The is often viewed by her population as a prime example of the ethnic diversity of the Culture Of Singapore . In Singapore 's Hawker Centre s, for example, Malay Hawker stalls selling Halal food may also serve halal versions of traditionally Indian or Chinese food. Chinese stalls may introduce Malay or Indian ingredients, cooking techniques or entire dishes into their range of catering. Some dishes introduce elements from all three cultures, while others incorporate influences from the rest of Asia and The West .
This phenomenon makes the cuisine of Singapore significantly rich and a Cultural Attraction . Most of the prepared food bought outside home is eaten at hawker centres or Food Court s rather than actual Restaurant s, examples of which include Lau Pa Sat and Newton Food Centre . These hawker centres are relatively Abundant which leads to low prices and encourages a large consumer base.
Because it is often viewed by her population as central to Singapore's national identity and a unifying cultural thread, Singaporean Literature often declares eating as a national pastime and food a national obsession. Food is a constant topic of conversation among Singaporeans who like to comment on the food they have eaten and the eateries around the country. There are some religious dietary strictures as Muslims do not eat Pork and Hindus do not eat Beef ; there is also a significant group of Vegetarian s. Nonetheless, people from different communities often eat together while being mindful of each other's culture and choose food that is acceptable to all. There are also some Halal Chinese restaurants that prepare Chinese food in a way that conform to Muslim dietary preference.
Food in itself has been heavily promoted as an attraction for Tourist s. It is usually promoted by various initiatives undertaken by the Singapore Tourism Board or the associations it deals with as one of Singapore's best attractions alongside its Shopping . The government organises the Singapore Food Festival in July annually to celebrate Singapore's cuisine. The multiculturalism of local food, the ready availability of international cuisine, and their wide range in prices to fit all budgets at all times of the day and year helps create a "food paradise" to rival other contenders claiming the same Moniker . The availability of a variety of food is often aided by the fact that Singapore's Port lies along strategic routes.
The cuisine bears some resemblance to the Cuisine Of Malaysia due to the close historical and cultural ties between the two countries. However there are also significant differences. While a number of dishes are common to both countries, the way the dishes are prepared is often different. This is due to numerous evolutionary forks in their development, which gave rise to unique tastes pertaining to each country's cuisine.
, Singapore]]
As Singapore is a small country with high population density, land is scarce and is mainly devoted to industry and housing. Most of the agricultural produce and food ingredients are imported from other countries, although there is a small group of local farmers who produce some leafy vegetables, fruit, poultry, and fish. Nonetheless, Singapore's good air and sea connections allow it to import a large variety of food ingredients from around the world including expensive seafood items such as Sashimi from Japan .
- Soup cooked in a variety of Spice s including Herb s and Garlic .
- Bak Chor Mee (肉脞面 ruò cuò miàn), noodles with minced pork and other ingredients, served dry or with soup.
- Ban Mian (板面 bǎn miàn), hand made flat noodles served with vegetables, meat balls, sliced mushrooms and an egg in an Ikan Bilis soup.
- Chai Tow Kway , or " Carrot Cake ", (菜头粿 cài tóu guǒ) diced, stir fried, and comes in black (with Soy Sauce ) or white (without) versions.
- Char Png , or Fried Rice (炒饭 chǎo fàn).
- Char Kway Teow (炒粿条 chǎo guǒ tiáo), stir fried Rice Flour ''(kuay teow)'' noodles with prawns, eggs, beansprouts, fish cake, mussels, green leafy vegetables and Chinese sausage.
- Char Siew Rice (also 叉烧饭 chā shāo fàn) and Char Siew Noodles (also 叉烧面 chā shāo miàn, Cantonese dish of rice or noodles served with barbequed pork in a thick sauce.
- Chee Cheong Fun (猪肠粉 zhū cháng fěn) - rice flour mixed with various spices and Oil s boiled to form a rice sheet which is then made into rolls and often served with sauces, usually Hoisen sauce.
- Chwee Kway or zhui kueh (水粿 shuǐ guǒ), steamed rice cake topped with chopped preserved radish, usually served for breakfast.
- Claypot Chicken Rice (砂煲鸡饭 shā bāo jī fàn)
- Curry Chicken Noodles (咖喱鸡面 gā lí jī miàn)
- Duck Rice (鸭饭 yā fàn), braised duck with rice (卤鸭饭 lǔ yā fàn), also served with Eggs or hard beancurd ''(tau kua)''.
- Fishball Noodles (鱼丸面 yú wán miàn), usually of the Teochew variety.
- Hainanese Chicken Rice (海南鸡饭 hǎi nán jī fàn), steamed chicken served with rice cooked in chicken stock.
- Hae Mee (虾面 xiā miàn), Prawn noodle soup.
- Hokkien Mee (福建炒虾面 fú jiàn chǎo xiā miàn), Rice Vermicelli and yellow noodles fried with shrimp, sliced Cuttlefish and pork bits.
- Hor Fun , (hé fěn 河粉) broad rice noodles in gravy and often served with fish or prawns.
- Hum Chim Beng (咸煎饼 xián jiān bǐng), Chinese flaky pastry filled with bean paste.
- Jook (粥 zhōu), Cantonese Rice Porridge in various flavours including Fish , Chicken , and Century Egg with minced Pork .
- Kaya Toast , a traditional breakfast dish. Kaya is a sweet coconut and egg jam, and this is spread over toasted bread. With a cup of local coffee and half-boiled eggs in soya sauce, it forms a typical Singaporean breakfast set.
- Kway Chap (粿汁 guǒ zhī), Teochew dish of rice sheets in dark soya soup, served with pig offal, tofu derivatives and boiled eggs.
- Lor Mee (卤面 lǔ miàn), Hokkien noodle dish served in thick dark soup.
- Mee Pok (面薄 miàn bó), Teochew dish of thin, flat noodles served with a sauce consisting of chili, vinegar, and other condiments.
- Misua (面线 miàn xiàn), thin egg wheat noodles in thick soup.
- Pig's Organ Soup (猪杂汤 zhū zá tāng; "pig's spare parts" soup), a relative of kway chap.
- Popiah (薄饼 báo bǐng), Hokkien-style Spring Roll or rolled Crepe , stuffed mainly with stewed vegetables.
- Rojak , a fruit salad with a topping of thick dark prawn paste.
- Soon Kway (笋粿 sǔn guǒ), a white vegetable dumpling with savoury sauce.
- Wan Ton Mee (云吞面 yún tūn miàn), noodles with Pork or Prawn dumplings.
- Yong Tao Foo (酿豆腐 niáng dòu fǔ)
- You Char Kway (油条 yóu tiáo), fried dough crullers
- Yusheng (鱼生 yú shēng), raw fish salad traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year
- Agar Agar - Agar extracted from Seaweed that is usually moulded into a jelly-like cake, sometimes with layers and colourings, and in various shapes.
- Ayam Goreng (Fried chicken)
- Curry Puff
- Goreng Pisang , bananas rolled in flour, fried and eaten as a snack
- Ketupat , a Malay rice cake served with satay
- Kueh Lapis , layered cake.
- Kuih Pisang , banana cakes
- Laksa , rice noodles in a coconut curry gravy with shrimp, egg and chicken. Peranakan in origin. A specifically Singaporean variant (as opposed to shared by Malaysian and Singaporean cuisine) is Katong Laksa .
- Lontong , compressed rice cakes in spicy vegetable soup
- Mee Goreng (fried noodles)
- Mee Rebus , thick noodles served in thick spicy sauce
- Mee Siam , "Siamese noodle", or thin rice noodles in sourish spicy soup, can also be served dry.
- Mee Soto , chicken noodle soup
- Nasi Ayam Goreng (fried chicken rice)
- Nasi Lemak , coconut rice with Omelette , Anchovies , cucumber and chilli paste. Sometimes it may be packed in banana leaves for fragrance.
- Nasi Padang , Indonesian rice dish
- Otak-otak , spicy fish cake grilled in a banana leaf wrapping
- Roti John , bread filled with various ingredients and fried
- Sambal
- Satay , grilled meat on skewers served with spicy peanut sauce and usually eaten with ketupat, cucumber and onions.
- Soto Ayam , chicken soup.
- Appom , fermented rice pancake
- Indian Rojak , a Muslim-Indian dish of vegetables and seafood deep fried in batter
- Murtabak , a variety of Roti Prata with minced mutton and onion folded within the dough
- Nasi Briyani , Indian-Muslim rice dish
- Putu Mayam , Sri Lankan in origin, similar to Sri Lankan Hoppers .
- Roti Prata , a Muslim-Indian dish of pan fried dough. Extremely popular for breakfast, and now available in a range of gourmet flavours, including Cheese , Durian and even Ice Cream .
- Soup Kambing , Indian mutton soup
- Tandoori
- Thosai , rice and lentil pancake
A number of dishes, listed below, can be considered as truly hybrid or multi-ethnic food as they are equally influenced by more than one ethnicities.
Singaporeans also enjoy a wide variety of Seafood including Crabs , Clams , Squid (known as sotong in Malay), Oysters and Lobsters .
Favorite seafood dishes include
There is a wide variety of fruits available, though these are mostly imports from neighbouring countries. A favorite is the Durian , known as the "king of the fruits", which has a spiky outer shell and a characteristic odour. However, in spite of its popularity, durian is not allowed on Public Transport , most hotels and public buildings because of its strong odour.
Other popular tropical fruits include Mangosteen , Jackfruit , Longan , Lychee , Rambutan and Pineapple . Some of these fruits are also used as ingredients for other dishes, especially the ice desserts.
- Bubur Cha Cha (also Bobochacha, momochacha), Yam and Sweet Potato cubes served in Coconut Milk and Sago , served hot or cold
- Chendol , a coconut milk drink mixed with brown sugar, green starch strips and red beans.
- Cheng Tng , a refreshing soup with Longan s, Barley , Agar Agar strips, Lotus seeds and a sweet syrup, served either hot or cold.
- Green Bean Soup
- Honeydew Sago , honeydew melon cubes or balls, served in chilled coconut milk and sago
- Ice Kacang , a mound of grated ice on a base consisting of jelly, red beans, corn and Attap Seed s, and topped with various sweet syrups
- Red Bean Soup
- Soya Bean Curd , hot soya bean curd sweetened with syrup
At Kopi Tiam s, coffee and tea are usually ordered using their local names.
- ''Kopi'', coffee
- ''Kopi-C'', coffee with evaporated milk
- ''Kopi-kosong'', coffee with milk and no sugar
- ''Kopi-O'', coffee with sugar only
- ''Kopi-O-kosong'', coffee without sugar or milk
- ''Kopi-peng'' or ''Kopi-ice'', coffee with milk, sugar and ice
- ''Teh'', tea with milk and sugar
- ''Teh-C'', tea with evaporated milk
- ''Teh-kosong'', tea with milk and no sugar
- ''Teh-O'', tea with sugar only
- ''Teh-O-kosong'', plain tea without milk or sugar
- '' Teh Tarik '', the Malay tea described above
- ''Teh-halia'', tea with ginger water
- ''Teh-peng'', tea with ice, also known as ''Teh-ice''
The above list is not complete; for example, one can add the "-peng" suffix to form other variations such as ''Teh-C-peng'' (tea with evaporated milk with ice) which is a popular drink considering Singapore's warm weather. See also Ordering At A Coffee Shop .
These names are indicative of the multi-racial society in Singapore as they are formed by words from different languages, and have become part of the lexicon of Singlish . For example, ''teh'' is the Malay word for ''tea'' which itself originated from Hokkien , ''peng'' is the Hokkien word for ''ice'', ''kosong'' is the Malay word for ''zero'' to indicate no sugar, and ''C'' refers to '' Carnation '', a brand of evaporated milk.
|
