"Looks Like Toilet Water" — The NY Times' Singaporean Chicken Curry Gets Major Backlash
Netizens, especially Singaporeans, were utterly confused and offended over the unappealing watery dish that was claimed to be 'Singaporean Chicken Curry'.
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A recipe for what's supposed to be 'Singaporean Chicken Curry' by The New York Times' recipes site, NYT Cooking, has received major backlash online
The video of the dish — posted on Instagram recently with the caption "What we're making for Lunar New Year" — shows Taipei-based journalist Clarissa Wei preparing the curry according to a recipe by a Singaporean contributor.
The recipe is apparently highly rated with four out of five stars on the NYT Cooking website, according to NextShark.
Unfortunately, the outcome of the recipe in the video failed to match the vibrant colours and thick, creamy texture of Singaporean Chicken Curry or even curries in general. It did not even look like the bright orange-red dish depicted in the recipe photo printed by The New York Times:
Image via NYT Cooking
In the how-to video, Wei starts off by marinating the chicken thighs with lime juice, pepper, and salt, before frying them in ghee
Image via @nytcooking (Instagram)
She then fries onions, garlic, and ginger before adding spices and pandan leaves – an ingredient not normally associated with curry.
Image via @nytcooking (Instagram)
The chicken thighs were then thrown into the sauté mix along with chicken broth, which was brought to a boil before coconut milk was drizzled on top.
Image via @nytcooking (Instagram)
Netizens immediately criticised the curry's appearance, which looked pale and watery, comparable to "drain water" as some commented
Image via @nytcooking (Instagram)
Singaporeans were especially confused and offended, with one saying, "This in no way resembles anything close to the chicken curry we eat in Singapore".
"This feels like an act of war," wrote one person.
Some questioned why the video was still up.
Other netizens commented, "That’s not curry. That’s drain water", "This looks like toilet water", "This is an insult to curry", and "That's just spice water".
Commentators also threatened to inform Uncle Roger, a character played by Malaysian comedian Nigel Ng, who is famous for mocking Asian recipes gone wrong.
The original creator of the recipe, Shila Das, said she was "unsure" what happened to the dish, which was her father's, on its way to the newspaper's Instagram feed
Das — a second-generation Singaporean of Indian and Vietnamese descent — even shared a picture with Coconuts of the chicken curry she made for Chinese New Year recently, using the same ingredients and method in the recipe.
The difference is quite drastic to that of Wei's, to say the least.
Image via Shila Das/Coconuts
SAYS has reached out to NYT Cooking for comment but has not received a reply.
Now, there are many variations of chicken curry out there but you be the judge on whether this version cuts it:
Remember when a BBC host went viral for the way she cooked fried rice? Read about it here:
Read about these other recipes that stirred controversy:
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