- 2 hours ago
Bon Appétit meets Chef Lucas Sin at Singapore’s busiest seafood restaurant, KEK Seafood, to see how the city's iconic chili crab is made. Fresh Sri Lankan mud crab is transformed into a sweet, tangy dish served to hundreds of diners every night.
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00:04Beautiful. Look at this. Amazing.
00:06Welcome to King & Key Seafood here in Singapore.
00:09We're here to check out an iconic crab dish, chili crab.
00:13This restaurant is called a zi cha.
00:15It has an analog in Hong Kong to the Dai Pai Dong,
00:18to Thai stir-fry places, open-air, walk-head-forward, stir-fried restaurant.
00:23Big menu, lots to choose from, a little bit of innovation, a huge amount of evolution.
00:27Here's the massive kitchen. There are walks everywhere.
00:30There are aromas and there are flavors everywhere.
00:32But starting to the right, noodle and rice station, as well as a garde manger,
00:36prepping, cutting things to order, garnishing.
00:39Here, a lot of the classic Ho Fan dishes are made.
00:42As you pan over, you'll see the frying station,
00:44some slightly larger walks with specific dishes.
00:46And then coming into the middle, the main kitchen area.
00:51And basically, they're lined up sort of like an order of seniority,
00:55where Chef Wayne here is right at the end,
00:57in charge of most expensive, most delicious dishes at the restaurant.
01:03This is Executive Chef Corner.
01:05In the back, he's got his walks.
01:07He's got some preparation for blanching in water and oil.
01:11This is what I love about these restaurants.
01:15KEK serves at least 200 tables a night.
01:18It is one of the busiest restaurants in Singapore.
01:20In order for that to happen, the food needs to come out quickly,
01:22and the food needs to be hot.
01:24All of these little preparations,
01:26in French we would call this mise en place, ready to go.
01:29The setup of the kitchen is specifically so that preparation comes from one chef,
01:34cooking comes from the other.
01:35Wayne now is starting with a crab.
01:38Fresh mud crabs from Sri Lanka.
01:39They're gigantic.
01:41This one's about 900 grams.
01:43It's a very fresh crab.
01:44I mean, all these crabs are cut to order.
01:47It was literally alive, you know, 15 seconds ago.
01:49So the job here is to make it properly cracked and nice and segmented.
01:54Hammering it just ever so slightly so it's easier to eat when it goes out to the customer,
01:58but also so that the flesh inside can infuse the sauce of flavor and vice versa.
02:03He's going for the two halves of the main body, the head and the two claws.
02:08The first step of chili crab is to fry the crab.
02:11Crab goes into the hot oil, quick deep fry.
02:13Basically an oil blanch.
02:15Immediately the dark blue crab has turned orange.
02:19Beautiful.
02:20I remember when we first started this 3D's show,
02:23we were at Oi Man Sung in Hong Kong watching that Typhoon shelter crab.
02:26The technique is pretty similar, but the flavor profile totally different.
02:30First in, sambal.
02:32Sambal is made from ginger blossoms, lemongrass, shrimp,
02:35and a bunch of other secret ingredients.
02:37Something to make in-house every single day.
02:39A little bit of stock over the top just to bring all those flavors together
02:42and to give it that liquid base that the gravy is going to be built off of.
02:46Chili crab is actually a braised crab dish.
02:48So you're slowly infusing the flavor of the sauce into the crab
02:52as you're extracting the flavor from the crab and bringing it into the gravy itself.
02:58Because of the high temperature that the chefs are cooking at,
03:00oils in the water is going to emulsify into a nice creamy sauce.
03:03Occasionally, chef is pushing the crab around to make sure that
03:07every single piece of crab is coated evenly so that it cooks just enough.
03:11You want that crab cooked through.
03:13You want it to be flaky.
03:15And you want that sauce to be most of the flavor.
03:17But you also need to make sure that you don't overcook the crab so that it gets mealy.
03:23Chill for garnish.
03:24This also has my favorite raw lettuce just for color, not for taste.
03:28This is where you know the Chinese roots are.
03:31The useless garnish.
03:33Even though the dish is called chili crab, the most important flavor profile here
03:37is actually sweet and sour sauce that they make.
03:39Very similar to a gulo yuk sauce for into chef.
03:43That gulo yuk, that's sweet and sour pork from the Cantonese tradition,
03:46reinforced with a little bit of ketchup.
03:48Add a little bit of cornstarch to thicken it.
03:51Question you may ask.
03:52Why do sauces have to be thick?
03:54Sauces have to be thick because otherwise they don't stick to the ingredient itself
03:58and they don't coat your tongue in the appropriate way
04:00and you won't be able to taste all of those flavors.
04:03This is an egg drop.
04:04It's a classic egg drop.
04:05He ladles it over the top with the heat off.
04:07Brings the heat back up.
04:08Lets the egg slowly come up the tent.
04:11And then he starts tossing.
04:12Unlike a lot of places that's looking for a pure silky egg drop,
04:15he actually is looking for a little bit of ribbons.
04:18Ketchup colored.
04:19Nice and glossy.
04:21Chunks of egg.
04:23Chef, you're very good at this.
04:25How many crabs do you think you've cooked?
04:27From Tau?
04:29Yeah.
04:30Wow.
04:31I'm Tau.
04:32Maybe...
04:33There's a lot of crabs.
04:35I think...
04:36There's a lot of crabs.
04:36Yeah, a little bit.
04:39So nice.
04:40Amazing.
04:41Beautiful.
04:42Look at this.
04:44Chili crab is not the only thing to get here.
04:46In fact, they have a lot of signature dishes,
04:48a lot of which they invented.
04:49If not invented, then perfected that are worth eating here at KEK.
04:53One of those dishes is, I think, what's happening here,
04:57which is a clay pot liver dish.
05:00He's got the burner out.
05:01Look at that temperature.
05:02Unlike a lot of Cantonese restaurants,
05:04where clay pot dishes are stir-fried on the wok first,
05:07this dish is cooked actually entirely inside of this sizzling hot clay pot.
05:11So, Chef, what's happening?
05:14This is liver.
05:15Yeah, liver.
05:16The clay pot liver.
05:16And then what's the seasoning?
05:18We have oyster sauce, soy sauce, black soy sauce.
05:20Wow.
05:22Yes.
05:22And garlic.
05:23That liver needs to be very, very clean, sliced thin,
05:26because the cooking is going to be very quick.
05:28When I look at this, what I get excited about is one of the first things-
05:32Oh my god.
05:33Take a look.
05:33Sorry.
05:36Oil's in.
05:37Catches fire.
05:38Caramelization is going.
05:40Ginger is in.
05:42Shallots are in.
05:43Look at all that color that's building so quickly.
05:46It all begins to sizzle.
05:48The water hits the hot oil.
05:49A little bit of extra sauce.
05:51Crank up the heat.
05:52Whole thing lights on fire.
05:55That smokiness is an iconic flavor profile in a lot of Singaporean cooking.
06:00Unlike a lot of the use of light soy sauce in Cantonese cooking,
06:04dark soy sauce has a higher caramel and molasses content.
06:07And so it's very nice and sweet.
06:09And it carries that wok very, very well.
06:11Stirring constantly to make sure that all of those slices of liver are cooked evenly
06:15and that all of those flavors are emulsified.
06:17You want to make sure that the sesame oils, the oils coming out of the liver,
06:20and the water and the fat is all brought together.
06:23Heat is off.
06:24Residual cooking.
06:26Clay pot is really, really good at keeping that heat.
06:29It turns the heat back on.
06:30A little bit of Shaoxing wine over the top.
06:32And that's it.
06:33The residual heat is going to finish cooking those livers
06:35and soften all of the vegetables over the top.
06:38It's time to eat.
06:38Let's get out of the kitchen.
06:39Thank you, chef.
06:41I cannot emphasize enough how crazy of an operation this is.
06:45We've seen a lot of busy restaurants, but none as busy as Kengeng Ki.
06:4910, 15 cooks inside.
06:50Dishes are flying out.
06:52They're going to serve between 400 and 600 people here tonight.
06:55The food's always going to arrive quickly.
06:56It's always going to arrive hot.
06:58Quickly about these clothes bins.
07:00Each of these clothes bins identifies the table that they're in.
07:04These are the refrigerated room table number 12.
07:06And with that clothes bin, they know which table the dish is supposed to go to.
07:10Clip, ticket, dish, out to service.
07:13I almost feel silly that we're here.
07:15Covered by Netflix, Anthony Bourdain came here, Michelin recognized.
07:21Everybody knows this place.
07:22But when you look around and you see the families and you see the locals,
07:25you know that they are the greatest testament to what good food is.
07:29That's our menu. Take a look.
07:31What are the signature muskets?
07:32So definitely K-pop big sliver.
07:34Moonlight more fun.
07:35Musket.
07:37We're here for chili crab, so we must get chili crab.
07:39Yeah. And because I am a solo diner, but hopefully the crew will eat some of this food.
07:45Phat put piu hung yam basket.
07:47Because it looks crazy.
07:48Get a coffee pork ribs.
07:50Yeah.
07:51That's the smell in the middle of the air.
07:53Is it of Nescafe?
07:55Yes. And some other things.
07:57Sure. Okay. Round out a good meal.
07:59I feel like we probably need a regular vegetable dish too.
08:02What's in season today?
08:04Chinese spinach.
08:06Okay.
08:06Maybe we do it with three eggs.
08:08Something starchy with some gravy.
08:10Perfect.
08:10Oh, next thing already.
08:11This is a bit of a dinner in the show, right?
08:14Uh-huh.
08:15Alright.
08:15Next dish, there's the clay-pop big sliver.
08:18Wow.
08:20God.
08:21Ridiculous.
08:22God, that is so alluring.
08:25Big bowl of rice.
08:27Oh my God.
08:29Get out of here.
08:31This must be your favorite thing to do.
08:33Watching everyone looking at this dish, right?
08:36Are you done more?
08:37Are you done?
08:38It's true.
08:39That will take my time.
08:41Oh my God.
08:42Tossing every grain of rice with the sauce.
08:44And when I'm tossing it,
08:45I also can look at the doneness of the liver.
08:47Still hot, sizzling.
08:48That's what the clay pot's good at doing.
08:50It takes a while to heat up,
08:51but it's going to hold on to that heat.
08:52Oh, more food is coming.
08:53Oh my God.
08:54Moonlight all fun.
08:56The base is a dark soy caramelized or fried rice noodle.
08:59It's traditionally really difficult to cook
09:01because it can be very sticky.
09:03So the noodles themselves have to be very fresh.
09:05And the control over the time and the temperature
09:08of that wok cooking are paramount.
09:10Cantonese culinary school graduation exam
09:13oftentimes serve fried Popeye.
09:15There's the yen basket.
09:18Tossing it.
09:19The next one.
09:21Coffee ribs.
09:23This is a ridiculous dish.
09:24Invented by Chef Sam Leung not that long ago.
09:28Pork cooked with Nescafe.
09:30And a bunch of other things.
09:32But it's got coffee essence in it.
09:34No idea what to expect.
09:35It's fragrant for sure.
09:36Let's start with the liver.
09:38It's a little fancy.
09:41And when it's fresh.
09:49Ridiculous.
09:53Actually so good.
09:55The sweetness inherent in the soy sauce.
09:57Plus the essence of the pork liver that's been cooked into it
10:01with the onions.
10:02All those aromatics.
10:04It's just very thorough.
10:07Through and through.
10:09The perfect pairing of ginger and scallion.
10:12Where one is the earthiness.
10:14And the other one is a little bit of fresh green brightness.
10:16Together.
10:17And the rice.
10:18Outstanding.
10:19Main event.
10:24So nice.
10:27Oh yeah baby.
10:29I knew I was going to do a little bit of chili crab.
10:32So I didn't wear a white shirt.
10:34But the bib has been provided.
10:36By KEK anyway.
10:42Crazy.
10:43When the crab hits the table.
10:45The first thing that you smell.
10:46Is a little bit of freshness and acidity.
10:49And sweetness.
10:50It's called chili crab.
10:51But the main flavor profile.
10:52Isn't chili.
10:54It's sweet and sour.
10:59Brilliant.
11:01Acidity.
11:02Balanced with that sugar.
11:03And that ketchup.
11:04Irresistible.
11:05In any dish.
11:06Whether it's sweet and sour pork.
11:07Or chili crab.
11:10But.
11:10What makes this.
11:12Special.
11:12I think.
11:13Is that Malay inspired flavor.
11:16So to speak.
11:16Inside of that sambal.
11:18That lemongrass.
11:19Nice herbal tones.
11:21Ginger blossom.
11:22Very fragrant.
11:24Very floral.
11:25Tied together with the prawn paste.
11:27The shrimps.
11:27Ocean on ocean on ocean.
11:29Tied together by a very thick.
11:30Luxurious gravy.
11:33Yummy.
11:34Good.
11:36Golden fried mantou.
11:37Basically a deep fried bao.
11:38Fluffy in the middle.
11:39Slightly crispy on the outside.
11:40It's gonna mop up and soak up that sauce.
11:42No way that's bad right?
11:44There's no way that doesn't taste good.
11:46Of course it's gonna be good.
11:49Yummy.
11:53So yummy.
11:54All the flavors on the outside of the shell.
11:56So after you've peeled it.
11:58Have to get it with a little bit more sauce.
12:00Look at that oil gloss.
12:01Gorgeous.
12:02Gorgeous dish.
12:04Mmm.
12:08Yummy.
12:09Moonlight hofen.
12:10Look at this brilliant, beautiful, dark brown, consistent color.
12:14Little bit of squid, fish.
12:15The egg becomes a sauce.
12:17Little bit of residual heat from the hofen.
12:20Doesn't fully cook the egg through, but it heats it up just enough so it becomes a sauce.
12:26It should be nice and slippery.
12:27And that slipperiness, that gentleness of that raw egg should really complement the charredness and the aggression and the bitterness
12:35that comes from that hofen itself.
12:38Mmm.
12:40That's good.
12:42That's really good.
12:47All the little components.
12:49The bounciness of the shrimp.
12:51The sweetness of the Chinese sausage.
12:52Even the fattiness of this, I think it's carp, of this fish.
12:58And then the slipperiness of the noodles.
13:00The crunch of the red onion.
13:02It's all, like all different dimensions of flavor all brought together in one dish.
13:06Let's try some of the other ones I was kind of interested in.
13:09Coffee ribs.
13:21That I don't understand.
13:23Okay, moving on.
13:24Taro.
13:25I'm very excited about this.
13:26Oh, look at that.
13:28That's fun.
13:29These are one of these, like, funny show-off Chinese technique dishes that I'm a big fan of.
13:38Good.
13:39This is a dish that has echoes of that imperial Chinese cooking.
13:43Steamed taro.
13:44Beat it to a paste.
13:46Add starch to it.
13:47Form it into a mold.
13:48Fry it into a nest.
13:49Make another stir fry.
13:51Put it in the middle.
13:52It's a silly, silly thing, but it's awesome and the presentation is incredible.
13:57Last thing.
13:58Just a little vegetables.
13:59This is just to balance out the palate.
14:07Slippery delicious.
14:11There's a Cantonese dish called gold and silver eggs over rice.
14:16The gold is the salted egg yolk.
14:18The silver is the egg white drop.
14:19This is an evolution of that dish.
14:21What I love about KEK is this reads bokkien.
14:27This reads Cantonese.
14:29This reads haka.
14:31This reads Cantonese street food elevated.
14:33This is maybe Eurasian.
14:35And then there's gigantic luxurious dishes like the chili crab.
14:39It seems as if this is the type of restaurant that can only exist in Singapore.
14:43Where Singaporeans are perhaps uniquely good at combining a huge array of cultural influences
14:50into one delicious meal.
14:52Al fresco dining.
14:53Get a couple of beers.
14:54This is an outstanding restaurant.
14:57And maybe we've just picked one of my favorite places I've ever been to in Singapore.
15:02Come to KEK.
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