Page 47 - Cuisine & Wine Asia 2020 - Mar/Apr 2020 Issue

Chicken plays a huge part in the
lives of the masses. An estimated
65 billion chickens get consumed
every year and it plays a huge part
in the cultures of so many people CHEF + CUISINE
all over the world. We explore how
different cultures treat poultry in their
dishes and the new technologies or
ideas that will elevate these dishes.

estling in the
Nrestaurant Birds
Of A Feather,
Chef Eugene
See is egg-
cited. The
y o u th f u l
looking chef
is serving
up an im-
pe ck-able
meal of spices
and chicken:
spicy, but
amazing. Where
else can you get a great
exploration of Szechuan and Western cuisine
but here at Birds of a Feather? The dishes at
the restaurant are based off the traditional Chef See knows quite a bit about the cuisine, seeing
Sichuan chicken dishes, with some done to as he did a lot of research exploring Szechuan
showcase a cleaner, more artistic presentation. cuisine after joining the restaurant, and he talks
about chicken in a practical manner. “Chicken
This is not to say that Chef See only does modern in China is used in many versatile ways because
interpretations of the Szechuan dishes: His of how wide China is,” he explains. “Braised,
interpretation of the Szechuan dish Yu Er Ji (芋儿 roasted, boiled, steamed, fried, there
鸡), includes both the traditional interpretation are so many ways to cook it.” The wide
served with yam and spices, as well as the usage of chicken in China, as well as worldwide,
modern take on it with Western presentation, is one reason why Chef See views the chicken as
meant to be shared between two or more people. less of an ingredient and more as a ‘product’.
It’s one of the new items recently introduced
in the menu, though Chef See is considering “Chicken is one of the ingredients that is so
replacing the kampong chicken he used in consumed consumed that at some point, I feel
the dish with guinea fowl, due to the texture. that we’ve started to look at chicken as less of an
ingredient and more of a commodity, especially
Chicken Soup For The Soul
pg044 1. find the chicken in the chillies pg045 2. Chef when you compare it to how beef is treated,” he
Eugene See muses. “It’s a product now, thanks stores like KFC,
top image 3. Sichuan yam and chicken stew served two and stalls that sell chicken rice, for example.”
ways
bottom image 4. Sichuan chicken bruschetta
045