Hover your phone’s
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the recipe. SEPTEMBER 2019 84 SHAPE.COMPortrait: Andrea D’AgostoGROWING UP outside
Detroit, I learned to cook by watch-
ing my grandfather and father in the
restaurant my family owned. My
favorite dish is one my grandpa used
to prepare for me: Hainan chicken.
He’d make homemade broth using
chicken necks and aromatics like
lemongrass, onion, garlic, and
scallions. Then he’d simmer a whole
chicken in the fragrant broth while
a pot of rice steamed alongside. The
final burst of flavor came from his
signature dipping sauce, a Chinese
scallion-and-ginger relish that we
spooned over the meal at the table.
Over the years I’ve put my own
touches on this recipe, and it has
become the dish my friends request
most often. My grandpa’s Chinese
relish is still a mainstay, but I’ve
added other dipping sauces as
well. My favorites are a spicy red
Singaporean chili sauce and a sweet
and savory Thai-style sauce made
with salted soybeans, oyster sauce,
galangal, ginger, scallions, and gar-
lic. After my friends and I are done
eating, I save the extra broth to drink
when I’m sick, as we did when I was
a kid. I’ll add freshly grated turmeric
and ginger and sip it warm in a mug.
I’m tinkering with a version of
Hainan chicken for the menu at
Nightshade, so I can share it with
my customers. I love the way
food like this helps us connect.Chef Mei Lin, an owner of Nightshade restaurantin Los Angeles and a Top Chef winner, holds a special
place for her grandfather’s cooking, which she says
draws people together. As told to Laura RegePAST MEETS
PRESENT
When Mei Lin
makes Hainan
chicken for friends,
she serves it with
her grandfather’s
signature relish plus
her own dipping
sauces and sides.