Today, I want to give thanks to something I believe many in Singapore take for granted: food. I was looking in my fridge and noticed some Chinese New Year leftovers, dishes my sister brought over, and more. Reflecting on it, I realized how much I’ve had the privilege of enjoying a variety of multicultural flavours - yet often without truly appreciating them. So, let me highlight a few.
- Malay. I had chicken rendang for dinner today. Though originally a Malay dish, many non-Malays have learned to cook it, giving rise to Indian-style and Chinese-style rendang, each adapted to the respective culture taste-buds. My aunt had cooked and packed it for me during the CNY reunion, and I kept it in my fridge to enjoy during the CNY period when many shops were closed. Over the past few days, I had a piece or two, and today I decided to stew it further with some prawns. It was such a lovely dish - rich, fragrant, and infused with the aromatics of the rempah. I am grateful for this treat from my aunt.
- Peranakan. My sister made Nonya ngoh hiang (meat rolls comprising minced pork or chicken and prawns) for CNY. This is her speciality, which she makes every year before CNY, and she packed 10 rolls for me as usual. I used some to host friends over the last week. I still have 2 rolls and had 1 for dinner. Like rendang, different families have slightly different recipes, but I especially enjoy my sister’s version because it closely resembles my mum’s. It's so nostalgic. To add to the list, I made pengat kacang (green bean soup with sago and gula melaka) today for friends visiting me to bai nian (CNY visitation). This is one of my favourite desserts that I used to cook for mum when she was alive. I’m glad I have the chance to cook it today. My mum, being Peranakan (Straits-born Chinese), had a strong influence on our upbringing, and being able to savour Peranakan food during CNY is something I am thankful for.
- Chinese. I had cheng tng as for dessert after dinner. My sis made it and brought some over a couple of days back. Cheng tng is a Chinese dessert commonly sold in hawker centres across the island. It can be consumed warm or chilled. It is a sweet, refreshing longan-based soup filled with a colourful mix of ingredients - dried longans, lotus seeds, gingko nuts, white fungus, barley, and more. This is also a dessert I used to make for friends and for my ex whenever he craved for it. I hardly make it these days. It doesn't make too much sense to cook these days as I live alone.
The above are just some of the foods I had today, most of which were kept in my fridge. There are also Western dishes, such as chicken potpie. All of this food reflects the multicultural environment I live in and I am grateful to be part of.
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