In more ways than one, food is a culture. The blend of flavors melting on our tongues, pairings one would never think to put together, the sharing of dishes at restaurants. Things that teach all of us new perspectives and give us more worldly experience. My family are food lovers through and through, and having grown up in Singapore, the culture of food has been instilled in me from a very young age. Whether it be Western cuisine or the most authentic Asian delicacies, food can create and foster relationships and help us to experience the world through our taste buds.
Coming from an Indian background, sharing platters have been a very large part of my culture. When dining out, food is ordered and shared between everyone sitting at the table.
Before ordering, we discuss what options we have, what we should try. Through this we learn to compromise and communicate with others. This fosters a sense of community between all of the people at the table as laughter is shared throughout the course of the meal. Manners are also taught; Serving the people around you before serving yourself, asking everyone at the table before taking the last portion of a dish, these are the things that stick in young children’s minds and shape their interactions with other people as they grow older. For many Indians, meal time is one of the most important times of the day.
Growing up in Singapore, food has always been a topic of conversation. Known for the cheap yet delicious hawker center food, Singapore ranges from top-of-the-line Michelin restaurants to the thrifty street vendor food available in all corners of the bustling streets. Singaporeans are proud of their food heritage as it is seen as a unifying cultural thread to the people and cultures brought together in such a diverse country.
Singapore’s three most prominent races are Chinese, Malay, and Indian with the majority of the local cuisine originating/drawing inspiration from these cultures. However, through the years, there have been many cross-cultural dishes coming from a mix of these unique flavors.
The traditional Chinese cuisine is the heritage of the Singaporean Chinese immigrants mainly from the regions of Hakka, Hokkien, and Teochew. Their names continue to use Chinese dialects as there was no standard way of writing their names in Latin alphabet.
One of the most popular and widely known dishes eaten in Singapore is Char siu: barbecued pork. It originates from Cantonese cuisine and is. It can be eaten in a variety of different ways, which I have gotten to experience through my years of living here. At the end of the busy and tiring school week, heading down to the hawker center is something my friends and I love to do. I often buy Char siu. Its smoky, sweet yet sour flavor can be paired with ‘Bao’, noodles, a variety of vegetables, and many more dishes. From sit-in restaurants to takeaway meals from the nearest hawker, the taste and love put into making Char siu remains unchanged. A meal that two people, different as they may be, can appreciate and share with genuine joy.
Singapore’s history entails gaining independence on 9 August 1965, when it left Malaysia to become an independent and sovereign democratic nation. Malaysia, being right next door to our small island. We get a lot of food inspiration from Malaysian cuisine with some of the most popular dishes being Nasi Lemak, Laksa, and Chicken Satay.
Nasi Lemak is a rice dish served traditionally with cucumbers, roasted nuts, egg, and ikan bilis (anchovies)—the literal meaning being “Fatty Rice” when translated from Malay. The flavor of the dish comes from cooking the rice in coconut milk and steaming it with aromatic pandan leaves. For an extra kick, it is usually served with Sambal, a spicy paste made of red and green chillies ground together with other ingredients: garlic, shallots, shrimp paste, and more.
A big part of culture that comes with food is the passing down of recipes between family members or loved ones. The time spent learning to make these dishes offer a bonding experience in which people can come together to produce something that tastes like home . Learning from our elders and handing the knowledge down through generations is one of the oldest human traditions we have, especially when it comes to cooking. The recipes and the knowledge and skills for preparation of Nasi Lemak are passed down within families and also between hawkers and their apprentices over time to continue the long-lasting traditions that have been created and recreated over many years.
Indian cuisine is the most familiar to me. Both of my parents grew up in India, learning and eating recipes cooked by my grandparents which had been taught to them by their own parents. The flavor palette comes naturally to us, inclusive of a wide range of native spices, and I hope to one day learn these same, well-worn recipes.
One of the more popular Indian dishes in Singapore is Nasi Biryani. The word ‘Nasi’ itself is actually a Malay one, as in Nasi Lemak, ‘Nasi’ meaning rice. Biryani, however, comes from the Indian subcontinent. It is typically a dish consisting of meat cooked with layered rice.
It is a meal in which only one dish has to be cooked and set at the table (though side dishes are very common). Everyone is enjoying the same flavors, dancing on our tongues. Everyone is trying to avoid the overpoweringly pungent taste of the cardamom seed when directly bit into (most of us, at least). Everyone is appreciating the hard work taken to provide us with a delicious meal. It is a shared experience between all of the people at the dining table that sparks conversation, laughter, and mutual delight.
So all in all, food is so much more than fuel for our bodies and a chore to get us through life. It is a medium by which we can create bonds and traditions with the people around us and live through. Food teaches us life lessons, not only about creating, appreciating, and fun, but about family, friends, and ourselves. Food can be the best way to get a conversation flowing. Personally, when I hang out with my friends, we love to plan around a meal to experience one of the many diverse cuisines offered on our little island country. So even though I grew up a picky eater, and I still haven’t tried a large proportion of the food there is in Singapore, I will forever be thankful for my family, a bunch of food lovers who always made the effort to find new restaurants, recipes, and help me find a new love and appreciation for food.
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