Supper in the Sticks - October 10th
Join Sara and Charlie for our second Curry in the Sticks night on October 10th at North Wraxhall Village Hall (SN14 7AF).
Our aim with Curry in the Sticks is simple: to bring the food of South East Asia to the countryside — cooking dishes that are delicious, authentic, generous and often surprisingly hard to come by outside big cities.
For our second evening, we're heading to Singapore, with a menu centred around one of the country's most iconic dishes: Hainanese Chicken Rice.
The Menu
Singapore Cereal Prawns with Stir-Fried Cucumber Salad
Crispy prawns tossed with Singapore-style cereal crumbs, bringing together savoury, buttery, spicy and slightly sweet flavours alongside a fresh, crunchy cucumber salad.
Hainanese Chicken Rice Set
At the heart of the evening is Singapore's beloved Hainanese Chicken Rice — a deceptively simple dish with a fair amount of technique and history behind it.
Although it takes its name from the Chinese island of Hainan, the dish we know today is very much a product of Singapore. Hainanese immigrants brought dishes and cooking traditions with them, including the idea of poached chicken served with rice. Then over generations the dish evolved in Singapore, absorbing local ingredients, techniques and influences. What emerged became something distinctly Singaporean.
The chicken is gently poached so that the meat remains incredibly tender and juicy with a delicate, clean flavour. But the chicken is only one part of the story.
The rice is arguably just as important. Rather than simply serving the chicken with steamed rice, the grains are cooked in richly flavoured chicken stock after being fried with garlic, ginger and pandan allowing them to absorb all of those aromatic flavours. The result is fragrant, savoury and almost luxurious
It comes with sauces and garnishes that allow you to build each mouthful exactly as you like it: fiery fresh chilli sauce, ginger and spring onion sauce, dark soy, coriander and a light intensely flavoured chicken broth. Each component plays a different role — heat, freshness, salt, richness and fragrance — and together they turn what might sound like a simple plate of chicken and rice into something much more complex.
Choy Sum with Sesame
Tender Chinese greens dressed simply with sesame, adding freshness and a little nuttiness to the feast.
Gai Lan with Oyster Sauce
Another classic accompaniment of crisp, slightly bitter Chinese broccoli with a savoury oyster sauce dressing.
Singapore Mango Pudding
To finish off: a cool, creamy and intensely fruity dish, bringing a little sweetness to the end of the meal.
The evening
We'll be welcoming everyone from 7pm, with starters served at 7.30pm, and finishing at 11pm.
The cost is £40 per person, which includes all of the food and service.
Beer, wine and soft drinks will also be available to purchase on the evening.
You'll be seated around tables of six, so this is very much about the experience of sharing a meal together — passing dishes around the table, trying a bit of everything and discovering some food that you might not otherwise get the chance to eat without travelling to a city or Singapore!
There is plenty of free parking nearby, so getting to North Wraxhall should be nice and easy.
Tickets are non-refundable, but they are transferable, so if you're unable to make it, you can pass your place on to someone else.
Please let us know about any allergies or dietary requirements when you book, and do tell us if you're vegetarian so that we can make sure you're properly catered for.
We'd love you to join us for an evening of Singaporean food, good company and a rather large amount of chicken rice. 🇸🇬🍚
October 10th | North Wraxhall Village Hall | SN14 7AF | 7pm–11pm | £40 per person