There’s something wonderful about sharing portions. A table full of plates and bowls, each one its own little world; symbolic of abundance, of shared tastes, of food that is intended for many people to share in. Of course, here in Singapore, sharing portions are commonplace, especially at home. In my household, dinner always features a big bowl of soup, a meat dish, and some variety of a stirfried vegetable dish - it’s been like that for as long as I can remember. At other tables that I have been lucky enough to share meals with, there have been wide metal pots of budae jjigae, hearty bowls of dal, carefully laid charcuterie boards, stacks of chapati, fragrant tom yum soup... the list goes on. Beyond the food itself, I treasure a lot of the rituals and small gestures that surround communal eating. Standing up and scooping soup into everyone’s bowls. Taking something you really love and depositing it onto someone else’s plate so that they can share in the joy of eating your favourite food. Taking a dish you don’t like and shoving it onto someone else’s plate so you don’t have to eat it. These are the little things that make up our memories of shared mealtimes. I remember struggling with chilli crab as a child at big family dinners, packed to the brim with relatives I didn’t recognise and sitting sandwiched in a little corner between my mother and my cousin. I loved chili crab, but could never quite get the hang of cracking the shell open to get to into a bowl. I crack my own crab shells now, but it remains a tender memory. For me, sharing food is such an ingrained habit. When I’m out eating with friends and we’re all eating different dishes on our own plates, I always ask to try whatever they’re having. What can I say? I’m curious about other people’s taste in food. Of course, I always offer some of my own food, because that way it’s sharing and not just taking. It’s not like I don’t get to do these things anymore - after all, I still eat like this with my immediin a pandemic is that there’s now a collective hesitation to share food as freely as before. It’s for In this fourth volume of The Slow Press, we’ve prepared an eclectic sharing platter of stories for your reading pleasure. There are stories about everything from food miniatures to temple for every kind of reader, akin to a spread where everyone brings their best dish to the potluck. Additionally, we’ve lovingly stuffed this volume of The Slow Press with more recipes than ever contributors to share their food with you, one that will tide us over until we can once again sit at the same tables and break bread without reservations.
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