CHEF MARTIN FOO
CHEF MARTIN FOO
MASTER OF
CHINESE CUISINE
Award-winning Chef Martin Foo has spent over 30 years honing his craft at leading Chinese restaurants in Singapore. Today, he's the group executive chef of Crystal Jade.
CHEF MARTIN FOO
GROUP EXECUTIVE CHEF OF
CRYSTAL JADE CULINARY CONCEPT HOLDING
As the group executive chef of one of Singapore’s most beloved Chinese restaurant chains, Chef Foo wields an experienced hand overseeing the culinary direction of all brands under Crystal Jade Culinary Concept Holding internationally.
Whether it’s serving everyday favourites at Crystal Jade Kitchen or sumptuous delicacies at Michelin-starred Crystal Jade Golden Palace, Chef Foo believes that selecting quality ingredients is the secret to delicious Chinese food.
This is because many Chinese dishes do not rely on the use of strong spices in their preparation. “Most of the flavours of Chinese dishes are rendered from the innate taste of the ingredients, as well as the cooking method used, be it slow braising, high-heat frying or poaching, among others,” he shared.
Chef Foo knows this from over three decades of experience, having spent the first 17 years of his career honing his palate and skills at Lei Garden Group, followed by high-profile tenures at Tung Lok Group and VLV Singapore.
His love for delivering creative and innovative dishes sees his team experimenting extensively in the kitchen. Part of the pursuit of perfection involves tasting different ingredients sourced from a myriad of countries to find just the right one.
“There may be subtle taste differences due to the climate or the terroir where an ingredient is grown. We spend time experimenting with each ingredient in different ways to decide which dishes they work best in,” he said.
CHEF MARTIN FOO
GROUP EXECUTIVE CHEF OF
CRYSTAL JADE CULINARY CONCEPT HOLDING
Chef Foo knows this from over three decades of experience, having spent the first 17 years of his career honing his palate and skills at Lei Garden Group, followed by high-profile tenures at Tung Lok Group and VLV Singapore.
His love for delivering creative and innovative dishes sees his team experimenting extensively in the kitchen. Part of the pursuit of perfection involves tasting different ingredients sourced from a myriad of countries to find just the right one.
“There may be subtle taste differences due to the climate or the terroir where an ingredient is grown. We spend time experimenting with each ingredient in different ways to decide which dishes they work best in,” he said.
Chef Foo’s rendition of silky scrambled egg assorted seafood hor fun is easy to prepare at home with deft touches that transform a familiar favourite into a restaurant-worthy dish. He recommends sauteing the ingredients at high heat to create the subtle charred aroma of wok hei, a quality often only achieved in professional kitchens.
If you can’t attain wok hei at home because of equipment limitations, don’t fret. Paying attention to the other elements of the dish will pay off deliciously.
Chef Foo said: “A good seafood hor fun should be savoury, with hints of sweetness and umami from the seafood. It should have varied textures – crunch from the vegetables, and soft, not soggy, flat rice noodles, cloaked in a luscious sauce.”
FLAVOURS
OF THE
WORLD
Chef Foo's seafood hor fun:
Source your ingredients
from the world over.
FLAVOURS
OF THE WORLD
Chef Foo's seafood hor fun:
Source your ingredients from the world over.
SPAIN
SQUID
The biggest consumers of squid in Europe, Spain is also the continent’s leading squid-processing country.
UKRAINE
CHICKEN EGG
To avoid supply squeezes, Singapore has diversified its sources of eggs, with Ukraine being one of the newer approved countries.
SPAIN
SQUID
The biggest consumers of squid in Europe, Spain is also the continent’s leading squid-processing country.
UKRAINE
CHICKEN EGG
To avoid supply squeezes, Singapore has diversified its sources of eggs, with Ukraine being one of the newer approved countries.
SAUDI ARABIA
PRAWN
Prawns from the region are said to have a better taste and texture as they are farm-grown in the Red Sea, which has a higher salinity compared to seawater from other parts of the world.
SAUDI ARABIA
PRAWN
Prawns from the region are said to have a better taste and texture as they are farm-grown in the Red Sea, which has a higher salinity compared to seawater from other parts of the world.
HOW TO MAKE
SEAFOOD HOR FUN
Serves 1
Ingredients
180g flat rice noodles (hor fun)
20g onions, sliced thinly
20g beansprout
5 sea prawns, approx. 110g, shelled and marinated with pinch of salt and potato starch
75g squid, sliced into rings
40g Hong Kong cai xin
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1 red chilli, thinly sliced
1 egg, beaten
5g spring onions
Cooking oil for frying
Seasoning for hor fun
½ tbsp dark soya sauce
¾ tbsp light soya sauce
Gravy seasoning (to taste)
Salt
Sugar
Chicken extract powder
Pepper
For prawn broth
Thumb-sized knob of ginger, sliced
500ml boiling water
Prawn heads and shells from the 5 sea prawns
For potato starch slurry
2 tbsp potato starch
2 tbsp water
Instructions
To make prawn broth:
- Add oil to a pot over high heat and stir-fry prawn heads and shells with ginger till fragrant, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add boiling water and simmer stock over low heat for about 15-18 mins until it is reduced to about 350ml.
- Set aside for use later.
To make hor fun:
- Add oil into frying pan and stir-fry onions and beansprouts over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.
- Add hor fun and stir-fry over high heat until hor fun is slightly charred and imbued with wok hei.
- Add dark soya sauce and light soya sauce and toss to coat strands evenly.
- Remove hor fun from pan and place on serving plate.
- Add prawns, squid, cai xin, carrot, red chilli and gravy seasoning to the reduced prawn stock.
- Mix potato starch and water well together and set aside.
- Once stock comes to a boil, add potato starch slurry while stirring gently in a clockwise direction gently, until stock thickens to a smooth gravy.
- Remove pot from the heat, add beaten egg and spring onion. Stir gently to mix.
- Pour gravy over hor fun and serve.
STILL HUNGRY?
