Butter versus margarine

Butter versus margarine
Pass The Butter This is interesting . . .
Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research
wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back. It was a white substance
with no food appeal so they added the yellow coloring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavorings.
DO YOU KNOW...the difference between margarine and butter???
Both have the same amount of calories. Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams compared to 5 grams.
Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.
Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods. Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few only because they are added!
Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavors of other foods. Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years.

Margarine..

Very high in Trans fatty acids. Triple risk of coronary heart disease. Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol) Increases the risk of cancers up to five fold. Lowers quality of breast milk. Decreases immune response. Decreases insulin response.
And here's the most disturbing fact.... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING !!! Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC.
This fact alone was enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).
You can try this yourself:
Purchase a tub of margarine and leave it in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will note a couple of things:
* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it that should tell you something)
* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value; nothing will grow on it Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow. Why? Because it is nearly plastic.
Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Share This With Your Friends.....(If you want to "butter them up")!

Chinese Proverb: "When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others."

Szaszłyki Satay

Szaszłyki Satay
Witold T.Zalewski
Ostatnio przebywając w Singaporze i Malazji wszędzie można zjejść smaczne szaszłyki satay. Badacze tradycji kulinarnych ustalili, że satay - małe, mocno przyprawione szaszłyki - pochodzą z Jawy, ale jako bardzo wygodne jedzenie rozprzestrzeniły się na całą Indonezję, Malezję, Singapore,Tajlandię i jeszcze dalej, wszędzie nabierając odmiennego, lokalnego charakteru. Proponuję więc jedynie zainspirować się tym pomysłem, skorzystać z azjatyckiej palety smaków i stworzyć satay własnego autorstwa.


W komponowaniu zestawów przypraw naszym drogowskazem niech będzie różnorodność. Mamy stworzyć smaki słodkie, słone, pikantne, kwaśne, łagodne - wszystkie złożone i bogate.Przypraw i dodatków trzeba sporo, ale wystarczy jedna wyprawa do dobrze zaopatrzonego sklepu z żywnością azjatycką. Z lodówki ze świeżymi produktami wybieramy korzeń imbiru, trawę cytrynową, limonki, kolendrę i miętę. Potrzebne będą również swojskie czosnek, szczypiorek i cebula. Wśród puszek, słoików i butelek wyszukujemy niesłodzone mleko kokosowe, zwykły sos sojowy i słodki sos sojowy albo indonezyjski kecap manis, tajską czerwoną pastę curry, pastę chilli, najlepiej tajską, bo będzie miała w składzie suszone krewetki i tamaryndowiec, które dadzą nowy smaczek, albo zwykły sambal, ponadto olej sezamowy, ocet ryżowy i sos rybny(Nam Pla). Wielkim ułatwieniem jest gotowa japońska marynata teriyaki, którą można ewentualnie samemu przygotować w domu. Przydadzą się miód i brązowy cukier, najlepiej muscovado, sake porto albo wytrawne sherry. Może jeszcze kilka przypraw w proszku - kurkuma, kruszone chilli, kumin.Tak wyposażeni zabieramy się do przygotowywania marynat, których podstawą jest sos sojowy, a resztę dobiera nasza wyobraźnia.Satay można przygotowywać z wszelkich mięs, ryb, owoców morza, ja dodaję jeszcze warzywa i owoce. Na każdym patyczku jest tylko jeden składnik, może być pokrojony w kostkę, ale znacznie lepiej i zgodnie z pierwowzorem będzie wyglądał pasek mięsa nabity na szpadkę jak falbanka.Najłatwiejsze, najszybsze w przygotowaniu są szaszłyki z piersi kurczaka, polędwicy wołowej, polędwiczek wieprzowych,karkówki, z dużych obranych ze skorup surowych krewetek, z tofu. Dla wegetarian blanszuję i nadziewam na patyki plastry cukinii, groszek cukrowy, małe cebulki. Marynowanie mięsa nie musi trwać długo, dwie-trzy godziny wystarczą. Patyki trzeba wcześniej namoczyć, żeby się nie paliły w czasie grillowania. Najlepszym patentem jest ustawienie na bufecie elektrycznego grilla albo maszynki do raclette (jeśli takowych nie mamy, można upiec satay w piekarniku). Goście sami się obsługują, a dodatkową atrakcją są zapachy. Do szaszłyków przygotowujemy kilka sosów do maczania, przede wszystkim sos z orzeszków ziemnych, zaskakujący w smaku, ciężki, ale wciągający . Akcentem łagodzącym szaleństwo przypraw i smaków mogą być nabite na szpadki owoce - mango, liczi, mandarynki, skropione sokiem z limonki melony i ananasy. Stosowne napoje to piwo i białe wino o świeżym, szczypiącym smaku
Marynaty

Teriyaki
2/3 szklanki sosu sojowego 1 szklanka sake lub sherry 5 łyżek ciemnego cukru 2 utarte ząbki czosnku 1 łyżeczka utartego korzenia imbiru 1/2 łyżeczki kruszonego chilli

Pikantna
1/2 szklanki sosu sojowego 1 szklanka sake lub sherry 6 utartych ząbków czosnku 2 łyżki tajskiej pasty curry 1 łyżka oleju sezamowego do smaku pasta chilli lub kruszone chilli posiekany szczypiorImbirowa 1/2 szklanki oleju 1/3 szklanki sosu sojowego 1/2 szklanki rosołu albo wody 4 łyżki sosu rybnego 2 łyżki utartego imbiru 1 utarty ząbek czosnku 1 łyżka miodu

Cytrynowa
3/4 szklanki sosu sojowego 3/4 szklanki białego wina 3 trawy cytrynowe utarta skórka z limonki 4 łyżki sosu rybnego 2 utarte ząbki czosnku 1 łyżka posiekanej mięty i kolendry

Sos z orzeszków ziemnych
Ok. 2,5 szklanki sosu 20 minut
1 szklanka masła z orzeszków ziemnych 1 szklanka mleka kokosowego 3 łyżki oleju 1 cebula 2 łyżeczki utartego imbiru 3 utarte ząbki czosnku 3 łyżki słodkiego sosu sojowego szczypta kruszonego chilli lub pasta chilli sok z 1/2 limonki 3 łyżki sosu rybnegoZeszklić cebulę, dodać czosnek, imbir, chilli i sos sojowy, trochę wody, zagotować. Dodać mleczko kokosowe i masło orzechowe. Wymieszać. Dodać sos rybny i sok z limonki. Doprawić. Podawać na zimno posypany kolendrą.

Restauracje Azjatyckie w Poznaniu

Azja w Poznaniu
Zielony Smok
ul. 23 Lutego 7
Dostaniemy się tam od placu Cyryla idąc wdłuż po stronie PZU . Zielony Smok ukrywa się w niewielkiej piwniczce tuż koło obszernego sklepu z winami. Do baru schodzi się po schodkach. Salka jest niewielka. Ustawiono tutaj zaledwie kilka stolików i krzeseł z metalowych rurek. W barze dostać możemy dania chińskie, wietnamskie oraz ostatnio zauważyłem dania tajskie. Jest tutaj kilka rodzajów zup, w tym np. zupa z krewetek, zupa krabowa lub słodko-kwaśna z cielęciną. Możemy też zamówić ryż wiosenny z warzywami, ryż z warzywami i kurczakiem, ze schabem, a nawet z mintajem. Ponadto są tutaj obfite dania z kurczaka, z cielęciny, schabu i wołowiny. Mięsiwa te podają np. z pieczarkami i papryką, z bambusem i grzybami, z chilli na ostro, z brokułami i kalafiorem lub z ananasem i papryką. Mamy też w karcie: kurczaka po pekińsku - czyli udka bez kości, pieczone z warzywami - cielęcinę z grilla z sezamem po japońsku, wołowinę po kantońsku lub polędwicę wieprzową w cieście po tajlandzku. Do specjalnych propozycji należą np. kaczka po pekińsku i liczne owoce morza, a w tym kalmary pieczone z chilli oraz ośmiornica z brokułami i pieczarkami. Chociaż w tej restauracji podają paskudny rozgotowany ryż tak że radzę zamówić Chiński makaron.Jest to moim zdaniem najtańsza i jedna z lepszych azjatyckich restauracji w Poznaniu.
Bistro Azja
ul. Głogowska 37
Bistro Azja proponuje zestawy dań, które znaleźć możemy w niemal wszystkich orientalnych, poznańskich knajpkach ale jest trochę ukierunkowane ma kuchnię tajską i indonezyjską. W karcie mamy drób, wieprzowinę, wołowinę i kilka ryb. Menu otwierają sajgonki i chińskie pierożki. Jest również rosół, zupy jajeczno-krewetkowa i z owoców morza. Ponadto dostaniemy takie dania jak kurczak "cayou" - w orzeszkach, z sosem słodko-kwaśnym, "ajam pedis" - pałki kurczaka w ostrym sosie cebulowym, kurczak i kaczka z owocami, "sate ajam" - kawałki kurczaka na patyczkach w sosie orzechowym i kurczak "chop-suey" - z warzywami, bambusem i grzybkami mun. Dania z wieprzowiny to m.in. "nasi goereng", czyli mięso podsmażane z ryżem, warzywami, bambusem i grzybkami, schab z papryką oraz "babi ketjap" - schab w kawałkach w sosie sojowym i cebulą. W menu jest także wołowina duszona w przyprawach korzennych i polędwica wołowa z bambusem i grzybami. Znajdziemy tutaj także ryż zasmażany z warzywami, owoce morza duszone z warzywami, "sate oedang" - czyli duże panierowane krewetki ze szpadką owocową oraz solę w sosie słodko-kwaśnym.
Pekin
Aleje Marcinkowskiego visa vi Policji
To najstarszy tego typu lokal w Poznaniu. Powstał dokładnie 14 lat temu i od tego czasu niezwykle zasłużył się w promowaniu chińskiej kuchni w naszym mieście. Niedawno przeszedł remont, nieco rozbudował kartę i przyciągnął kolejnych klientów, którzy marzą o egzotycznej kulinarnej przygodzie. Ostrzegam - nie jest ona łatwa. Zanim zamówimy którąś z potraw, czeka nas długa lektura opasłej karty dań. Chińczycy, którzy mieli w czasach Mao okresy wielkiej klęski głodu, teraz nadrabiają zaległości i jadają na potęgę. Trudno wymienić wszystkie dania, którymi chcą nas uraczyć chińscy kucharze z Pekinu. Dostaniemy tutaj potrawy z wołowiny, wieprzowiny, drobiu (w tym popularnej w Pekinie kaczki), ryb, owoców morza, jajek i warzyw. Wszystkie one poddane zostały setkom wariacji i pojawiają się w towarzystwie niezliczonych dodatków.
Ucztę można zacząć od takich specjałów jak pierożki z nadzieniem serowym, pierożki curry, pierożki guo tie z nadzieniem warzywno-mięsnym lub pierożki z krabami. Są tutaj również: chipsy z krewetek spring rolls z nadzieniem warzywnym i z nadzieniem mięsnym. Wśród zup znalazły się np. rosół, zupa pomidorowa, zupa z płetwy rekina, zupa kwaśno-pikantna i zupa pieprzowa. Dania główne to studnia bez dna! Możemy tutaj zamówić m.in. polędwicę wieprzową w pikantnym sosie pomidorowym i w pikantnym sosie czosnkowym, ponadto z grzybami chińskimi, w miodzie, w sosie curry lub w ostrym sosie sojowym. Wołowinę przygotowuje się tutaj również na kilkanaście sposobów, w tym: wołowina w ostrym sosie z bambusem, wołowina w sosie z ostryg, z pomidorami, z grzybami chińskimi, w pikantnym sosie czosnkowym, a nawet wołowina w sosie śliwkowym. W Pekinie dostaniemy także: filet z kurczaka z grzybami chińskimi, w sosie z ostryg, z pędami bambusa, w sosie słodko-kwaśnym, pikantne skrzydełka z kurczaka w cieście czosnkowym oraz słodkiego kurczaka w cieście kokosowym. Mamy tutaj również jajka parowane z warzywami, z mięsem i z krewetkami, warzywa z wieprzowiną, warzywa chińskie po pekińsku i brokuły w sosie czosnkowym. Na szczególną uwagę zasługują zaś dania specjalne: oryginalna kaczka po pekińsku, ponadto kaczka pieczona i duszona w sosie ostrygowym, z orzeszkami ziemnymi lub w ostrym sosie z pędami bambusa. Jako dodatek do dań służy: makaron ryżowy smażony po szanghajsku, klasyczny sypki ryż, pyzy smażone, a nawet europejskie frytki. Na deser warto zaś skusić się na smażone banany.
Tęczowa zupa, owocowa kaczka
Porcje w Pekinie są ogromne i nawet po niewielkim wstępie (np. pierożki i zupa) lepiej zamówić jedną potrawę dla dwóch osób. Pocieszeniem jest fakt, że nie zjedzone danie zapakują nam na wynos. Potrawy pojawiają się na stole dość szybko, kelnerki ustawiają je na podłużnych, metalowych podgrzewaczach. Chińskim zwyczajem każdy z biesiadników dostaje swój (gorący) talerz i może nakładać sobie po kilka kęsów z każdej porcji głównego dania. Radzę rozpocząć od dobrych "wiosennych pasztecików" (spring rolls) z warzywami i mięsem: dużo w nich delikatnej wieprzowiny, zaprawionej sosem sojowym, słodkiej marchewki i lekko kwaskowej kapusty. Dobra była również "tęczowa zupa". Pod tą romantyczną nazwą kryje się jasny, zawiesisty, słonawo-słodki bulion z dużą ilością ryżowego szklistego makaronu, marchewki, pędów bambusa, suszonej cebuli i miękkich, różowych krabowych paluszków. Całość złożona z kilku "kolorów" zachowuje w miarę jednolity, warzywny, aromatyczny smak. Kaczkę podają ją tutaj na kilkanaście sposobów, w tym z warzywami i sosem sojowym. Mięso ze specjalnie tuczonych kaczek jest kruche, delikatne i ma lekko owocowy posmak. Do tego dochodzi słony sojowy sos, aromatyczne grzyby, duże ilości słodkawych pędów bambusa, cebuli i marchewki. Wyczuć też możemy delikatną nutę sezamowego oleju. Nieco "lżejszy" jest filet z kurczaka z bambusem, warzywami i grzybami chińskimi. Mięso podzielono na niewielkie kuleczki. Oprócz wspomnianych składników dodano także kilka rodzajów mięsistej papryki i marchewkę, przez co danie nabrało ostro-słodkiego kolorytu. Jako dodatek do głównych dań polecam muślinowy ryżowy makaron szanghajski z gotowanymi warzywami (marchewka, groszek etc. niestety z mrożonki) oraz wyśmienitą kwaskową kapustę o intensywnym pomarańczowym zabarwieniu. Ten ostatni specjał rewelacyjnie koresponduje z nieco neutralnymi chińskimi potrawami, w których dominują sojowy posmak wraz z mieszanką warzyw.
Tłum, który widziałem ostatnio w Pekinie, świadczy o tym, że kult "chińszczyzny" w Polsce rozwija się w najlepsze. Uważamy ją za bardziej delikatną, przyjazną i zdrowszą dla organizmu niż polska, a nawet włoska kuchnia.
Inne restauracje Chińskie godne polecenia to Azalia na Sw Marcinie chociaż w tej restauracji podają paskudny rozgotowany ryż tak że radzę zamówić Chiński makaron i dania są trochę przesolone i oddział Zielonego Smoka przy ulicy Wawrzyniaka i ten sam problem z ryżem.

Cooking vacations that steer clear of the tourist traps

Published in NY Times july 2 2007
Food and dining section
Americans stockpile cookbooks, ever in search of the “authentic.” Is it any surprise that culinary tourism is booming? It only makes sense to indulge those gourmet lusts and do a little sautéing on vacation.The most expected and established cooking destinations are in France or Italy, but here are 10 other places around the world to play with your chopping block.1. Oxford, North Canterbury, New Zealand. At Jo Seagar’s Cook School and Café, in a small village not far from Christchurch, explore cheesemaking during a weekend specialty program or just stop in for a one-day Lunch and Learn. The surrounding Waimakariri region offers plenty of that famous kiwi outdoor adventure, including spring skiing through October (seasons are reversed in the Southern Hemisphere). Just don’t eat and then go Zorbing.Chef Patrick Mould of Cajun Country in Louisiana2. Lafayette, Louisiana. The Cajun Country class, run by Epiculinary, is taught in Lafayette, where you’ll pass a good time with Chef Patrick Mould making fresh and spicy Cajun and Creole dishes like jambalaya, shrimp rémoulade, and Acadian bread pudding with roasted rum pecan sauce during the day, then doing a little fais do-do dancing at night.3. Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You don’t have to go to France to learn French cuisine (don’t tell the French). This is the 28th anniversary of the La Cuisine Française school on the Herengracht canal in friendly, mellow Amsterdam. The wide variety of classes includes Saturday night’s Table des Amis, at which a few friends or family can whip up a meal together and then have a gezellig (cozy) evening canal-side. End the day with a cup of coffee and a crunchy, syrupy stroopwafel, the Dutch biscotti. It’s smakelijk (tasty).4. Wimberley, Texas. Cue up the ’cue and tongs—it’s Barbeque Camp at the Blair House Inn Cooking School, near Austin in the rolling Texas Hill Country. Dazzle backyard party guests with your virtuoso baby back ribs with Cherry Coke glaze followed by a Fredericksburg peach cobbler chaser. The last Barbeque Camp for this year is in August, but there are plenty of other classes, including American Comfort Food, September 10-12.Bread Matters in Cumbria, England5. Penrith, Cumbria, England. Former BBC Russian linguist Andrew Whitley thinks that bread matters, along with organic ingredients and respect for their origins. He teaches artisan bread-making classes near the business that he founded, the Village Bakery at Melmerby. Whitley is happy to cover the fundamentals for new baking enthusiasts, but he also teaches how to bake for a living. If the verdant Eden Valley location or the Lake District isn’t to your liking, FoodAdventure lists other culinary travel options in England.6. Thailand and Myanmar/Burma. Serious Asian food enthusiasts can take a 17-day guided journey with the experienced operators at the Globetrotting Gourmet. “Tastings Thailand” includes the first Isan Food Festival in the northeast region, a Thai cuisine master class weekend at the Sofitel Raja Orchid in Khon Kaen, and plenty of visits to local markets for exploration and tastings. Sydney-based tour guide Robert Carmack is particularly excited about the “Tastings Myanmar/Burma” leg, which “takes in Rangoon and two very special Buddhist lunar celebrations in the Inle Lake vicinity,” he said via email. “Burma is such a special country, so little changed in nearly 50 years—although we see rapid cultural differences each visit.”7. Providence, Rhode Island. A visit to Providence’s culinary museum will demonstrate that little Rhody’s culinary charms extend beyond quahog stuffies or an Awful Awful at the Newport Creamery. The Jacob Hill Inn runs a series of cooking classes that includes a New England Clambake in the fall. In honor of the city’s ethnic heritage, inn owners Eleonora and Bill Rezek are also happy to arrange a Portuguese cuisine class anytime.Culinary Adventures in Chiapas, Mexico8. Chiapas, Mexico. A six-day cooking class that also includes food photography is available in tropical Chiapas, the southernmost state in Mexico. Marilyn Tausend, author of four books on Mexican cooking and a Culinary Adventures guide for more than 20 years, noticed that students for her courses brought digital cameras but were not always confident in using them. She has arranged a special trip with photographer Ignacio Urquiza to combine camera work with her mercado visits and hands-on lessons in regional cuisine.9. Helsinki, Finland. Here’s something that’s hard to get at home: smoked reindeer fawn tongue au gratin. The Lapland Food Course at the Keittiö Kokka also offers classes in less Santa-related cuisine, including seafood, duck, and desserts made from all sorts of berries. Helsinki is a walkable and attractive neoclassical city with a tradition of good design from icons like Aalto and Saarinen, plus Nokia-fueled connectivity.10. Greenwood, Mississippi. Deep in the kudzu-choked Delta lies a cult touchstone for appliance groupies. It’s the Viking Range factory and cooking school in Greenwood, overlooking the oozing Yazoo River. The Viking Cooking School teaches Southern Cookin’, of course, but don’t miss kitchen learning for kids and teens, 3-day or 12-week series, and surprises like the Vegetarian Cocktail Party.

Singapore Food History

What is Singapore food? Briefly, It has its origin in Malaysia, Indonesia, China and India. Many claim that there is no such thing as Singpaore food for that reason. They are only partially right. You'll still find the most authentic and tastiest of each of the cusines. What has been happening to the various cuisines since their first arrival a century or so ago is what we now proudly call Singapore Food.
Nonya food has been over publicised it'll be a cliche to say anything more. What I'd like to hightlight to you here are the equally wonderful but less acknowledged cuisines that have their origin in Southeastern China. Apart from Cantonese Cuisine that is famous the World over, what's special in Singapore are these Southern Chinese cuisines not commonly found elsewhere. If you're really into tasting something new, these are the cuisines that I recommend, for you won't find anything quite the same elsewhere, certainly not so convenient anyway!
For those of you who're accustomed to "Wine and Dine", Singapore has a wide variety of fine restaurants to choose from, much like many other cosmopolitan cities. To most Singaporeans, however, what Makan entails is not the quality of the service nor the presentation of the food, but very simply the quality of the food, the spontaneity, the cosiness, the convenience and most importantly, the affordability. In other words, it's good company and a bit of sweat and noise thrown in without hurting the wallet. It's a hot plate of Char Kway Teow after a half an hour wait in a hawker centre amidst all the screaming and shouting in the middle of the afternoon when even gold fishes find themselves hot in the bowl!
As a large portion of the population are muslims, halal food is available everywhere. There are Malay Muslim and Indian Muslim food, you'll know when you see one as there's always a sign written in Arabic prominently displayed. Nasi Padang, a style of cooking originated from Sumatra and popular in Singapore is a must try for the visitor. While you may find at least one Chinese or Indian vegetarian food stall in every food centre, you're not likely to come across fine elaborate dishes, especially Chinese vegetarian food. Good Taoist/Buddish vegetarian food seems less easily available. One simple reason is the complexity in vegetarian food preparation. Unlike Indian vegetarians and vegetarians in the West, Taoist/Buddish vegetarians do not eat garlic, onion, leek and those related vegetables. Vegetarian food, in this case, does not mean cooking with only vegetables, but rather, the art of shaping and texturing flour into mock meat and fish dishes. it's worth the trouble to give it a try, for good Chinese vegetarian food is rare, even in Singapore. If you're lucky, you may come across a Chinese temple that serves vegetarian food(only on certain days).
Indian Muslim food, or the so called Mamak food, is very popular in Singapore, roti prata, mee goreng, Indian rojak, nasi padang, mutton soup are some of the more popular dishes.
Seafood is of course a social food that tops many people's list. Chili crabs, black pepper crabs, drunken prawns and deep fried baby squids are just some of the endless yummy dishes that one shouldn't miss. Lobsters, glamourous as it may sound, is not as popular or as fun as Chut Chut(a kind of cone shaped sea shell that has to be sucked) or raw cockles(despite the risk of Hepatitis). And eating barbequed sting ray from a piece of banana leaf at a food centre is definitely a truer Makan experience than having Salmon on China at Maxim's. If you do not know where to begin, East Coast Seafood Centre is worth a visit. If you know your way in Johore Bahru, it's definitely much cheaper!!
Before I end, I must not forget to mention Cristang cuisine, or so called Eurasian food started in Malacca of Portugese origin. Unfortunately, no Cristang restaurant exists as far as I know. So if you're fortunate enough to have a friend of Portugese descent, do invite yourself as that will truly be a rare occasion!
Now, what truly constitutes a true great Makan experience? Food is well-loved in Singapore. Coffee shops, hawker centres, restaurants, food courts, cafes and snack shops hug the numerous well-ordered streets of Singapore city and its suburbs.
All types of delicious food are sold at all times, from hearty hawker fare to fancy gourmet meals. Waking up in the morning at 6am, you are as likely to enjoy a breakfast of kaya toast or congee just at your doorstep. When midnight strikes and you feel peckish, you can always find comfort in a 24 hour coffee shop nearby with crispy roti prata and curry, or Teochew porridge.
In Singapore, housewives are blessed with bountiful fresh produce of seafood, meat, vegetables and fruits in more than 150 wet markets throughout the island, dishing up delicious home-cooked meals for their families. If it be a Chinese household, steamed fresh fish, stir-fried Chinese choy sum, pork rib with winter melon soup and loh bak (braised pork in black soya sauce) may grace the table. An Indian family may tuck in heartily to chicken curry, rasam, dal, spiced cabbage and cucumber pachadi, while a Malay family will eat as well with beef rendang, stir-fried vegetables, sambal beans and fried tempeh.
Yet as different as they may seem, the various communities of Singapore have come to share a culinary tradition that fuses and celebrates its ancestral cuisines. In less than two hundred years since modern Singapore was founded by the British as a trading port, the people that inhabit this island has created a distinctive cuisine.
Food in Colonial Singapore
When Sir Stamford Raffles and his contingent from the East India Company (EIC) landed in Singapore on 29 January 1819, they found on this island at the tip of the Malay Peninsula, a small population of about a thousand, consisting of some 900 native people, 20-30 Malays and a similar number of Chinese.The inhabitants lived a simple existence growing fruits but no rice, and depended on their livelihood on collecting jungle produce, fishing, small scale trading and piracy. Little was known of Singapore before that, though archaeological digs have found evidence of it being a prosperous trading port known as Temasek in the 14th century.
Very quickly, people from various lands came to trade and work. The Chinese from the region and southern China arrived in droves to work as traders, artisans, coolies, craftsmen and itinerant trades; the Arabs from the Hadramut region came as traders and mercenaries, the Jews and Armenians came as traders; the Indians came first as sepoys of the Bengal Native Infantry, and later as convicts, indentured labourers and in the early twentieth century as clerks, educationists and traders; the Malays from the Malay Peninsula and Indonesian islands came as traders and workers; and the Eurasians from the region came to work in commerce, law, medical services, government and trade.
By 1824, the total population of Singapore rose to over 10,000 and by 1850 to over 60,000.
These immigrants brought with them the food of their own lands. As early as 1837, Howard Malcolm, an American missionary in Singapore wrote of partaking in a Chinese wedding banquet at the home of a wealthy Chinese merchant, with Chinese delicacies of shark fins, bird nests and fish maw.
Agriculture did not dominate the Singapore economy even then. Rice being the staple of all it immigrants was only produced in tiny amount on the island as there was little suitable land available for rice cultivation, leaving its population having to import most of its rice from Siam, Java, Manila and the Riau archipelago. However there were small farms growing vegetables, sweet potato, plantains, Indian corn and tropical fruits on the outskirts of Singapore town.
Buying and selling of fresh food according to many British anecdotal accounts was a colourful affair. The first market with its unique octagonal structure was built in 1820 in Telok Ayer, very close to the commercial area and the Chinese quarters. It soon became overcrowded with vendors selling, meat, vegetable and fruits sprawling to the surrounding areas. By the end of the 19th century, there were five big markets on the island - the Telok Ayer, Ellenborough, the Rochore, the Clyde and the Orchard Road markets.
Yet all these itinerant vendors or hawkers are not confined to these spaces. John Cameron in his rare book, “ Tropical Possessions in Malayan India”, gave an eye-witness account of how these hawkers predominate the landscape in 1860s Singapore, adding chaos and bustle to the town.
"There is probably no city in the world with such a motley crowd of itinerant vendors of wares, fruits, cakes, vegetables &c. There are Malays, generally with fruit; Chinamen with a mixture of all sorts, and Kling with cakes and different kinds of nuts. Malays and Chinamen always use the shoulder-stick, having equally-balanced loads suspended at either end; the Klings, on the contrary, carry their wares on the head on trays. The travelling cookshops of the Chinese are probably the most extraordinary of the things that are carried about in this way. They are suspended on one of the common shoulder-sticks, and consist of a box on one side and a basket on the other; the former containing a fire and small copper cauldron for soup, the latter loaded with rice, vermicelli, cakes, jellies, and condiments; and though I have never tasted any of their dishes, I have been assured that those they serve up at a moment’s notice are most savoury, and that their sweets are delicious. Three cents will purchase a substantial meal of three or four dishes from these itinerant restaurateurs.
Various eye-witness accounts wrote of the proliferation of hawkers throughout Singapore in the 19th century. Among the snacks and meals offered were perhaps cakes of agar-agar, soups, rice with Chinese-styled dishes and noodles. Hawker food was popular in these early days because it provided a cheap and delicious meal to many who had come to work without their families. Indeed, the gender ratio for the Chinese, Indian and European communities was extremely unbalanced before the 1870s. From this humble beginning, hawker fare had become an indelible part of Singapore food.
Beyond this humble street fare, food seems to be eaten mostly at home. Restaurants were not in abundance in Singapore. A Chinese, Li Chung Chu, wrote in 1887 of the very few Cantonese and European restaurants. Feasting in wealthy Chinese homes was done in the gardens of private homes with Chinese food and European food!
Due to the paucity of materials on the written accounts of food served at the homes of the various immigrant communities, one is left to conjecture what they ate at home. But it may not be far to say that most stuck to the cuisine they were used to in their homeland. Besides fruits and vegetables that were grown locally, there was plentiful fish, poultry and pork, and excellent mutton which would satisfy the dietary needs of the various communities.
The British in Singapore however ate handsomely. Their meals reflected the culinary mores of Victorian England, with a vast number of dishes for either breakfast, lunch or dinner. Being in the east, curry, rice, sambals and tropical fruits were often included in the rather substantial dinner that most would be used to. John Turnbull Thompson wrote of these ample dinners in his 1864 memoir, Some Glimpses into Life in Malayan Lands. In one such dinner, after the soup came the fish, joints of Bengal mutton, Chinese capons, Kedah fowls, Sangora ducks, Yorkshire hams, Bombay ducks, salted turtle eggs and omelettes all washed down with pale ale. This was followed by a dessert of macaroni puddings of all shapes and custard downed with champagne. Then came a huge round of cheese, and finally a variety of tropical fruits.
Such a grand style of dining predominated the British colonial society in the 19th century, with food prepared by Malay or Chinese servants.
Although Singapore colonial society was largely segregated with each community living within their own quarters, good food was able to cross boundaries. Over time, the main communities of Chinese, Malays, Indians and Eurasians adopted strains of each others cuisine, so that Chinese condiments of soya sauce is as common to the other households as Indian curry powder is to the rest.
The food of the British filtered down to the Asian population, thanks to the Asian cooks they employed. Many Chinese cooks were Hainanese, who over time learnt how to prepare British standard fare of pork chops, roast chicken, butter cake and chicken pies, though some with a local twist to it. Other British products of the era, including, luncheon meat, canned sardines, condensed milk, toast and tomato ketchup became a part of Singapore’s culinary landscape.

Singapore Cuisine
Deriving from the rich culinary traditions of each community’s ancestral lands with flavours that are often robust, it is natural to follow that the food of Singapore is extremely flavoursome, frequently spicy, and consist regularly of a mix of Chinese condiments, with Indian spices and Malays ingredients of tropical herbs and fruits of chillies, coconut, lemongrass, galangal and the like.
Singapore cuisine was often described as parts Chinese, Malay and Indian. This is somewhat true, yet certain dishes that seems to be “Chinese” or “Indian” are now distinctly Singaporean in character, and far different from their original cousin.
The Hainanese chicken rice with its ubiquitous ginger-garlic chilli sauce, is as different as its Hainanese counterpart; black pepper crab and chilli crab in many Chinese seafood stalls are native inventions; while roti prata and curry is quite unlike its Indian cousin, and Indian rojak is really an alien dish to anyone from India.
Yet when we speak of Chinese of Indian food in Singapore, this is to be further specified by their regional origin. The Chinese, Malay and Indian cuisine that flourishes and inspires Singapore food is intimately linked to the regions from which the various communities were from. For the Chinese, it is the food of southern China, including the cooking of Hokkien, Cantonese, Teochew, Hakka, Hainanese and Foochow people. For the Indians, it is south Indian food from the areas of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Malays derive their food from their ancestral lands of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Java.
The food of the Straits Chinese (Nyonya) and Eurasians too dabs vibrant colours on Singapore’s culinary landscape. These fusion cuisines, forged in the throes of inter-marriage in the region from the 16th century are utterly delicious and are perhaps a precursor of the marriage of flavours now present in Singapore cuisine. Straits Chinese cuisine is the union of Chinese-Hokkien cooking with Malay cuisine. While Cuzinhia Cristang (Eurasian cuisine) is a robust blend of Malay cuisine with Portuguese and Dutch cooking in the 16th, 17th and 18th century, yet with a good sprinkle of Chinese and Indian influences from fellow immigrants.
This diversity of cuisines, flavours and aromas have made Singapore food what it is today. A peek at the Singapore pantry will find it well-stocked with a myriad of condiments and produce from these cuisines. A sample of which can be seen from the following :
The Singapore Pantry
Curry Powder
Soya Sauce (Light & Dark)
Coconut Milk
Whole Spice (eg. cinnamon, Star Anise, Cumin, etc.)
Oyster Sauce
Lemongrass
Rice
Fermented Bean Paste (tau cheo)
Belacan (shrimp paste)
Yellow (Hokkien) noodles
Chinese Five Spice Powder
Ikan Bilis (dried anchovies)
Bee Hoon (rice vermicelli)
Curry Leaves
Dried Shrimp
Kway Teow (broad rice noodles)
Tofu
Tamarind (assam)
Rice Flour
Chilli
Pandan Leaves
Sago
Tomato Ketchup
Galangal
Mung bean vermicelli (dang hoon)
Chilli Sauce
Agar-agar (seaweed jelly)
Glutinous Rice
Fish Sauce
Flour
Bread
Butter
Jam
Pepper
Tomatoes
Onion
Shallot
Garlic
Ginger young
Thai chilli peppers

Teochew classics such as the mashed taro dessert- oh nee, the mixed seafood and vegetable soup – chap huay tng, Teochew steamed fish and braised duck. The hallmark of Teochew cooking, unlike Cantonese or Sichuanese cooking, is its delicate flavours and preference for steaming and braising. At the same time, I also learnt of two of the more obscure dishes, the first which is the kow lak ar, the braised duck stuffed with chestnut, mushroom and carrots, which I is a Teochew restaurant favourite in the 1950s. The other is nak yee kia, the Teo-Yeo Meat Balls, which is more like a savoury confection and for which is fairly unknown in Singapore today except among a select group of elderly Teochews who hail from the Teo-Yeo district of Chaozhou.
Ceylonese Tamil recipes, such as chicken curry, mutton curry, fish curry and appam, a rice flour crepe. Ceylonese Tamil cooking has close roots to South Indian Tamil cuisine. Popular dishes include coconut milk based curries, and rice flour based snacks such as thosais, idlis and appam. Ceylonese Tamil cooking is also influenced by the Sri Lankan Sinhalese preference for dark coloured curries due to their predilection for roasted spices of cumin, coriander, fennel and the use of cinnamon. Today, I have made a dark dried curry of lamb for you which is distinctly Ceylonese Tamil in flavour.
Singaporeans have created a food culture of its own over the years. Undoubtedly, hawker fare, which is Singapore’s traditional fast food takes its pride of place in Singapore culinary pantheon. To many Singaporeans, the best food is often found in these very humble abodes.
Despite individual food proclivities at home, Singaporeans of all communities have come to share a common food experience in many aspects. At a party with typical Singapore food one will usually find a varied menu of popular dishes such as chicken curry, nyonya chap chye (mixed vegetables), Chinese sweet and sour fish, samosas, fried noodles, popiah (Fresh springrolls), Malay bubur cha cha and agar-agar. These common foods continue to extend to those indulged during festivals. Be it Hari Raya Puasa (end of Ramadan), Deepavali (Indian festival of lights) or Chinese New Year, one is almost certain to find pineapple tarts, kueh lapis , various festive cookies and moon cakes.
Singapore cuisine is more than just a sum of Chinese, Malay and Indian food, a notion that used to be popular. It has evolved over the years to become a cuisine of its own, providing Singaporeans with food memories unique to themselves.