Food Flashcards
Origins of chicken rice
From Hainan (hence Hainanese chicken rice) but influenced by Cantonese
Cantonese influence on chicken rice
- soaking freshly boiled chicken in iced water to produce jelly-like silk texture in the skin
- cooking the rice with lemongrass or pandan leaves
- dip with chili, garlic and ginger
Yong tau foo: what is it
Various stuffed, boiled items
Yong tau foo: etymology
Stuffed tofu in Hakka (Northern China)
Yong tau foo: origin
When the Hakkas migrated south, they could not find the right flour for their dumplings so used tofu
and when they arrived in SE Asia, they started using seafood and fish paste as filling as readily available
CNY dish
Yusheng
Raw fish salad (sometimes salmon)
What do we shout at CNY dinner
+ translation
lo hei
(scoop it up)
Enhancer put in hawker food
MSG Monosodium glutamate
MSG is naturally found in
Tomatoes, cheese…
MSG effect
Enhances taste with an umami effect
No proven health impact
Main carbohydrate around Singapore in the past
Sago (that grows easily in swampy areas. Rice was a luxury for elites)
Sago in French
Tree in English, French and Latin
Sagou
Sago Palm, Sagoutier, Cycas
Bubble tea
Thé aux perles de tapioca
Why scissors to put meat
As cleavers were sometimes taken by gang members in fight, decided to use scissors and the clicks they make started a tradition
Chili crab
Wok-fried carb in chili and tomato sauce
Claypot
Meal cooked over fire in an earthware pot
Other name of Chinese hotpot
Steamboat
Singapore and chewing gum
Selling is illegal but you can bring and consume
Singapore and alcohol
No selling or consumption outside after 10:30pm
And in the weekends in Little India and Geylang
Etymology of kopitiam
Kopi = coffee in Malay
Tiam = shop in Hokkien
Kopitiam
Like hawker centres but smaller, typically in a shophouse or a public housing estate.
Synonym of coffeeshop
Brewing of kopi
Hot water stirred into coffee powder and then filtrated in a sock and put in a kettle
