100g of roasted peanuts with 20g of peanut oil, 30g of caster sugar and a pinch of salt in a food processor until you get the texture of wet sand.
- Dough and filling can be made up to two days in advance and stored in the fridge. Wrap dough tightly in cling-film and store filling in air-tight containers.
- Finished kueh is best eaten on the day and should not be refrigerated, as chilling will cause the skin to slowly harden.
Nonya Chap Chye by Elizabeth Haigh
Chef and founder of Mei Mei in London
Elizabeth – or Auntie Liz, as she’s been dubbed by Uncle Roger – may have moved to England at a young age, but she continues to visit Singapore every year. “I usually stay a few weeks at a time so I can maximise the time I have to makan and see family,” she says.
Originally trained as an architect, she embarked on a culinary career following an appearance on MasterChef Series 7. In 2019, several years after co-founding the Michelin-starred Pidgin, she opened Mei Mei, a stall in London’s historic Borough Market.
“Mei Mei is based on my fond memories of kopitiams and hawker centres,” she shares. “I wanted to create a familiar spot for Singaporeans abroad, or simply encourage those who haven’t been to Singapore before to try our local delicacies such as kaya toast, nasi lemak and Hainanese chicken rice.”
To complete the kopitiam experience, Mei Mei boasts a colourful Singaporean drinks menu. On top of importing their kopi and teh, they also offer bandung, Milo, and MJ (‘Michael Jackson’, or soy milk with grass jelly).
Mei Mei, located in London’s Borough Market, serves traditional Singaporean kopitiam fare.
“The Lunar New Year is a really important part of my connection to being Singaporean,” Elizabeth says, “so we always make a big effort as a family to have our reunion dinner and celebrations together.”
It’s a tradition she looks forward to passing down to her two young sons. “They proudly tell their friends at school about hong bao,” she shares. “And they love the fried spring rolls and fortune cookies. When we have time, we make our own and put little notes for each other inside.”
This Lunar New Year, Mei Mei is celebrating with limited-edition meal kits featuring a roast duck or a Hainanese poached chicken. “I’m in the UK this year, so I’ll be hosting my sisters, who are also based here, for a reunion dinner,” she reveals. The spread will likely include a steamboat, a whole fish with ginger and spring onion, as well as her mother’s chap chye.
“I love this dish because it’s savoury, sweet, texturally different, and it’s packed with umami flavour from the fermented beancurd,” she enthuses. “To make it vegetarian, I’ve omitted the shellfish. We prepared this one Lunar New Year at Mei Mei, and everyone loved it.”
Elizabeth’s mother makes chap chye with lots of fat choy, a curious ingredient that is sometimes termed ‘black moss’ or ‘blue-green algae’ but is in fact a type of photosynthetic bacteria. It is considered an auspicious food since its name – literally ‘hair vegetable’ (髮菜) – sounds like the phrase for ‘getting rich’ (發財).
“I used to call this dish ‘hairy mushrooms’ when I was younger because of the appearance of the fat choy when mixed in,” Elizabeth shares. “Obviously it’s a lot more delicious than that sounds!”
NONYA CHAP CHYE
Serves 4pax
Ingredients
- 1 small white cabbage or Chinese cabbage (cut into 3cm pieces)
- 1 carrot (sliced and optionally cut into flowers with a cookie cutter or by hand)
- 30g bean vermicelli
- 5 pieces dried shiitake
- 25g dried black fungus
- 5g fat choy (‘black moss’)
- 20g dried lily buds or dried lily flowers
- 8 pieces small fried bean curd puffs
- 2 pieces preserved bean curd
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 slices ginger (peeled)
- 3 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp sugar
Method
- Break the vermicelli in half and soak in cold water until soft.
- Soak the mushrooms, black fungus, fat choy and lily buds in cold water until soft, then cut into quarters or smaller pieces if required.
- Heat a frying pan and add the vegetable oil. Add the ginger slices followed by the garlic.
- Stir for approximately one minute, then add the preserved bean curd with 1 tbsp water and stir for another minute.
- Add the remaining vegetables and stir for another minute.
- Add the fried bean curd puffs and 60ml water, stir and cover the pan for 5 mins on a lower heat.
- Drain the vermicelli and add to the vegetable mix, and stir slowly. Continue to cook on a low heat for another 3 mins.
- Season with a little salt, sesame oil and a pinch of caster sugar to taste.
Meet the Chefs
Alan Chong is the chef and founder of Tian38, located in the heart of the CBD in Melbourne. The Singaporean- and Malaysian-inspired restaurant has twice received the Australian Good Food Guide’s Readers’ Choice Award.
Deborah Ong (@nihilistnomya) is the chef of Masak Masak in Yarraville, Melbourne. Co-founded with her husband Julien Tay, the cafe celebrates the comfort food they grew up on and the flavours of Southeast Asia.
Elizabeth Haigh (@the_modernchef) is the chef and founder of Mei Mei at Borough Market in London. She is a former MasterChef contestant and co-founder of one-Michelin-starred restaurant Pidgin.
