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Emerging Cuisines: Singapore's Style

Forward-looking restaurant operators can take a cue from this Asian culinary powerhouse.

The tiny island nation of Singapore at the tip of Malaysia attracted immigrants from China, Indonesia and India when it became a trading hub in 1800s. When the Chinese and Malays intermarried, another distinct group evolved—the Nonya.

All of these cultures are reflected in Singaporean cuisine:

• The Chinese contributed stir-fries and noodles
• The Indians, curries and samosas
• The Indonesians, sambals and satays
• Native Malaysian and Nonya cooking utilizes some of the same ingredients that typify Thai and other Southeast Asian cuisines (lemon grass, galangal, dried shrimp paste, kaffir lime leaf, coconut milk, fish sauce)

Singapore has a vibrant dining scene, with both sit down restaurants and lively hawker centers where vendors sell no-frills street foods from outdoor stalls. Here is a rundown of some of the top street foods.

Singapore Street Food Guide:

• Hainanese Chicken and Rice: Fragrant rice accompanied by steamed or roasted chicken and a hot and tangy garlic chili sauce.
• Satay: Marinated and skewered chicken, beef or lamb cooked over a charcoal fire; served with peanut sauce, fresh cucumber and raw onion.
• Singapore Chili Crab: Fresh crab sauced with red chilies, garlic, ginger, tomato ketchup and sometimes even eggs and peanuts.
• Laksa: Rice flour noodles in a curry made from dried shrimp, coconut milk and chilies; often topped with fish cakes, prawns and other shellfish.
• Rojak: this "salad" translates to "wild mix" in Malay. The combination of fruit and vegetables, including sweet turnips, pineapple, cucumber, bean sprouts and green mango, is tossed with fried dough bits and bean curd in a pungent dressing.

 

Check out these Asian inspired recipes:

• Califoriental Wings
• Asian CHEF REDI* Chicken Pasta Salad
• Asian Teriyaki Turkey Wrap
• Asian Chicken Salad in a Noodle Bowl

Excerpted from Restaurant Business, August 2008