ADM16028 – Mapping Overlooked Cultures and Histories of Singapore
Some notes about the “invention” of unique Singapore dishes – while I will try to categorize the dishes according to ethic groups, because of how all the ethic groups mingle and traded dish ideas, some dishes are a mixture of techniques, ingredients, and cooking styles from different groups. It should also be noted due to the history of post-WWII Singapore (ie merger of Singapore), some dishes popular in Singapore actually originated in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
List of Unique Singapore Chinese Dish
Hainanese Chicken Rice (Original Dish)
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_910_2005-01-11.html
- Hainanese, Cantonese influence
- Middle Road, Purvis Street and Koek Road more than 60 years ago, Peddler’s food
Chilli Crab (Original Dish)
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/sip_1112_2011-06-17.html
- invented by Cher Yam Tian in the mid 1950s when she added bottled chilli sauce to her dish of stir-fried crabs
- 1956, she and her husband began selling the dish from a pushcart along the seaside
- 1962, called Palm Beach, at 514 Upper East Coast Road
- Hooi Kok Wah, one of the four local chefs known as the “heavenly kings” of Chinese cuisine in the 1960s, is also considered a pioneer in the history of chilli crab in Singapore
Black Pepper Crab (Original Dish)
- http://longbeachseafood.com.sg/corporate/
- Created by Long Beach Seafood Restaurant around 1980s
- Bedok Rest House (1946), where LONG BEACH Seafood was then one of the few restaurants that served local food
- During that period, locals hardly ate out
- LONG BEACH was frequently patronized by the British Army and soon became a bustling location popular with locals
Kaya Toast (Original Dish, Remix of established dish – Jam and Toast)
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1620_2009-12-23.html?s=Kaya%20Toast
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1691_2010-07-08.html?s=Kaya%20Toast
- http://www.yoursingapore.com/dining-drinks-singapore/local-dishes/kaya-toast.html
- Link to Killiney Kopitiam and Ya Kun Kopitiam‘s history in 1920s-1930s and the kopitiam culture
- The kaya-toast-set origin story claims Hainanese Chinese adapted the foods they served aboard British ships (Bread and jam) when they landed in Singapore and neighboring Malaysia
Satay Bee Booh (Original Dish)
- http://ieatishootipost.sg/bak-kee-teochew-satay-bee-hoon-why-is-there-so-few-satay-bee-hoon-stalls/
- Satay bee hoon is a dish invented by the Teochew people who immigrated to Singapore
- has been around for over 30 years (in 1980s)
- Satay Bee Hoon is a lot of work (to prepare)
Bak Kut Teh (Local Variation)
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_1800_2011-03-18.html
- https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=aEB2CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA94&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
- originated from the Fujian province of China
- introduction of the dish to Singapore and Malaysia is attributed to Hokkien immigrants who moved to this region in the 19th century
- The Teochew variant was developed in Singapore and was sold in the Clarke Quay and River Valley areas after World War II
- As coolies were poor and could not afford to purchase meat, they could only buy bones that had scraps of meat left on it. To enhance the taste of the soup and add nutritional value, coolies would collected whatever herbs they could find from the floors of the cargo ships
Carrot Cake (Original Dish)
- http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_2013-06-05_182217.html
- http://www.yoursingapore.com/dining-drinks-singapore/local-dishes/carrot-cake.html
- origins of carrot cake can be traced to a Chinese Teochew dish found in Chaoshan, China, known as mi gao (rice cake) or gao guo (starch cake)
- dish was brought over to Singapore by early Teochew immigrants and as late as the 1950s
- Teochew hawker Ng Soik Theng claims to be the first to have called this dish chai tow kway (fried carrot cake) in the 1960s when she added radish to it
- Lau Goh, claims to be one of the pioneers who converted the dark carrot cake into a white version