*Disclaimer: This is a long post. About food. If you are Singaporean, you may get very hungry. If you are not Singaporean, you may think I am crazy. I am not responsible for either outcome.
Fine. I admit it. I’m whiny hungry Dot. Every once in a while – Jay insists it’s every few months – I get all whiny and hungry for Singaporean hawker food.
“Why don’t you take some classes and learn how to cook those dishes?” he says.
“Cannot!” I wail. “Where got time? Who got teach? How to find ingredients? Fire not hot enough! It’s not the same! I am too lazy!”
People in Singapore, do you realize how lucky you are? We don’t eat these foods every day, or we might, but the point is, the food is right there. There, there, and there. And I’m over here.
Hokkien Mee is one of those foods I wish I enjoyed more as a kid. For some reason, I found the slippery noodles very irritating as it impeded my speed of consumption. I love it much much now.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Stock too complex to make. Includes shrimp, prawns, pork. Haven’t made my own shallots in a long time.
For a devout carnivore, I sure love my vegetarian zhai noodles. God bless the carnivores who made this, because you know they knew how to make it taste good. I swear, sometimes vegetarians get a bum rap because of the things they eat, mainly, tempeh.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Are you kidding? I don’t even really know what is in this! It’s got pretend pork and crispy tofu skin. I think gluten is involved. I have no time to roll and color gluten into pretend pork color. As far as I’m concerned, those yummy sweet green chillies essential for zhai cannot be manmade.
Ah, tow suan. Sweet mysterious yellow pellets with crispy (most times soggy) you tiao (incidentally called Chinese donuts in this here parts.)
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: What is the yellow thing?
Kway Chap! Jay says he can’t stand this, I think it’s the concept that baffles him more than the taste. He’s never had it. Pig intestines, tofu, duck meat, hard boiled eggs, super wide noodles.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Hello, where to get pig intestines? Plus, I don’t want to know how to cook it. I just want to eat it.
Altogether now: CHAR KWAY TEOW! Delicious national dish of noodles (must have two kinds, you know what I’m talking about), bean sprouts, Chinese sausage, egg, fish cake, soy sauce, pork lard. Holy crap.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Well, technically I did it once in Seattle, for a Singaporean get-together. But it was NOT THE SAME. I couldn’t find the right noodles. And I spent a whole day prepping and cooking, with Jay’s help. People, I have a two-year-old. And a job. I’d rather give Mr Hawker $2 to cook it.
I love wanton noodles because it has everything I need in a balanced meal. Carbs. Proteins. Vegetables.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: There are too many components. For starters, the wantons are a bitch to wrap. Tasty soup was never my forte. It’s an assembly nightmare to cook the noodles perfectly and add the char siew, mushrooms, and vegetables.
Oh dear carrot cake, must you be the moist, springy, sweet and salty carb love of my life?
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Did you see the size of his wok? I don’t have the heat to pull this off. (For the record, we attempted it once in Seattle, and Jay turned two burners on, there was carrot cake and soy sauce everywhere, and the stove was a sticky mess at the end of the day.)
Kaya toast and runny eggs with soy sauce and white pepper. A champion’s breakfast if I ever saw one.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: I have no kaya. My soy sauce never tastes like their soy sauce.
I’m not a spicy fan but I will do anything for laksa. What’s not to love? Noodles in spicy coconut soup with eggs, fish cakes, and fried tofu does it for me every time.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Don’t get me started. This gravy soup stock is made of things I don’t even have the names for. I believe shrimp paste is involved.
There is a reason this blog is called Tofu Nation. I love every variation of tofu there is. And yong tau foo is the epitome of all things heavenly that can be made from soy. I love both dry and soup versions.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Is Labor-Intensive a good enough excuse? Every little piece is individually created. I need someone like this man selling yong tau foo to make yong tau foo noodles.
I love my kueh tu tu, but I can’t even say for sure what the white part is made of. Rice flour perhaps? I do know that my favorite filling is peanut. Coconut is a close second.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: I don’t have this machine. Enough said.
I don’t just eat beehoon noodles. I am grouchy if they only have beehoon. What I need is beehoon and mee. No harm throwing on Maling luncheon meat and a fried egg too.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: I’m not sure how to season the noodles. And again, I have not fried shallots in a long time.
The idea of fishballs freaks Jay out. Texture, too. If I had to name a dish I ate the most growing up, it has got to be fishball noodles. Which kid doesn’t like fishballs? So yummy! So springy!
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: There’s a reason this man is making a living. It’s because I’m a lazy ass.
This is a two-fer. Hainanese pork chops and Hainanese chicken rice. Don’t get in my way.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Hainanese pork chops must be seasoned with crack. Because I am addicted. As for the chicken rice, did you know they cook whole chickens in large vats of boiling water? I don’t have a large vat.
Roti Prata is Ghee’s gift to Mankind, at least that’s what I think it’s cooked with. Why else does Ghee exist?
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: I can’t flip and knead it like the experts.
I’m not sure why I am not a 300-pound human based on the amount of carbs I eat. How can anyone live without chee cheong fun?
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: Someone has to make the rice noodle from scratch and roll it up into chee cheong fun shapes. That someone is not me.
This steamed cake thing whose name escapes me now was my favorite childhood snack, aside from the rainbow kueh. I know the colors don’t make a difference, but I used to love the pink ones and not the white ones.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: I don’t have those cute little orange checked holders.
Don’t say “porridge” to anyone here in the US. They will think you are talking about oats. This lovely rice dish is such comfort food for me. However, I must say I am not a fan of the thousand-year-old egg.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: I have tried. Many many times. My chok never tastes like good chok. I can’t find the right type of rice grains.
I cannot have a discussion about Singapore food without zi char. You can’t tell from the photo, but we just had a delicious meal of chicken, beef, vegetables, all freshly cooked to order. What can be better than ordering your favorite homecooked dishes outside your home? No fuss, no mess.
Why Dot Can’t Cook This: I am a bad cook.
Whiny hungry Dot. Coming to a hawker center near you.
I used to live in the States… and rely on Prima Deli spice packets ( Laksa, Mee Rebus, Curry ) that is sold in Asian supermarkets or from friends returning from SG. the Laksa taste almost as good as those in SG. It really works !!!
Darling, come to Melbourne, you get almost all these here, I promise. ingredients sure got, fire sure hot one.
My wife and I are staying in SG and we love all these wonderful dishes at nearby hawker centers. My wife recommended me to read your blog to explain why she enjoys these dishes but cannot cook herself. Now I understand. We used to live in the US and agree with what you said about all these dishes; it’s virtually impossible to find these dishes at any restaurant and they don’t taste right even though we tried to cook some of them.
Grace: Now you have given me a mission!
Emi: Any excuse to visit Melbourne
Chris: Your wife is right! Hehe! Enjoy your stay in Singapore.
I hate your pictures. they make me salivate.
Tao suan is the easy one.
Buy split mung beans, it’s usually placed next to the green beans in all asian supermarkets. Just soak for several hours and boil them. Add potato starch to thicken and lots of sugar for taste. Toast those frozen you tiao. Tada…. Not too tough right?
In my mama’s nagging ways, you need to steam them before boiling them. But this simplified way works for me.
Oh ya, as for the pratas, there’s this frozen prata in blue packaging that’s VERY good. Much better than the crispy pratas you can find in Singapore..
All being sold in Uwajimaya.. Looks like we need to have some gathering and cook some yummy food to fill the void
I think i need to show this to Steve so he understands why i cannot move to Bellevue. At least i can find some of these food in my neighbourhood.
I love the look of that porridge! I don’t know how the hawkers get that texture, but some say that part of the congee is blended. I really like some pei dan chok from time to time.
Heard that it’s easy to make kaya at home with a breadmaker (will do cooking and churning for you) and the requisite ingredients.
Blended? Really? Like blender blender?
Yes. Blended to break up the rice bits, then added back to the pot to finish cooking.
i love hawker centre foods.
it is cheap and it is also very nice to eat.
you can find singaporean foods everywhere in singapore.
you don’t have to worry when you are hungry.
there will be foods everywhere in the world.