Canadian chef Matty Matheson has been a pretty entertaining addition to the VICE Network. Loud, brash, and certainly a talented chef, his show Dead Set on Life on the Viceland TV network is as much a hilarious display of his larger-than-life personality as it is an enlightening culinary demonstration. After all, who wouldn’t be interested in making “Guaranteed To Get You Laid” Lasagna and Squad Fried Chicken by a foulmouthed, tattooed chef?
But the dude somehow messed up in the eyes’ of fans when he crafted with his own version of Hainanese Chicken Rice. Straying away from the usual ingredients that Singaporeans know and love, his recipe includes the likes of anise hyssop, Szechuan buttons, butter and er… edible flowers.
Really, we’ve got no qualms with folks experimenting with tried-and-tested local cuisine to give dishes a more atas taste — but for many Asian cuisine purists, Matheson’s recipe may as well be blasphemy.
One thing’s for sure — folks should never, ever fuck with Singapore’s national dish lest they want dozens of catty internet comments by puristic Singaporeans descending upon them. But hey, you don’t see any complaints when we butcher traditional recipes of Western dishes to suit our palates.
