Best eats: Extra crispy prawn paste chicken in Yishun is a 'wing-wing situation’
Fried craven is, undeniably, a universal favourite. Who doesn't savour tender marinated meat coated in a crispy seasoned batter?
The USA has Southern fried craven, Japan has karaage, Taiwan has da ji pai (XXL chicken cutlet), Republic of korea has Yangnyeom chicken and Indonesia has ayam penyet.
Only here in Singapore, har cheong gai (literally "shrimp sauce chicken" in Cantonese, but also often referred to as prawn paste chicken) deserves some time in the spotlight.
Usually constitute amid other dishes on zi char stall menus, 1 upward-and–coming proper name has instead made this fried craven dish its sole focus.
Nicknamed afterwards himself, Ah Tan Wings was set up up in Yishun Artery eleven by 28-yr-former Tan Wee Yang, whose obsession is har cheong gai.
This quintessentially local version of fried chicken stands out because its odiferous namesake gives it intense favour and its batter also doubles up as an all-in-one marinade.
"It actually is my favourite dish and I went around all of Singapore trying the best before opening my stall," Wee Yang said when asked how a young guy like himself got his first.
Using his tastebuds and empirical intel, he came up with his own recipe and tested the market by catering to pop-upward events on weekends, while juggling his full-fourth dimension job in heavy mechanism sales.
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When his har cheong gai started selling out at those pop-ups, Wee Yang knew he was set up to turn his weekend passion into a full-fledged concern, ane specialising only in his favourite local chicken dish.
"At zi char stalls, y'all have to order a whole plate, a total size serving of har cheong gai, and that got me thinking," he explained. "I couldn't observe a place where if you lot went alone, you could just have two or iii pieces, or eat it with rice every bit a meal."
And equally most savvy entrepreneurs know, if you can't find it, create it yourself. And so he did. Ah Tan Wings was hatched three years ago at the buzzing Yishun Park Hawker Centre.
From the become-get, Wee Yang's crispy, fragrant and season-packed craven wings were a hit, which allowed him to set up shop at another location across the island – Timber+ Food Park in Ayer Rajah Crescent.
Business has been pretty good, he admitted, and at present Ah Tan Wings goes through a feather-ruffling 600 chicken wings on a week solar day, Wee Yang reckoned, and "up to a thousand" on weekends.
That's a lot of shrimp sauce chicken being gobbled up, so I had to enquire Wee Yang what made his wings and so popular. The underground to his success, he reckoned, was "room to experiment and double-frying the chicken".
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Without having to adhere to any har cheong gai traditions, he was gratuitous to play, and through trial and error, he discovered that giving his marinated wings a second fry produced a far superior, crunchy texture that customers love.
Simply before getting their second sizzle in temperature-controlled deep-fat fryers, the wings were drizzled with a 2d layer of seasoned batter, fabricated mainly of egg, flour and baking pulverization. "We do it almost tempura-manner for that extra crispiness on the chicken, so that'southward where we're a flake different from other stalls," he added.
The half-dozen wings (S$1.80 each, minimum order of two) I ordered came direct from the fryer to the tabular array, sitting pretty on make-name parchment paper, with sliced cucumbers and a litte dish of housemade chilli sauce.
Each fly was served whole (drumlet, mid articulation and wing tip all intact) and gift-wrapped in a craggy, golden-brown crust. Crunching through the incredibly hot and crisp batter, I got smooth, tender meat that was moist and marinated perfectly.
The fermented funk of the shrimp sauce was distinct, yet not overpowering, and its pervasiveness gave the craven a deep umami without existence too salty. Petite in size but big in flavour, these wings were dangerously addictive. I made two, three, then 4 wings disappear before pausing to ask what else was in the batter-marinade.
The recipe is one that has gone through much incubation, equally Wee Yang had to create his own from scratch. Like most next-gen hawkers, having nothing passed down to him, this meant scouring the internet for inspiration and even approaching the chefs behind some of his favourite har cheong gai for their recipes.
"Of course they won't share everything. Normally, they'll just tell you bits and pieces, then it'southward upwardly to you to put it all together," Wee Yang said of his encounters with said chefs.
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Likewise, he would simply reveal that his personal recipe contained a blend of ingredients including sesame oil, hua diao jiu (Chinese cooking wine), aromatics and other clandestine seasonings. "Every stall has their own formula and ingredients are mixed in unlike proportions. Only the fundamental has got to be the shrimp sauce," he said.
Wee Yang went through several brands before settling on the one he currently uses, which is from Hong Kong. On its own, the pink-grayness potion of salty, fermented krill was nose-searingly powerful, only when used in the correct mensurate, its putrid pungency transformed into prawny perfection, bringing complexity and dimension to otherwise plain ol' chicken.
But the transformation didn't happen overnight. Ah Tan Wings were so tasty because they had been bathing in their marinade for 2 whole days earlier being twice-fried. Those 48 hours were necessary for the flavor to penetrate correct down to the bone and permeate the meat thoroughly.
Half dozen snackable wings afterwards, I was withal craving more than. As an extra selection, Ah Tan Wings besides have craven and aromatic rice sets complete with runny fried egg, for a more filling har cheong gai experience.
A lighter version of Hainanese chicken rice, Wee Yang had created the ideal accessory to his deep fried craven – a rice that was fragrant with lemongrass and not too oily, served with two wings (S$5.xx), or an "atas" crispy cutlet made from a whole boneless craven leg (S$six.80).
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For added spice, a chilli sauce was specially concocted to go perfectly with the marriage of prawn and poultry. The almost inspired ingredient was the cincalok (some other krill sauce fermented with salt and rice) that augmented the har cheong gai flavour.
The subtle whisper of shrimp mingled with the varied rut of ruddy chillies, chilli padi and green chillies, along with ginger, garlic, onions and fresh lime juice they squeeze themselves.
The chunky sauce was a footling sugariness with a chilli estrus that built and lingered. But its bright zinginess danced boldly on the tongue and rescued the deep-fried, deep-flavoured craven from being too cloying. Ever the enterprising young bell-ringer, Wee Yang has likewise fabricated S$10 jars available for takeaway or online delivery.
When asked what other plans he has for the future, Wee Yang answered modestly: "In an ideal world, I would like to open a stall close to each neighbourhood – North, Southward, East, West, Key, you know? Not too many to oversaturate the market, only close enough to my customers so they don't have to travel and then far. It should only take them a 10- or 15-infinitesimal bulldoze to achieve u.s.a.."
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With Yishun and Ayer Rajah covered, that's 2 down, three more to go for this immature hawker who personifies Ah Tan Wings – local, down-to-earth, relatable.
Adamant to stay truthful to his roots and the heartlanders he serves, Tan Wee Yang is no jack-of-all-trades, but the main of one. His signature shrimp sauce chicken is surf and turf exemplified, uniting the best of the bounding main and the land in ane crispy celebration. True to the words printed on his frock, that'south a "wing-fly state of affairs" for everybody.
Ah Tan Wings is located at Yishun Park Hawker Centre, #01-twoscore, 51 Yishun Ave 11, Singapore 768867. It'due south open daily from 11am to 8pm. Available via online food commitment platforms. Take hold of Makan Kakis with Denise Tan every Thursday from 11am on Gilt 905.
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Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/dining/best-local-food-singapore-yishun-har-cheong-gai-chicken-258791
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