RECIPES
go local
Singapore boasts a food scene as eclectic as its ethnic diversity. Celebrate our nation’s birthday by whipping up some local delights at home!
Singapore’s cuisine is an amalgamation of all the cultures found on the island — from immigrant Chinese and Indian traditions to indigenous Malay practices. It is also common to find dishes that reflect the coming together of all these cultures on one plate. One example is rojak, a fruit and vegetable salad that combines the use of ingredients typically used in both Chinese, Malay and Peranakan cooking. Get into the spirit of National Day by whipping up these dishes and pairing them with local beverages! Recipes courtesy of Periplus Publishing, reprinted from Singapore Favourites.
SINGAPORE ROJAK (SERVES 4) INGREDIENTS
½ 1 200 g
1 60 g 2 slices 1 1–2 1
cucumber, sliced small turnip, peeled, quartered and cut into thick slices water spinach (kang kong), cut into lengths and blanched in boiling water for 1 minute square firm tofu, shallow-fried until golden brown, then sliced into 8 pieces bean sprouts, blanched for 10 seconds, rinsed and drained pineapple, cubed unripe green mango, peeled and sliced Chinese crullers (yu tiao), cut into 6–8 pieces (optional) wild ginger bud, sliced (optional)
METHOD
1 To make the sauce, grind the chillies, palm sugar and dried shrimp paste, tamarind juice, black prawn paste and salt to a smooth paste in a blender. Transfer to a bowl, add the peanuts, stir and set aside. 2 Place the rest of the ingredients into a serving dish. Drizzle the sauce on top and toss to mix. Serve immediately. 44
WELLNESS FOR ALL
SAUCE
2–3 1 Tbsp 1 tsp 2 Tbsp 1 Tbsp ½ tsp 75 g
large red chillies, deseeded and sliced palm sugar (gula melaka) or brown sugar dried shrimp paste (belacan), toasted tamarind pulp, soaked in 125 ml water, squeezed and strained to obtain juice black prawn paste (hae ko) salt raw peanuts, dry-roasted and coarsely crushed in a blender or pounder
To complement this light appetiser, try it with a cool, tall glass of Allswell Plum Juice. The refreshing sourness of the drink will go pleasantly well with the salty and sweet sauce of the rojak. You can even substitute the tamarind juice in the recipe with 2 Tbsp of Plum Juice for a quick and easy way to introduce a ‘sour’ element to the tasty sauce.