STREET FOOD
The multicultural streets and alleys of Singapore are alive with restaurants, cafes, coffeeshops and all kinds of delicious foods.
SINGAPORE CHILLI CRAB
RED HOUSE SEAFOOD is a seafood restaurant with a number of branches that serves one of Singapore’s most iconic dishes
Photo courtesy of Red House Seafood
Serves 4
2 live Sri Lankan crabs (mud crabs), cleaned and separated into pincers, top shell and quarters
2 cups seafood stock
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
4 tbsp tamarind juice
2 tsp potato starch, mixed with a little water
1 egg, beaten
Sugar to taste
Salt to taste
Handful coriander leaves, washed and torn
1 cup oil
SPICE PASTE
Grind together:
1 onion, peeled and sliced
4 shallots, peeled and sliced
6 cloves garlic, peeled
1 knob ginger, peeled
1 knob galangal, peeled
8 red chillies, sliced
8 dried cillies, soaked until soft
Heat a wok on high heat until smoking hot. Add 1/2 cup oil and toss in the crab pieces, mixing briskly for about 8 seconds. Remove crab and set aside. Wipe wok clean, reheat on medium heat until smoking hot and add 1/2 cup oil. Add in the Spice Paste and gently fry until fragrant about 8 minutes. Add the salt, sugar, oyster sauce and tomato ketchup with a little of the seafood stock and mix well. Add the rest of the stock and crab, stir well and cover the wok and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the tamarind juice and potato starch mixture and stir well until thickened. Drizzle in the beaten egg while stirring, and combine well. Use 2 spatulas if you have to. Cook for further 1 minute. Dish out onto a serving platter, garnish with coriander and serve immediately. Delicious with steamed or fried mantou buns.
COFFEESHOP KAYA
This eggy coconut curd is a breakfast delight. Spread on toast with thick slabs of cold butter, it is usually enjoyed with a dish of boiled eggs.
COFFEESHOP KAYA
Double boiled
Makes 1 1/2 cups
Equipment: Heatproof bowl that will sit on top of a deep pot; muscles to stir for 30 to 40 minutes
5 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup gula melaka
1 cup coconut milk
2 stalks pandan, knotted
Pinch of salt
Whisk the eggs and sugar until sugar dissolves. Sieve the mixture into a heatproof bowl and add the pandan leaves. To double-boil fill the deep pot with about 2 cups of water and bring to gentle simmer. Place bowl with the kaya mixture over the pot. The base of the bowl should not touch the simmering water below. It’s all about the steam.
Stir the mixture frequently with a whisk as it gently cooks. This takes about 30 to 40 minutes. When it reaches the consistency and thickness of thick curd or yoghurt add a pinch of salt, and mix well. Take off heat and set aside to cool completely. Spoon the kaya into sterilized jar and store in refrigerator. It lasts for a week. Slather kaya on toast with slabs of chilled butter and enjoy with your favourite coffee.
PRAWN NOODLE SOUP
BEACH ROAD PRAWN NOODLE HOUSE at 370 East Coast Road serves fresh, giant prawns
Serves 2
500g pork ribs, blanched with coca cola
4 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 kg prawns, shell on, heads removed and deveined (reserve the heads)
8 prawns, heads on, shell on, deveined
2 star anise
4 cloves
2 L boiling water
30g golden rock sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
Salt to taste
200g rice vermicelli
Handful of bean sprouts
2 red cut chili
2 tbsp red chili powder
½ cup fried shallots
Make prawn stock
Heat a wok over medium heat and add oil. Fry the garlic till fragrant. Add the prawn heads, brown sugar and sauté until they are fragrant and the colour changes to orange.
Add water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 20 minutes.
Strain the stock and discard the shells.
Make soup base
Pour the prawn stock into another clean pot. Bring it to a boil.
Add the blanched pork ribs, star anise, cloves, white peppercorns, rock sugar, fish sauce, salt. Bring to boil and let it simmer for 1 ½ hours or until the ribs are tender but not falling apart.
Once the soup base is done cooking, taste and add more salt, sugar and pepper if needed. Add the dark soya sauce for colour if needed.
Blanch the prawns and lean pork
Blanch the prawns you will be serving with the noodles briefly in the soup base until they turn pink and cook through. Remove and set aside.
Using the boiling soup base, blanch the pork loin till cooked. Remove and cut the pork loin into thin slices.
Serve
Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Then portion out the noodles, bean sprouts and kangkong and blanch them.
Transfer into serving bowls.
Top with prawns, pork slices.
RENDANG
RUMAH MAKAN MINANG in Kampong Glam serves authentic rendang from the Minang region in Indonesia.
Rendang historical lore traces back to the 15th century in Indonesia in Minangkabau, Sumatra, where locals stewed buffalo meat with coconut, herbs and spices for hours to make it tender and aromatic. It is a festive dish served at weddings and large ceremonies. Rendang traversed ocean and land with traders and seafarers, and evolved along the way. Rendang Tok of Perak, Malaysia includes spices like cumin, coriander and fennel and has South Indian notes.
Serves 6
3 hours to cook
1 kg stewing beef
1 3/4 cups thick coconut milk
1 cup water
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
1 turmeric leaf, sliced
5 tbsp kerisik (a caramelised nutty paste made with grated coconut that is dry toasted and pounded)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon gula melaka
Spice Paste
Blend or pound together:
2 tbsp coconut milk (use only if blending in a machine)
2 stalks lemongrass, sliced
1 thumbsized knob galangal, sliced
1 thumbsized knob ginger, sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled
20 dried red chillies, softened in hot water
4 shallots, peeled
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
Put the Spice Paste and the rest of the ingredients into a stewing pot or Dutch oven, and combine well. Place on stove over medium low heat and bring to simmer. Do not cover pot. Lower heat to lowest level. Cook till up to 2-3 hours, stirring gently now and then, to prevent burning. When you have a dark brown dry curry consistency with almost all moisture evaporated and the beef is fall-apart tender and caramelised, adjust seasoning. Switch off heat. Let rest for about 20 minutes. Serve with white rice and other dishes.
More to come