Singh for your supper
Leith’s own celebrity chef and TV personality Tony Singh MBE speaks exclusively with Rosie Morton about his upbringing, culinary ethos and sensational pop-up restaurant
Aperitifs of Jura’s finest? Spice-rich mains that pack a punch? A side of wicked wit? These are the makings of any great dinner party, and Tony Singh MBE brings them all in spades. Much-loved for his fusion of Scottish and Asian flavours, Leith’s own celebrity chef and TV star is known for bringing the party wherever he goes. This time, he’s here to enliven your own get-together, sharing five delectable creations with you, our Scottish Field readers.
‘People keep forgetting that it is the produce that makes it special,’ begins Tony, who trained classically as a chef and worked at prestigious venues like The Balmoral Hotel, Skibo Castle and The Royal Yacht Britannia, before launching his own solo, award-winning ventures. ‘Then you’ve got this amazing whisky, the water of life. You’ve got something that is revered all over the world, which is awesome.’
Tony is a fourth-generation Scottish Sikh, and grew up learning tricks of the trade from his mother who would make everything from millionaire’s shortbread, stovies and clootie dumplings, to Punjabi staples which were the envy of his school friends. ‘We had fresh food all the time. But it was the beginning of all this ready-made stuff,’ he muses. ‘My friends used to love coming to mine because it was all this exotic Indian food. I liked going to theirs because
I’d get fish fingers or a Findus pancake – but, to be honest, they were horrendous!’
Fresh, flavoursome food is the key as far as Tony is concerned, and this ethos sits at the heart of his latest culinary business, Radge Chaat, a vegetarian and vegan pop-up restaurant that he launched in partnership with his brother, Lucky. This ‘chaat’ – a savoury snack that originates from India and is traditionally served from roadside stalls or food carts – is, I assure you, as delicious as any meat dish I’ve ever had. ‘People are always scared to have street food in any country but that’s the safest food to have because it’s fresh, it’s made there on the spot,’ he tells me, speaking of his own love of travelling and uncovering the authentic tastes of each country he visits.
Back at home though, Tony has launched ‘The Supper Club’, welcoming 12 diners into his own Edinburgh abode for cocktails, canapés, a slap-up 8-course meal and plenty of good old-fashioned craic. After all, even the simplest food tastes better in good company.
‘If you knew you were away to kick the bucket and you could have anything, I’d have anything from a cheese sandwich to a chocolate eclair with my grandad – because I never met him,’ says Tony, who admits to having a sensationally sweet tooth. ‘That’s the thing, it’s not what you eat, it’s who you eat it with – how you share it.’
Serves 6
Ingredients
1kg pork belly, skin scored and bones removed 100g fresh red chillies, stalk removed 8 garlic cloves, peeled
100g fresh ginger root, peeled 100g honey
50ml sesame oil
15ml rapeseed oil
Sea salt
For the bok choy
8 bok choy
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 red chillies, deseeded and cut into strips 4 garlic cloves, finely grated 30g fresh ginger root, finely grated 1 small red onion, sliced
Soy sauce
For the creamed potatoes
1kg Maris Piper potatoes; 40g butter; 40ml double cream; sea salt; freshly grated nutmeg
Method
Pulse chilli, garlic and ginger in a processor into a thick paste. Add honey and sesame oil. Pulse again. Coat flesh of the pork with mixture (not the skin) and refrigerate overnight. When about to cook, put pork on a wire rack and brush the skin with rapeseed oil and plenty of salt. Pre-heat oven to 190°C and cook for 25-30 mins. Turn down to 150°C and cook for a further 1½-2 hours until meat tender and crackling crisp. (Turn back up to 180°C if needed to finish crackling). Remove from oven and allow to rest. Wash and dry bok choy. Heat sesame oil in a wok then add the onion, chilli, ginger and garlic. Cook for a few minutes then add the bok choy. Stir until just cooked and season with soy sauce. Peel potatoes and cut into even sized pieces. Boil in salted water until tender. Drain well and return to pan on a low heat for a few minutes to dry then mash.
Bring butter and cream to the boil in a small pan then add to the potatoes. Season with salt and nutmeg. Slice the pork and crackling onto the mash and serve with bok choy on the side.