Hooi Kok Wai
{{Short description|Singaporean chef and restaurateur}}
Hooi Kok Wai ({{zh|s=许国威|t=許國威|p=Xǔ Guówēi|jy=Heoi2 Gwok3 Wai1}}; born {{circa}} 1939), also known as Hooi Kok Wah,{{cite news|title=Coming together over raw fish – for 30 years now|date=27 January 1995|page=15|newspaper=Weekend East}}{{cite news|title=A dish called yu sheng|last=Xuanwei|first=Teo|date=29 January 2011|newspaper=Today|page=2}} is a Singaporean chef and restaurateur. Known as one of the country's four "heavenly kings" of cooking, he began his cooking career in the 1950s.
Career
Hooi started working as a cook at the Cathay Restaurant in the 1950s. On 8 April 1963, Hooi opened his own restaurant, the Dragon Phoenix Restaurant in Tanjong Pagar.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNQAjxazzTU|title=Did Chilli Crab Come From Singapore... Or Malaysia?|time=Event occurs at 19:05|date=12 April 2023|publisher=CNA Insider|accessdate=14 April 2023}} In 1974, the Red Star Restaurant, a joint venture between Hooi and his former colleagues at the Cathay Restaurant, was opened.
Hooi is credited with creating a distinct version of chilli crab that involves eggs, sambal, and tomato paste.{{cite book|page=32|title=Eating Chilli Crab in the Anthropocene|year=2022|first=Matthew|last=Schneider-Mayerson|publisher=Ethos Books |isbn=9789811459634}}{{cite web|publisher=Singapore Tourism Board|url=https://www.visitsingapore.com/dining-drinks-singapore/local-dishes/chilli-crab/|title=Chilli Crab|accessdate=14 April 2023}} Hooi and his Red Star Restaurant co-founders, collectively known as the four "heavenly kings" of cooking in Singapore, are also credited with popularising a Chinese New Year raw fish salad known as yusheng{{cite news|title=He's a founding father of yusheng|first=Pau Lin|last=Teo|date=18 February 2007|page=69|newspaper=The Straits Times}} and inventing the yam ring.{{cite web|url=https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/vol-9/issue-3/oct-dec-2013/culture-into-the-melting-pot/|title=Into the Melting Pot: Food As Culture|publisher=National Library Singapore|accessdate=29 January 2025}}
As of 2018, Hooi was still involved in running the Red Star Restaurant, while he had handed over management of the Dragon Phoenix Restaurant to his son.{{cite news |url=https://www.zaobao.com/zlifestyle/food/story20180224-837588 |title=
亚洲食尊美食盛会头炮 名厨冼良与许国威 古早婚宴菜上桌 |newspaper=Lianhe Zaobao |date=24 February 2018 |access-date=5 June 2023}}
References
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