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It wasn’t just the romantic sizzle, the behind-the-scene conniving and the jawdropping Singapore sights that made us swoon over “Crazy Rich Asians,” the crazy-popular new movie based on Kevin Kwan’s bestselling novel.
It was the hawker fare — the street food market where every dish made our bellies grumble with envy. The satay! The noodles! The everything!
Of course, it’s hardly surprising that the movie’s food scenes are so irresistible. Director Jon Chu’s parents own Silicon Valley’s Chef Chu’s. Lawrence Chu opened the restaurant in the 1970s and built it into a foodie destination for techies, including Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. Jon Chu knows what delicious food looks like.
But we have never left a movie theater so hungry. Here’s what we’re cooking now — five fantastic (and easy) Singaporean and Chinese dishes. No crazy-rich in-law drama required.
Singapore Chicken Satay with Cucumber Relish
This simple and simply irresistible satay recipe hails from A Little Yumminess food blogger and Mercury News food columnist Simran Singh, who grew up in Singapore. The secret ingredient in her satay marinade is Indonesian kecap manis, a fabulous condiment made of syrupy, sweetened soy sauce, often flavored with garlic, star anise and galangal. (If you have trouble finding kecap manis here, you can make something similar by simmering equal parts soy sauce and dark brown sugar or molasses.)
Chicken Satays With Spicy Peanut Sauce
Were Colin and Araminta dipping those satays in peanut sauce? Frankly, we’d dip just about anything in peanut sauce — chicken satays, veggies, very large spoons. This recipe from Bibby Gignilliat, founder of San Francisco’s Parties That Cook, offers up a spicy peanut sauce that we think would pair beautifully with hawker fare in any country.
Singaporean Black Pepper Shrimp
Inspired by black pepper crab, a Singaporean delicacy, this recipe from columnists Stacie Dong and Simran Singh, packs plenty of flavor thanks to Thai bird’s eye chiles and, hello, black pepper. (You can make it less spicy by dialing back the pepper or subbing in a jalapeño or serrano pepper.) Quick tip? Buy peeled, deveined shrimp for this recipe and the stir fry will come together in a flash. Serve it over rice or buttery, garlic noodles — while you discuss Colin and Araminta’s over-the-top wedding bash.
Pork Shiu Mai
It might seem odd to be touting a Super Bowl recipe as the perfect post-rom-com dish. But two years ago, when the National Football League brought its Taste of the NFL Super Bowl food fest to San Francisco, we tasted the pork shiu mai crafted by New York’s Seabar chef — and Buffalo Bills fan — Mike Andrzejewski. We think even Henry Young’s feisty grandmother would approve of this delicious dumpling recipe, even though it’s made (thank heavens) with store-bought, not hand-rolled dumpling skins.
Sesame Noodles
This sesame oil-scented classic comes from Carolyn Phillips, the food writer behind “All Under Heaven” and “The Dim Sum Field Guide” (Ten Speed Press), an illustrated guide to all the noodles, dumplings and other tidbits enjoyed across China — where the movie’s Young family originated. We don’t know what kind of noodles Rachel, Henry, Colin and Araminta slurped in “Crazy Rich Asians,” but we’d like to eat this easy, flavorful dish while we ponder the question.