As part of the new series,How to cook” BPR sat down with local chefs to learn about the cuisines and experiences that shaped them. First up was Appalachian/Caribbean chef Dreamboat CafeAsheville-based pop-up food series and publication.
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Guyanese Chinese Fried Chicken is not a dish you can easily find in local restaurants.
But for Asheville chef and author Jasmine Michel, the dish is a childhood staple and a reflection of Caribbean cuisine’s complex traditions and the many cultures and countries that have contributed to its lineage.
Michelle, who grew up in Miami’s Caribbean neighborhood, describes the dish as a “more diverse sister” to the traditional Southern fried chicken popular in the American South, where Caribbean culture thrives and is a popular Friday night order.
The chicken is marinated in salt and citrus fruits, boiled in a salty ginger and star anise broth, then coated in flour and fried—the result, Michel says, is tender, flavorful and incredibly juicy.
“I love the aroma of ginger and spring onion and star anise. I never knew you could infuse meat with so much flavor,” she said.
The dish shares similarities with Chinese soy sauce fried chicken, but the preparation is distinctly Caribbean: While the traditional Chinese version uses soy sauce, the Guyanese Chinese recipe parboils the chicken in a flavorful broth before deep frying.
Guyanese Chinese fried chicken is a by-product of the large influx of indentured servants who were brought to Guyana by ship in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
“My family came specifically from India,” Michelle said, “and other families came from China, Portugal and Africa and brought their recipes to Guyana and created things like Guyanese Chinese fried chicken.”
The dish is one of Michelle’s favorites and fits perfectly under the “big umbrella” of Caribbean cuisine, which she describes as a “beautiful fusion” of spices, tropical ingredients, protein and rice.
She likes to eat it with fried rice and a huge amount of cabbage.
“I’m a bit of a controversial person with this one,” she joked. “A lot of people like to add a bit of raw or cooked cabbage to their fried rice, but I’m a big fan of just thinly shredding about half a cabbage and putting it on top. It’s super refreshing.”
“I’m a bit of a controversial person with this one,” she joked. “A lot of people like to add a bit of raw or cooked cabbage to their fried rice, but I’m a big fan of just thinly shredding about half a cabbage and putting it on top. It’s super refreshing.”
Photo courtesy of Dreamboat Cafe
Dreamboat Cafe: Past, Present, and Future
“Scalable and intersectional” dishes like Guyanese Chinese fried chicken are the conceptual pillars of Michelle’s Dreamboat Cafe, a mobile food pop-up that started in Durham seven years ago and moved to Asheville with Michelle in 2022.
“It started because I was really tired and saddened by the constant feeling that marginalized people in the food world were not recognised at all,” Michelle says, “but marginalized people contribute so much to the food and hospitality industries, so Dreamboat Café was born.”
“It started because I was really tired and saddened by the constant feeling that marginalized people in the food world were not recognised at all,” Michelle says, “but marginalized people contribute so much to the food and hospitality industries, so Dreamboat Café was born.”
Dreamboat doesn’t operate as a traditional café; it currently has no brick-and-mortar store and sells magazines and small-batch culinary products online. She and her partner, Alistair Clarke, recently published an e-book, “The Tree of Guinep,” which explores the emotional process through recipes.
Michelle also hosts a variety of pop-up events, ranging from window-service funnel cakes to an elaborate, multi-course “Aphrodisiac Summer Dinner Series” that serves up creative, historical meals with a BIPOC audience in mind.
In the next few years, Dreamboat may have its first permanent location: Michelle has finalized plans to open an Appalachian Caribbean Country Store in Old Fort and is in the fundraising stages.
With the store’s opening, Michelle hopes to create a space that celebrates the intersection of Caribbean cultures.
“As a Caribbean South Florida kid, I really grew up at the intersection of different cultures, so I had a lot of respect for being in the South but living amongst different Caribbean cultures, and that’s kind of the essence that I wanted to bring to our first brick-and-mortar store,” she said.
During her time working as a cook in Maine and Vermont, she developed an affection for the humble country stores stocked with local cheeses, honey and flours, and the occasional “knitting shopkeeper.”
Michelle envisions the market of the future as “a hub, an adventure and a home all rolled into one,” a place where families of different nationalities can meet and socialize over coffee.
“I would like to have a store that is just for ethnic goods,” she said.
Spices are a key item, of course: Michelle’s favorites include cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, and zira (a type of roasted cumin). She also hopes to offer a variety of cheeses, including some that are popular in the Caribbean.
In addition to spices, staple foods such as rice and beans will also be key, Michel said.
“If there’s a place that serves rice and beans, whether it’s a market or a restaurant, it’s considered a safer, more courageous place, so that’s definitely a marker for me and something that I want to offer,” she said.
Screenshot courtesy of Dreamboat Cafe
Jasmine Michelle’s Guyanese Chinese Fried Chicken
material
– 2 pounds chicken wings (you can also use a whole chicken cut into quarters)
– 3 spring onions
– 3 tablespoons of grated, coarsely chopped ginger
– 3 star anise
– All-purpose flour, cornstarch, potato starch, rice flour (or any combination of these)
– Coarse sea salt
– Frying oil
– Citrus fruit, cut in half
direction
- First, rinse the meat with water, the halved citrus fruit, and salt. Pat dry and set aside while you gather the ingredients for your braising.
- Bring a deep pot of water to a boil with the spring onions, ginger, star anise, and a pinch of salt. Add the chicken to the pot and parboil for 3 to 5 minutes until light in color but still raw inside.
- Place the chicken on a paper towel and heat oil in another skillet to 350 degrees. Coat the chicken in flour and fry for 6 to 8 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
- Finally, season with salt and serve with white rice and freshly sliced spring onions.
Watch the video Michelle preparing Guyanese Chinese fried chicken.
