Cuisine of Singapore

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Food

Food is like sex, it's a need we all cannot do without..

People can survive without foods for days, but without water, they dried up and died slowly..

We have plenty to share..

My intentions are not to spoil your epicurean hunger for food since whatever you saved on the table is not going to save anyone in hunger..so enjoy your meal..


However be charitable means sharing with those in needs:

Find some ways to do it, I meant you are real smart , so choose a good organisation to send your cheque for sharing..

Like in some places of need:


Contents

[edit] Bringing Relief to Children

In the remote Konsh and Siran valleys of Pakistan, more than 2,500 schools were leveled or irreparably damaged by October's earthquake. Mercy Corps is helping Pakistani children resume classes - and regain a sense of belonging - by equipping makeshift tent schools with furniture, teachers' supplies and textbooks.

Six tented medical facilities throughout the affected area continue to treat hundreds of patients each day. Two of these clinics are operating 24 hours a day to ensure quick, lifesaving health care.


With the harsh Himalayan winter rapidly closing in, shelter remains the top priority. Children and families in Pakistan need your help.[[1]]


[edit] The Cuisine of Singapore

The cuisine of Singapore is often viewed by her population as a prime example of the ethnic diversity of the culture of Singapore. In Singapore's hawker centres, for example, traditionally Malay hawker stalls selling halal food may serve halal versions of traditionally Tamil or Chinese food. Chinese stalls may introduce Malay or Indian ingredients, cooking techniques or entire dishes into their range of catering. Some dishes introduce elements from all three cultures, while others incorporate influences from the rest of Asia and the West.

This phenomenon makes the cuisine of Singapore significantly rich and a cultural attraction. Most of the prepared food that is bought outside are eaten in the hawker centres or food courts rather than actual restaurants, an example of which is Lau Pa Sat, these centres are relatively abundant which often leads to low prices, and encourages a large consumer base.

Because it is often viewed by her population as central to Singapore's national identity and a unifying cultural thread, that Singaporean literature often declares eating as a national pastime and food is a national obsession. Food is a constant topic of conversation among Singaporeans who like to comment on the food they have eaten and the eateries around the country. There are some religious dietary strictures as Muslims do not eat pork and Hindus do not eat beef; there are also a large group of vegetarians. Nonetheless, people from different communities often eat together while being mindful of each other's culture and choose food acceptable to all. There are also some halal chinese restaurants that prepare chinese food in a way that conform to Muslim dietary restrictions.

Food in itself has been heavily promoted as an attraction for tourists, and is usually promoted by various initiatives undertaken by the Singapore Tourism Board or the associations it deals with as one of Singapore's best attractions alongside shopping. The government organises the Singapore Food Festival in July annually to celebrate Singapore's cuisine. The multiculturalism of local food, the ready availability of international cuisine, and their wide range in prices to fit all budgets at all times of the day and year helps create a "food paradise" to rival other contenders claiming the same moniker. The availability of variety of food is often aided by the fact Singapore's port lies along strategic routes.

The cuisine bears some resemblance to the cuisine of Malaysia due to the close historical and cultural ties between the two countries. However there are also significant differences. While a number of dishes are common to both countries, the way the dishes are prepared are often different. This is due to the existence of numerous evolutionary forks in their development, which gave unique tastes pertaining to each country's cuisine.

As Singapore is a small country with high population density, land is scarce and is mainly devoted to industry and housing. Most of the agricultural produce and food ingredients are from other countries, although there is a small group of farmers who grow some leafy vegetables, fruits, poultry, and fishes. Nonetheless, Singapore's good air and sea connections allow it to import a large variety of food ingredients from around the world including expensive seafood items such as sashimi from Japan.

[edit] Dishes

Image:LavendarFC.JPG
A food centre in Lavender, Singapore

[edit] Chinese inspired

[edit] Malay/Peranakan inspired

[edit] Indian inspired

[edit] Cross ethnic inspired

A number of dishes, listed below, can be considered as truly hybrid or multi-ethnic food as they are equally influenced by more than one ethnicities.

[edit] Seafood

Singaporeans also enjoy a wide variety of seafood including crabs, clams, squid (known as sotong in Malay), oysters and lobsters.

Favorite seafood dishes include

  • Chilli crab, hard shell crabs cooked in a thick gravy that has a tomato chilli base.
  • Barbequed stingray (or Beng He), served on banana leaf and with sambal chilli.
  • Fried oyster, an oyster omelette mixed with flour and fried with small oysters garnished with coriander leaves.

[edit] Fruits

Image:Durian.png
250px

There is a wide variety of fruits available and these are mostly imports from neighbouring countries. A favorite is the durian, known as the “king of the fruits”, which has a spiky outer shell and a characteristic odour. However, in spite of its popularity, durian is not allowed in public transport such as the Mass Rapid Transit, most hotels and public buildings because of its strong odour.

Other popular tropical fruits include mangosteen, jackfruit, longan, lychee, rambutan and pineapple. Some of these fruits are also used as ingredient to other dishes, especially the ice desserts.

[edit] Desserts

Image:Durian stall.JPG
A durian stall in Singapore

[edit] Drinks

[edit] Local names of coffee and tea

At traditional kopi tiams, coffee and tea are usually ordered using their local names.

Coffee

  • Kopi, coffee
  • Kopi-si, coffee with evaporated milk
  • Kopi-Kosong, coffee with milk and no sugar
  • Kopi-O, coffee with sugar only
  • Kopi-O-Kosong, coffee without sugar or milk
  • Kopi-peng or Kopi-ais, coffee with milk, sugar and ice

Tea

  • Teh, tea with milk and sugar
  • Teh-si, tea with evaporated milk
  • Teh-kosong, tea with milk and no sugar
  • Teh-O, tea with sugar only
  • Teh-O-Kosong, just tea without milk or sugar
  • Teh tarik, the Indian tea described earlier
  • Teh-halia, tea with ginger water
  • Teh-peng, tea with ice, also known as Teh-ais or Teh-ice

The above list is not complete; for example, one can add the "-peng" suffix to form other variations such as Teh-si-peng (tea with evaporated milk with ice) which is a popular drink considering Singapore's warm weather.

These names are indicative of the multi-racial society in Singapore as they are formed by words from different languages, and have become part of the lexicon of Singlish. For example, teh is the Malay word for tea which itself is originated from Hokkien, peng is the Hokkien word for ice, kosong is the Malay word for zero to indicate no sugar, and si is the pronounciation of letter "C" referring to Carnation, a brand of evaporated milk.

[edit] See also

[edit] External link

Retrieved from "http://www.sgwiki.com/wiki/Cuisine_of_Singapore"
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