Replace white rice with red…

By Dr Woo Tai Kwan

If you wish to eat healthy, replace white rice with red…so says Chef Dave, Malaysia’s leading vegan celebrity chef, who shares his thoughts with Dr Janet Woo.

FOR those who wish to embrace a more healthy and wholesome diet, Chef Dave has some tips for you.

“Do try to switch from white rice to brown or red. Red rice is much healthier as it is pure in form. Unlike white rice, the husk of red rice has not been removed. This means red rice contains a lot more nutrients and has higher fibre content.

“I have tried various types of red rice, and I find that Primera Red Rice (PRR) is one of the healthiest. The husk is removed but the bran layer and germ are intact.

“It has low GI (glycaemic index), which makes it the best rice for diabetics and those in the pre-diabetic range. It is also very rich in antioxidants, which protects our body cells from damage by oxidising agents.

“Switch to Primera red rice if you wish to eat healthy,” urges the vegan celebrity chef, whose ChefDaveVeganJourney (a lifestyle and recipe channel) on YouTube has almost a million subscribers.

“Making the change will not be easy, as most of us are used to the taste of white rice. PRR has a nutty, earthy flavour and it takes time to get used to this.

“Perhaps you can do this in stages. Start by mixing white rice with red – 60% white with 40% red in the first week, then 40% white with 60% red in the second week. Then you try to move on to 80:20 and eventually, 100% red,” he advises.

“Don’t think vegans don’t eat junk food. They do. That is why I would really like to tell vegans about the option to white rice.

“I am obese but I wish to eat healthy from now on. And I want my audience to eat healthy too,” adds Chef Dave, with a smile.

This 31-year-old vegan advocate is, indeed, a figure to admire.

Born Kalidevan Murugaya in the small town of Jementah near Segamat, Johore, Chef Dave began his culinary career with the Shangri La group of hotels before joining the Disney Cruise Line as a Western Cuisine chef.

Then, in 2019, the pandemic struck. The tourism industry was hard hit and Chef Dave found himself out of a job.

Undaunted, the enterprising chef took to social media in search of opportunities. He was fascinated by YouTube and soon saw a gap in promoting Malaysian vegan food. He quickly set up his own YouTube account and started uploading lifestyle and recipe videos every day. To increase his subscriber rate, he even printed 1000 flyers, inviting people to sign up on his YouTube channel. Not content to rest on his laurels, he even pushed these flyers under the doors of neighbouring houses. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today, Chef Dave has more than a million followers across social media. He has also set up Malaysia’s first plant-based cooking academy, D’Vegan Academy, which offers online cooking classes. The academy currently boasts an enrolment of 3500 students.

But Chef Dave is not just into vegan food alone.

“My dream is not just to promote vegan food; I want to promote a vegan lifestyle; we should not be using any animal by-product at all. My ultimate dream is to offer a one-stop solution where vegans adopt not just vegan products but a whole plant-based lifestyle.

For now, at least, Chef Dave seems on track to realising his dream. Besides making his presence felt on social media, he also presents at hotels and educates the public on TV shows. He has also made a name for himself as one of the chefs under Masters of Malaysian Cuisine (MOMC), promoting veganised Malaysian cuisine to international audiences.

With regards to PRR, Chef Dave has set himself a new challenge. Come June, he will embark on a 100-day challenge to eat healthy.

“For the next three months, I will eat Primera red rice only. No white rice, no processed food, not even bottled chilli sauce…

“If I ask my audience to eat healthy, they need to change their eating habits. It is only fair that I change mine too. So, I will start with personal change.

“Whenever I eat PRR, I feel full faster and I snack less. So, let us see what happens after my 100 day-challenge is over. By September, you might see a very different me – a healthier, slimmer me.

“Who knows? Once I make the switch to PRR, I may never go back to white rice again,” he adds with a laugh

A worthy challenge indeed.

Good luck, Chef Dave. I can’t wait to see the outcome in three months’ time.

Perhaps we should all join Chef Dave and go on a similar challenge ourselves. Are you ready to switch to Primera red rice?

I know I am. Let’s do it now.