The Story of Roti John

The more I walk around streets in Singapore, the more stories I find out about local food and it's origins. Ever heard of Roti John before ? I bet you haven't ! Neither celebrity chefs like Jamie Olivier or Gordon Ramsey ever heard anything like this sort of famous dish called Roti John. The dish itself is not high tech and if you follow the recipe it's actually easy to make. Roti John is a melting dish between Asian flavor and western looking baguette slices.

Let's put it this way, it resembles more a South East Asian Sandwich or Burger.. Well, according to local legend, sometime in the 1960s an Englishman asked a Malay hawker in Sembawang for a hamburger.

Because hamburgers were not available, as a substitute, the ingenious hawker spread minced mutton and onions between slices of French loaf and fried the concoction in egg. The name for the dish is also attributed to this anonymous hawker, who was overheard saying to the customer, “Silakan makan roti, John”, which literally translates as “Please eat this bread, John”, but can also be understood as “Please eat this dish, John’s bread”.

Although roti john is often classified as Malay cuisine, partly because it is usually offered by Malay stalls, its origins, ingredients and taste meld together the diverse flavours of the English, Malay and Indian communities. The dish is sometimes considered as being of Indian origin possibly because Shukor, the hawker who popularised it, was of Indian ancestry. 

In the 1970s, Shukor set up stall at the Taman Serasi hawker centre near the Botanic Gardens serving Eurasians and Caucasians, many of whom frequented the nearby Tanglin Club. Shukor obtained the recipe for roti john from a fellow hawker in Geylang and began offering the dish at his stall in 1976. Shukor’s recipe for the dish contains up to 30 eggs beaten with onions, minced mutton and sambal (minced chilli). Some of the mixture is slathered onto sliced halves of a local bread loaf similar to the French baguette, then pan-fried on a hot griddle. So popular was the dish that Shukor sold up to 800 loaves on weekends and over 100 plates a day at his Taman Serasi stall.

Shukor’s innovation is considered the original roti john by some and his eatery remains the benchmark for the dish. After his death, his wife, Khadijah bt Mohd Salleh, continued running the stall. The stall, Shukor Makanan Istimewa, originally located at Number 9 Taman Serasi Food Centre, made the hawker centre synonymous with roti john. When the hawker centre underwent changes in 2001, the stall moved to the Serangoon Garden Market where roti john is still sold by Shukor's daughter Noriani Shukor.

Today, roti john is served throughout the Malay Peninsula, with variations in Malacca and Penang that use toppings of sardines or ikan bilis (anchovies) rather than meat.

The Dish itself…

Sometimes called Singapore's version of the burger, roti john is made using a local bread loaf similar to the French baguette, but shorter in length and with rounded ends and a softer texture. Good roti john is considered to be crispy on the outside, while the meat and egg mixture remains soft and the onions crunchy. It is usually served in bite-sized slices with green chilies, tomato sauce and sweet chilli sauce on the side. Variations on this dish use chicken, beef or sardines instead of mutton. More recent innovations include adding melted cheese and mushrooms to the topping. The Malaccan version of this dish uses longer bread with a topping mainly of sardines and ikan bilis with onions, eggs and chili.

Here are some top spots to find delicious Roti John in Singapore:

1. Golden Mile Food CentreStall: Syed Roti John
Known for its generous portions and unique sauces, Syed Roti John is a well-loved stall at Golden Mile Food Centre. Address: 505 Beach Rd, #B1-53 Golden Mile Food Centre, Singapore 199583

2. Hajah Maimunah RestaurantThis popular spot serves Malay and Indonesian dishes, including an excellent Roti John that’s a bit more premium in quality.
Address: 11 Jalan Pisang, Singapore 199078

3. Adam Road Food CentreStall: Victory Roti John
Adam Road Food Centre has long been a go-to place for late-night snacks, and Victory Roti John here is well-known for its flavorful and saucy take on the dish.
Address: 2 Adam Rd, Singapore 289876

4. Bedok Corner Food CentreStall: Ramly Burger Roti John
A bit different in style, Ramly Burger Roti John offers a Malaysian-inspired twist with flavorful spices and unique seasoning.
Address: 1 Bedok Rd, Singapore 469572

5. Old Airport Road Food CentreStall: Roti John King
Known for a variety of Roti John options, Roti John King serves crispy and satisfying Roti Johns in different styles.
Address: 51 Old Airport Rd, Singapore 390051

Each location has its own flavor profile, so trying a few will give you a taste of different variations Singapore has to offer!

A Year Full of Food Scandals

UK supermarket burgers have been found to contain horse meat, remember ? Well, that is nothing compared to many food scandals that happened around the world this year. Some cases shocking but less hazardous and some others simply too much into crime. It goes from dishonesty in labelling giant tiger prawns to make a "Japanese tiger prawn" terrine, sold under the luxury French brand Fauchon. They're making their products seem more luxurious than in reality and another astonishing case of exploding water melons full of chemicals or rat meat sold as lamb in China early this year. According to a statement made by Ministry of Public Security, If you have ordered lamb or mutton for hotpot in Shanghai over the last four years, you might have been served rat, fox or mink.

For food and drinks companies, rising obesity rates present a conundrum. Companies have a duty to their shareholders to make money. All big food companies are working hard to sell more products to more of the world. Many unhealthy products are very profitable. But companies do not want to be vilified for helping to make people fatter. The spectre of government regulation looms large. Many firms are now conflicted, continuing to hawk unhealthy products yet also touting elaborate plans to improve nutrition. They insist they will help lower obesity rates, not raise them, but there is room for doubt. So make sure once you out there, to select your food brand wisely and spend one minute of your time to read the ingredients labelled on the food product. This year was definitely another year of mistrust in food industry, that seems to be fairly obvious. 

The super italian dish called Friselle

Guess what, Friselle is unknown to 99% of worlds population because it's non-commercial and the dish is not rocket science. I can bet with you that Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Olivier and many more celebrity chefs never came across this type of dish before. Friselle is a perfect and valid alternative to bread, it can be produced easily. I happen to make some in Singapore few days ago, it works simply because the ingredients are more or less the same. 

It is oven baked , then cut in half horizontally and it's then baked again in the oven. The looks of the frisella is with one smooth and one rough surface. Friselle are a staple food that was produced and acclaimed for its long conservation period and was therefore a valid alternative to bread, especially in those periods when flour was scarce.

The name with which friselle are also know in Apulia is “Pane dei Crociati” (Crusaders' bread) as it was certainly used to equip the Christian expeditions in their long travellings. A tradition for its consumption, from times past, was to dip friselle directly with sea water and with pure fresh tomato, which was squeezed to let the juices out. If you're wondering why the circular shape, it was not for the aesthetics: the hole at their center, allowed the friselle to be practically transported with a cord that was passed through them to form a sort of collier : that way they could either be hung for conservation or for comfortable transportation. Friselle were a typical travel-bread: that's why sea water was often used, or it was used as bottom for the fish soups, which were usually consumed during the days-long fishing expeditions in the open sea.

How they look like

Friselle have a characteristic shape, derived from their production process: they are typically circular and with a hole at their center. Oven baked twice and cut after the first baking, they always come in pairs as they are nothing else that the two halves of the same form. Characteristic is also the surface, rough where it's cut after the first baking, smooth where it's remaining form the original manual shaping of the dough. Sizes are variable: friselle's diameter and their holes' diameter can vary from 5-10 centimeters to 20 or more. 

The color depends on both the baking time and the flour composition (more or less wheat/barley flour): color can then range from light to (very) dark brown. I have checked a number of cookbooks and online sources, and friselle are made from just durum wheat flour, salt, live yeast cake and water. Another recipe that yields more calls for:

1 k (2.2 pounds, or about 8 1/3 cups) flour, ideally durum wheat flour

1 3/4 ounces (50 g) live yeast cake

1 cup of Water

A pinch of salt

In this case, begin by combining the yeast with a 1 2/3 cups (about 200 g) flour, warm water, and a pinch of salt, to make smooth soft starter loaf. Cover it and let it rise in a warm place for a half hour.

After a half hour, make a well of the rest of your flour on your work surface, and work the starter loaf into it, adding enough water to make a dough. Roll the dough into finger-thick 8-inch long (20 cm) snakes, make them into rings and set them to rise on a baking tin. Let them rise for 2 hours, and then bake them in a 400 degree (200C) oven for about a half hour. Remove them from the oven, Split them down the middle to obtain 2 rings from each frisella, and return them to the baking tin cut side up. Bake them for another 20-30 minutes, or until they are quite dry.

Craving for Gnocchi with Sage and Butter

Gnocchi is a very simple home made dish that brings a lot of joy to cook it for our loved ones. This Italian dish joins the family of the so called ''cucina povera'' cuisine of the poor due to it's simple and low cost ingredients. Nowadays Grocery stores and middle mens earn gigantic margins on it by simply selling Gnocchi to end consumers. 

During preparation, the Gnocchi's will resemble like dead bodies lying on a plate but don't worry because it taste simple, marvelous and I am very sure that you will be preparing willing to prepare Gnocchi again and again once tasted.

Again, there are plenty Gnocchi varieties and preparation styles existing, I have chosen to follow the style of my ancestors purely out of habit. You can either add more Butter, more Sage.. base it on Salmon, Tuna or add some meat stuff to it. It's really up to your imagination.. but here is how I do it. 

What is actually Gnocchi all about ?  Little dumplings made from potatoes, flour and egg. Not very exciting, you might think, but like real pasta made in the old-fashioned way, Gnocchi have a texture and flavour of their own which can absorb and complement other flavours. This recipe is very simple, served with just butter, sage and Parmesan. Always make the amazing Gnocchi the day you are going to serve them, because they will change in colour if left overnight.

Ingredients

275 gr Potatoes - just about two

95 gr plain flour, sifted, plus a little extra rolling

1 large egg, lightly beaten

salt and milled black pepper

For the sauce

8 fresh sage leaves

50gr of butter

garlic peeled and crushed

How to do it….

First place the potatoes, with their skins on, in a suitably sized saucepan, almost cover with boiling water, add some salt, then put a lid on and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until tender. Then drain well and, holding them in your hand with a tea cloth, quickly pare off the skins using a potato peeler. Then place the potatoes in a large bowl and, using an electric hand whisk on a slow speed, start to break the potatoes up, then increase the speed and gradually whisk until smooth and fluffy. Now let them cool.

Next, add the sifted flour to the potatoes, along with half the beaten egg, season lightly and, using a fork, bring the mixture together. Then, using your hands, knead the mixture lightly to a soft dough – you may need to add a teaspoonful or so more of the egg if it is a little dry. Now transfer the mixture to a lightly floured surface, flour your hands and divide it into quarters. Now roll each quarter into a sausage shape approximately ½ inch (1 cm) in diameter, then cut it, on the diagonal, into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces, placing them on a tray or plate as they are cut. Cover with Clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes, but longer won't matter.

After that, using a fork with the prongs facing upwards, press the fork down on to one side of each Gnocchi so that it leaves a row of ridges on each one; at the same time, ease them into crescent shapes. The ridges are there to absorb the sauce effectively. Now cover and chill the Gnocchi again until you are ready to cook them. To cook the Gnocchi, firstly bring a large, shallow pan of approximately 6 pints (3.5 litres) of water to a simmer and put the serving dish in a low oven to warm through. Then drop the Gnocchi into the water and cook for about 3 minutes; they will start to float to the surface after about 2 minutes, but they need 3 altogether.

When they are ready, remove the Gnocchi with a draining spoon and transfer them to the warm serving dish. For the sauce, melt the butter with the garlic over a gentle heat until the garlic turns nut brown in colour – about 1 minute. Next add the sage leaves and allow the butter to froth while the sage leaves turn crisp – about 30 seconds – then spoon the butter mixture over the warm Gnocchi. Sprinkle half the Parmesan over and serve the rest separately.