Singapore’s top chefs share their favourite summer recipes

Japanese tender abalone

“One of my favourite summer recipes is the Japanese tender abalone. Abalone is the perfect protein to enjoy during the summer months, and I have a version of this dish on Mikuni’s à la carte menu. I take the well-loved Japanese abalone and steam it whole in a bath of premium Japanese sake, pan-sear it and serve it with an abalone liver sauce.”

INGREDIENTS

• 250g live abalone 
• 400g Japanese sake 
• 1 tsp Japanese white sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp of sake stock (leftover liquid after steaming the abalone) 

METHOD

1. Place the sake in a saucepan. Pour the sake over the abalone until submerged and seal the bowl with plastic wrap.
2. Place the bowl and shells into a steamer. Steam for 4 hours or until the abalone is tender. 
3. Set aside to cool. Once cooled, remove the livers from the rest of the cuts. 
4. Add Japanese white sesame oil to the livers of the abalone. Roughly mash the livers and pass through a sieve. Add sake stock to the abalone liver to create a sauce. 
5. Slice and lightly grill the abalone on a pan and serve with abalone liver sake sauce on the side.

Read more: Review: Mikuni’s spring menu presents modern Japanese cuisine with theatrical flair

Siracusa grilled watermelon, beef dripping, sea salt 

“I grew up in the countryside of Genova. At the first sight of the warmer season, the Sunday gatherings would begin, with friends and family coming by for an outdoor grilling session. 

“The real nostalgic element of these times and the symbol of summer is the watermelon. Watermelon was always present at the end of these meals; it was huge, cheap, refreshing, and deliciously sweet. While everybody mostly enjoyed eating it in its natural state, there was a small twist that I have often loved to make for myself.

“When a particularly fatty piece of beef was placed on the grill, I would arrange for a small metal container to be placed under it to collect the drippings. Then I would slice a piece of extra-cold watermelon (at least 5-7cm thick), brush it with a generous amount of beef dripping, a sprinkle of sea-salt, and then grill it on the hottest side of the grill, where caramelisation would occur with the occasional charred marks here and there. The result? A fantastic flavour combination of ratatouille-style, sweet, savoury, beefy, and smoky. Warm on the outside but still cold and refreshing in the middle. A winner.

“I created a starter for Art di Daniele Sperindio a few summers ago inspired by this memory. The basic elements of the recipe were further complemented and elevated by additional flavours of the season, like an ox-heart tomato fish sauce and green almonds.”

INGREDIENTS 

Vegan fish sauce

• 150g white shoyu
• 10g dried kombu
• 35g dried mushroom
• 25g miso
• 400g water
• 2g aged kombu
• 9g fermented beancurd
• Ultratex

Watermelon

• 1 piece Sicilian watermelon
• Ox heart tomato 
• 2 pieces ox heart tomato
• Mirin 
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 2 whole almonds
• Salt

Capers coulis

• 250g salted capers
• Water

METHOD 

Vegan fish sauce

1. Single-boil all ingredients in a pot and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. Strain the sauce, take 20 per cent of the fish sauce and thicken with Ultratex.

Watermelon

1. Slice the watermelon to a thickness of 8-9cm. Compress the watermelon in vegan fish sauce 10 times and then freeze it.
2. Once frozen, brush the watermelon with rendered beef fat, grill it on high heat over binchōtan for 2 minutes on each side. Remove the watermelon from the grill and blowtorch it with a propane torch until uniformly black.
3. Transfer to the chiller to temper. Slice thinly (2mm).

Ox heart tomato

1. Blanch the ox heart tomato for a few seconds in boiling water, then shock them in ice-water, removing the skin. Dry them and submerge one tomato into rosemary-flavoured extra virgin olive oil, and one into mirin. They must steep for 3 days minimum.
2. When ready to use, remove the tomato from the liquid. Slice into 1.5 cm x 1.5 cm cubes.
3. Blowtorch both tomatoes on the outside and mix both in a 50-50 ratio, with fresh green almond slices and salt to taste.

Capers coulis 

1. Wash off salt from the capers and blend it all. Use water to adjust viscosity.

Plating

1. Stack the tomatoes into an oval dome shape.
2. Brush lightly some Wagyu fat on top of the dome and add some drops of capers coulis.
3. Take the watermelon slices and lay them into a lobster tail-like arrangement (trim the sides if too wide).
4. Finish off with brushing a layer of vegan fish sauce.

Maine lobster tail 

“One of my favourite summer recipes is our grilled lobster tail that is served with a variation of corn alongside caviar.

“To achieve a charred flavour for the lobster, we utilise charcoal grilling. We use white corn from the Cameron Highlands as it is currently in its prime season. We caramelise the corn to perfection and blend it into a velouté form. The sweetness of the corn complements the lobster, highlighting its flavour profile. Last but not least, to elevate perfection, we top it with caviar, which enhances the umami.”

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lobster tail

Variation of corn

• 1 ear fresh Chitose white corn
  1 ear fresh Japanese young corn

Corn cob broth

• 6 ears of corn
• 2.4l water
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 sprigs thyme

Sweetcorn caramel velouté

• 200g Japanese yellow corn
• 50ml mirin
• 50g shallots, diced
• 200ml broth
• 30g butter

Corn purée

• 200g Japanese Yellow Corn
• 1 tsp brown butter

Garnishes

• Caviar 
• Pea tendril

METHOD

Corn cob broth

1. Cut the corn off the cob and use the back of the knife to scrape off the juices. Do this over a baking dish or large bowl to catch the kernels. Set the cut corn kernels aside for the velouté and purée.
2. Fill a large pot with 2.4l of water. 
3. Break the cobs in half and add to the water along with the garlic and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for around 45 minutes.
4. Strain over a large bowl to remove the cobs, thyme, and garlic. Add the salt to the broth.

Sweetcorn caramel velouté

1. Heat a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the tablespoon of oil and shallots and sauté for 2-3 minutes until the shallots are softened. 
2. Add the corn and sauté for 5 minutes, then add mirin to caramelise. 
3. Add broth and simmer for 20-30 minutes, then turn off the heat. Pour over the blender, blend and sieve.

Corn purée

1. Steam the remaining corn, or boil until soft. 
2. Strain and transfer into a blender, add brown butter and seasoning, and blend until very fine. Sieve and set aside.

Chitose white corn and young corn

1. Steam the white corn and vacuum-seal it overnight. For the young corn, remove the husk. 
2. Start the binchōtan fire. Remove the white corn from the vacuum-pack, grill and char the corn and cut; set aside. Repeat with the young corn.

Grilled lobster

1. Splash each side of the lobster tail with sake & mirin mixture before grilling the lobster tail on top of the binchōtan. 

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