Singaporean food: how to cook like a local

Singaporean recipes

Chilli crab spaghetti

Chilli crab is one of the most iconic dishes of Singapore. The original dish consists of whole mud crabs stir-fried in a sweet, spicy and savoury tomato sauce, then served with deep-fried mantou (Chinese steamed buns). But this dish has continued to evolve, beyond its first invention back in the 1950s. Young chefs have turned this explosive dish into a pasta sauce and you’ll find it served in many modern bistros. Here is my version, using cooked crab meat for ease. I use both white and brown meat – the latter adds a rich seafood depth to the sauce, akin to shrimp paste.

Eight-hour ox cheek rendang

A rendang is a dry curry. You might be tempted to stop the process too soon – not least because it smells incredibly delicious even halfway through – but be patient! The hours of simmering turn the cooking process from boiling to frying. As the liquid evaporates, the meat ends up caramelising in its own fat and the fat that separates from the coconut milk. This gives the rendang its glorious deep colour and intense, rich flavours.

Raspberry, lime and coconut potong ice cream

This is one sweet treat that instantly takes me back to my childhood in Singapore. The ice cream man came around not in a singing Mr Whippy van but a freezer cart and giant umbrella set on wheels. Rather than soft serves or Cornettos, you had a choice of ice cream sandwiches, slabs of ice cream cut from a bigger block and stuffed into a slice of soft white bread, or potong ice cream – coconut ice lollies. I loved the latter. I would skimp at lunch breaks, saving up my coins instead for these cold treats. Potong ice cream came in a dizzying array of colours and flavours, made using local ingredients – sweetened red bean, purple yam or yellow sweetcorn. Here I’ve used raspberries and lime to create a zesty, fruity, bright pink potong ice cream.