Chefs’ picks of the most luxurious ingredients they can’t do without
Dear. Rare. Exclusive. Some or all of the reasons why it’s a luxury adding a piece, and sometimes just a sliver, of a precious ingredient to a dish. An indulgence? Chefs say it is a necessity. They share with us some of their favourites here.
RED MUSHROOM
Red mushrooms from China’s Wuyi Mountain in Fujian province are harvested between July and August after the rainy season. Experienced pickers make the arduous trek to reach specific altitudes where this delicate delicacy blooms and withers within the day. The red mushroom shrinks back if there’s too much noise, so pickers have to take care to move stealthily. What’s more, the deed has to be done at three to four am in the morning when the mushrooms are still small buds with their caps unopened. Extracted carefully this way with their mycelium intact, the red mushroom retains its full nutritional value and taste. Once picked, they are sun-dried and typically used as dried mushrooms.
In a seasonal promotion up to 30 November, Chef Li Wenwu, master chef of PUTIEN Kitchener Road will be using these red mushrooms ($348 per kg), to make seasonal dishes and beverages such as a very savoury red mushroom tea, double-boiled chicken soup with red mushroom, braised bean curd skin with red mushroom. The red mushrooms are said be particularly good as a blood tonic, particular for women.
ALBA WHITE TRUFFLES
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
New Blood
The next-generation is breathing new life into the forgotten art of spice-mixing, peppering the traditional trade with renewed ideas and fresh perspectives.
Sharing Is Caring
Compared to its flagship at Serene Centre, Fat Belly Social at Boon Tat Street is a classier and bolder affair, in more than one sense.
Nutmeg's Role In Singapore's History
From tales of it being used to ward off the plague in mid-1300s Europe to one of the ingredients in dessert, we have all known, tasted, or at least heard of nutmeg. But not many know of the spice’s role in Singapore’s history.
New And Improved
The ever-profound chef-owner Kenjiro ‘Hatch’ Hashida finds more room, three to be exact, to express a Ha Ri philosophy at Hashida Singapore’s new location at Amoy Street.
Pairing Spice-Driven Cuisines With Wine
Pairing spice-driven cuisines with wine has long been a challenge but with a little imagination, it doesn’t have to be.
Let Land Grow Wild
Niew Tai-Ran has worn many hats: aeronautical engineering major, investment banker, avid surfer, and, for the last 14 years, winemaker. Discover how this Malaysia-born, Singapore-native is championing the “do-nothing farming” philosophy at his vineyard in Oregon.
The South Asian Misnomer
Incredibly diverse and varied than most know, Indian food is far more intriguing than butter chicken or thosai. Here is a crash course on the extensive cuisine from region to region, recognisable for the seemingly infinite ways of using spices.
Keepers Of The Spice Trade
From its glory days along trade routes to pantry staples all over the world, spices have become so commonplace that we’ve taken them for granted. For these three trailblazers, however, spice is their livelihood and motivation: Langit Collective working with indigenous rural farming communities in Malaysia; IDH’s Sustainable Spice Initiative; and chef Nak’s one-woman mission to share forgotten Khmer cuisine.
Sugar, Spice And Everything Nice
Like food, spices bring vibrancy and variety to alcoholic beverages. Surfacing in unexpected ways on the palate, find everything from cumin to tamarind, cloves to cardamom enriching these drinks.
Building Blocks From The Archipelago
For the smorgasbord of dishes found in Indonesian cuisine, it is a little known secret that the modest bumbu, in all its variants, is the bedrock of such flavourful fare.
