US EUROPE AFRICA ASIA 中文

    Singapore's cuisine: a cultural melting pot

    By Zhao Xu ( China Daily ) Updated: 2016-08-20 07:33:32

    Singapore's cuisine: a cultural melting pot

    A culinary invention by Chinese immigrants of the 19th century, Pork Ribs Tea has since warmed many hearts. [Photo provided to China Daily]

    However, according to Lim, decadence and luxury were probably far from the minds of early immigrants who had come from other parts of Asia.

    "Mostly involved in hard labor, these immigrants developed recipes that used relatively cheap ingredients, which were believed to have an augmenting effect on muscles and bones," he says.

    One example is the curry fish head, an early culinary invention by Singapore's Indian community. "Originally, fish heads were considered inedible and were simply discarded. Then someone came up with a recipe - offsetting the smell of fish heads with a cornucopia of spices, for which Indian food is traditionally famous," says Lim.

    "And it's not surprising that the Chinese then came up with their own lighter version."

    Both versions were improved over the ensuing half century, before appearing in its current incarnation, embedded in Singapore's culinary history.

    Like curry fish head, the origin of "pork ribs tea" is probably equally humble, although this has not prevented it from becoming a huge favorite with the Chinese community in Singapore.

    "The name of the dish may lead many to think that the pork ribs are boiled in soup with tea leaves, which is not true," says Frankie Gwee, a second-generation immigrant whose parents came to Singapore from the Chinese province of Guangdong during the Japanese invasion in the 1940s. Today, Gwee and his sisters run three Chinese restaurants in Singapore, with pork ribs tea having pride of place on the menu.

    "The tea is served separately, during dinner. This is done as the pork ribs soup is a little greasy, and to let diners degrease," says Gwee.

    "The early 20th century Chinese immigrants invented the recipe, combining it with the deeply-rooted tea culture they had brought to Singapore from their native Guangdong.

    "Most of them were coolies who simply couldn't afford to get ill. Therefore, the peppers and the garlic. While the peppers enhanced the immune system, the garlic was an antiseptic," the restaurateur says, listing the ingredients used in the otherwise slightly bland soup.

    According to him, the pork ribs were bathed in soup because for those early immigrants, the top concern was to fill their stomachs.

    "For the same reason, ingredients like turnips and starch-rich food including cakes and pancakes appeared on the tables of our forefathers."

    Speaking of pancakes, it is impossible not to mention roti jala, a net pancake, although it's more Malaysian than Chinese.

    "Fancy-looking, roti jala is unbelievably easy to make," says Lydia Soh, a culinary instructor at Food Playground, a cooking school set up in 2012 to offer tourists and expatriates what Daniel Tan, the school's founder, calls "a cultural immersion experience".

    The school is located at 24A Sago Street.

    Editor's Picks
    Hot words

    Most Popular
    ...
    国产综合无码一区二区辣椒| 午夜不卡久久精品无码免费| 亚洲成A人片在线观看无码不卡 | 中文字幕精品亚洲无线码二区| 日韩在线中文字幕| 无码AⅤ精品一区二区三区| A级毛片无码久久精品免费| 日本中文字幕电影| 亚洲中文字幕无码一去台湾| 人妻无码中文久久久久专区 | 精品人妻系列无码一区二区三区| 欧美日韩中文国产一区发布| 无码av免费一区二区三区试看| 亚洲中文久久精品无码ww16| 亚洲欧美在线一区中文字幕| 人妻少妇精品中文字幕av蜜桃| 亚洲av无码成人精品区| 免费无遮挡无码永久视频| 日韩人妻无码一区二区三区久久99 | 日韩人妻无码精品久久久不卡| 中文字幕亚洲图片| 中文字幕高清有码在线中字| 中文字幕乱偷无码AV先锋| 亚洲av麻豆aⅴ无码电影| 午夜亚洲AV日韩AV无码大全| 精品无码国产自产在线观看水浒传 | 无码AV波多野结衣久久| 亚洲精品无码av人在线观看| 国产丰满乱子伦无码专区| 99久久中文字幕| 大地资源中文在线观看免费版| 99精品人妻无码专区在线视频区| 日韩精品中文字幕无码一区| 亚洲av无码片vr一区二区三区| 国产成人A亚洲精V品无码| 日日麻批免费40分钟无码| 久久久久久精品无码人妻 | 亚洲 日韩经典 中文字幕| 亚洲人成无码网站久久99热国产| 日韩精选无码| 亚洲区日韩区无码区|