Exploring Singapore’s hawker centres
With four main races and their distinct ethnicities living together on a small island state, the ubiquitous food hawker center is the clearest example of the kind of cultural melting pot that Singapore is.
A hawker centre is a large eating space with multiple rows of food stalls and free seating scattered about the place. In this article, we’re introducing you to three of the unique Singaporean dishes that we guarantee is available in every single hawker centre there is in the country.
Nasi Lemak
“Nasi lemak” is a dish of Malay origin. The two words mean “rice” and “rich”, but rich in the metaphorical sense, as the aromatic rice is served with a variety of delicious sides. They include fried fish, fried chicken wings, a sunny side-up egg, ikan bilis (dried anchovies), peanuts, three slices of cucumber, and sambal (chili paste).
The Chinese name for nasi lemak is “椰浆饭” (ye jiang fan), which means “coconut rice”. It’s not a literal translation of the Malay name, but it does identify the dish by its most notable quality. The rice is steamed using coconut milk and pandan leaves, making it far more fragrant than otherwise plain normal white rice. Some stalls even serve up their dish on a banana leaf!
Roti Prata
“Roti prata” comes from the Hindi language, meaning “bread” and “flat”. It is exactly what its name implies, though the “bread” is not so much the thick and chewy variety we normally see in bakeries, but rather a thin sheet that more closely resembles a pancake or crepe.
The roti prata is a very simple dish. It is dough that is stretched on the spot by a chef (locally known as the “prata man”) and then cooked on a greased griddle. A type of Indian butter known as ghee is added to the dough during the kneading process. The result is a pancake of truly fantastic texture — soft on the inside, crispy and flaky on the outside.
Referred to as “prata” colloquially, it is usually eaten with mildly spicy fish or mutton curry, though one can expect to find all sorts of modern toppings these days, from chocolate sauce and banana slices to vanilla ice cream.
Hainanese Chicken Rice
You might assume — and you wouldn’t be the first — that this dish must have originated from Hainan, a province in China. However, the place of origin is actually Singapore. The people that came up with it, on the other hand, were of Hainanese ethnicities, having immigrated to Singapore in the early 1900s.
The poached chicken comes with options — white or roasted, breast meat or thigh meat. The rice gets its fragrance by being cooked with the oil from the chicken, onions, ginger and pandan. It is usually accompanied by three sauces: a ginger sauce made from sesame oil and chicken broth; a chili sauce made with small chili and lime, and a sweet, thick, dark soy sauce. If you ever intend to visit Singapore, know that this “national dish” is a must-try.
Rest assured that it is entirely possible to order everything we’ve mentioned here in English. Like what you see? Stay tuned for our next article as we go into even more Singaporean dishes!