Shrimp paste chicken is a popular dish in Singapore. Most cantonese resturants and cze cha stalls willl have this dish on their menu. Strangely enough, I have never managed to find the recipe for it so when I saw the Maggi Shrimp Paste Chicken Mix, I decide to try it out even though I never have a good impression of any Maggi ready made flavourings.
Now now don't sneer. Ready made sauces and powder mixs are pretty useful. Further more, the quality and variety have been improving over the years. These ready made flavourings are great for when I am short of time but still need to cook something that is a bit fancy.
The shrimp paste mix turned out to be pretty good. First of all it's really easy to use. Just add the powder to the chicken. Marinade for like 15 minutes and then deep fry the chicken. So how does the final result compare to the resturant version?
I have used chicken thigh pieces which could be the reason why the texture this time round is closer to Tori Karaage (Japanese style fried chicken) than the resturant style shrimp paste chicken which uses chicken pieces with bones or chicken wings. Taste wise, it is quite close to the resturant version, being a bit on the sweet side. I am most happy with the look. The chicken is golden brown and succulent looking.
So if you need to bring something to a potluck, consider using the shrimp paste chicken mix to fry up some chicken, it will look so good the others will think you bought it from a resturant. A cheat success!
PS: I will still like to have the actual recipe of shrimp paste chicken so if anyone has the recipe, please e mail me or leave a comment. Thanks!
hi ST, looks so good i got to try this....maybe we should host a food blogger day in spore....i will be back for a 2 week hols...looking forward :)
Posted by: husky9 | October 04, 2004 at 05:56 PM
Hi husky9,
welcome home! A food blogger day is a wonderful idea.
Posted by: ST | October 05, 2004 at 11:48 PM
Hi ST, actually, ha cheong gai is very simply to make - you just need belacan and potato flour. If your belacan is the solid-block kind, jus mix it with some water and then use it to marinade the chicken. when ready to cook, coat with potato flour and deep fry. The result is excellent!
My friend gave me this pastey belacan from a famous store in Geylang, which makes my ha cheong gai very fragrant. but regular solid block ha cheong gai is fine too... :) hope this helps!
Posted by: spots | October 16, 2004 at 08:01 AM
Hi spots
thanks for dropping by my blog and the information on ha cheong gai. Is the famous store in Geylang Kwong Cheong Thye?
Posted by: ST | October 17, 2004 at 11:53 PM
Hi ST, yes yes, I think so :) hope u can try it out! :)
Posted by: spots | October 19, 2004 at 07:28 AM
Hi there,
I stumped upon your blog while looking for shrimp paste chicken background. I just posted recipe of making shrimp paste chicken from scratch. You can visit to the blog and try out the recipe!
http://photosophize.blogspot.com/2009/03/fried-shrimp-paste-chicken-recipe-with.html
Posted by: Photosophize | March 21, 2009 at 02:32 PM