New York Times recipe for 'Singaporean chicken curry' ruffles feathers
What do you get if you mix the New York Times, a contributor from Taiwan and a supposedly Singaporean recipe? Some pretty riled up Singaporeans, that’s what.
Look at those pics. The one on the left is from the start of a video in which Ms Clarissa Wei shows how to make the dish. And the one on the right is the finished product.
Does that look remotely like chicken curry?
Sorry, not in these parts, no. As a flood of comments indicated.
The recipe, according to the NYT page, was adapted by Ms Wei, and the original is from Singaporean Shila Das.
It involves marinating the chicken in a mix of lime juice, garlic, ginger and pepper, and then cooking with ghee, onions, and spices such as ground coriander and turmeric, as well as cinnamon, cardamom, star anise and cloves, plus a broth and coconut milk.
To be fair to Ms Wei, some of those discussing the recipe on the NYT page said they found it delicious.
But it was a different story on Instagram, where the video was posted, with Singaporeans mostly aghast.
Here are some of the comments:
“What tha hell is that? That looks like our Singapore drainage water…”
“this is the worst chicken curry i’ve seen in my life also 'singaporean' chicken curry is not a thing”
“Haiya… the chicken must be asking, what is this? What is this? Haiya, no potato for chicken curry? Potato and chicken are the best match in the curry chicken! Even better than your tinder matches out there!”
“You have GOT to be kidding. This is a joke right? This is a troll post, surely. Because I can't believe the NYT seriously believes this resembles ANYTHING like the chicken curry dish Singaporeans and Malaysians know and adore. Has your chef ever even seen or tasted a curry in her life?”
But wait, one comment led to an explanation of sorts.
“Interesting how similar this recipe is to Senegalese Yassa…”
According to Wikipedia, yassa is a spicy dish prepared with onions and marinated poultry or fish, originally from Senegal, but now popular throughout West Africa.
Could Ms Wei have confused Senegalese for Singaporean?
Just a thought.
Watch the video here.
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