KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 26 — Canadian chef Matty Matheson’s riff of Hainanese chicken rice has got Malaysians and Singaporeans up in arms.
The recipe for the South-east Asian comfort food Matheson called “Hainanese Chicken” posted on online magazine Vice’s food site Munchies last week features ingredients such as anise hyssop, butter, olive oil and topped with sesame seeds and Szechuan buttons, a type of edible flower that has been described as an effervescent when eaten.
Purists have panned it as another Western attempt at cultural appropriation against Asian dishes.
“I grew up eating this stuff and just came back from Malaysia. This is not how it’s done or served,” said user Mei Lai in a comment on the Munchies Facebook page.
“Actual Hainanese Chicken rice looks nothing like that,” said another user Kim Shermain.
“Ang mohs treating ang mohs as Singaporean or Malaysian food experts… Thought ang moh food media and chefs would be extra careful, especially since it’s so soon after the Vietnamese Pho saga,” chided user Soongfee Chen, using the Hokkien slang for white people.
Matheson also posted a photo of the dish on his Instagram account. While the post has been liked by over 2,400 users, the comments were not particularly generous.
“I saw the recipe on Munchies. Not Hainanese chicken rice. Call it chicken rice and you won’t offend so many of the Southeast Asians who grew up eating the dish.
“There is absolutely nothing in this dish that resembles real Hainan chicken rice, apart from the chicken and rice. #culturalappropriation,” commented user @anastasiamusic90.
“This might be your version of Hainanese chicken rice but it’s not done like that locally. However everyone has the right to recreate a dish they like in any form they please,” said user @gaeul_loves_to_cook.
Munchies had described the dish as the “ultimate comforting dinner”, that was made by Matheson for his family right after his wife delivered their newborn son.
His recipe calls for cooking rice with chicken stock and steaming a whole chicken, before topping them with chopped cucumbers, anise hyssop (a Northern American purple-flowered herb usually used for tea), Szechuan buttons which are the edible flower buds of the acmella oleracea also known as the “toothache plant”, chillies, and cilantro tossed with lime, salt and oil.
The accompanying dip is a mix of olive oil, pickled ginger and scallions. Chicken broth is spooned over the dish which is decorated with the remainder of the edible flowers.
The heavily tattooed Mattheson runs hipster restaurant-cum-bar Parts and Labour in Toronto, and is a regular face on Vice Network with his global travel show Dead Set On Life and “how to” cooking videos.
Last month, readers accused American food magazine Bon Appetit of cultural appropriation after a video posting by white chef Tyler Akin in which he explained the right way to eat Vietnamese noodle dish pho.
