Pamelia Chia Is Using Her Time Under Lockdown To Champion Local Cuisine
If you’ve ever been to a Chinese restaurant overseas, you’ve probably been confused by one item on the menu – Singapore noodles. A dish that, despite what its moniker might suggest, doesn’t actually exist in Singapore. Chef and cookbook author Pamelia Chia is all too familiar with that misnomer, which is why she decided to set up the tongue-in-cheek Instagram account @sgpnoodles with the free time afforded her in lockdown, as a platform for her to share what Singapore’s food culture really looks like.
Pamelia describes Singapore Noodles as a “passion project”, where she highlights family favourites and forgotten recipes such as Teochew chestnut and prawn fritters, Golden Dragon chicken, curry puffs, and sambal stingray. She also chronicles the stories of young hawkers who have dedicated their lives to preserving a piece of local heritage, as she herself has.
This isn’t the first time Pamelia has stepped up as a champion of local cuisine. She’s the mind behind the well-received cookbook Wet Market to Table, an ode to the time-honoured tradition of wet markets and the people who keep their spirit alive.
Ahead, we speak to Pamelia about the local ingredients and recipes she thinks more people should know about, the comfort food she can’t get enough of right now, and what she’s most looking forward to post lockdown.
What does a day in a life look like for you now?
Although the COVID-19 situation has negatively impacted chefs and resulted in a temporary loss of job opportunities, I'm grateful for the time it has freed up for me to work on a passion project. I started Singapore Noodles (@sgpnoodles) in March, as a platform to preserve our local food culture and heritage through recipes, cooking tutorials, and interviews with food artisans and passionate cooks.
A typical day for me would be split between my actual work and Singapore Noodles. The day begins with recipe-testing a heritage dish that I would like to share, and filming the cooking process. The rest of the afternoon and evening is spent doing household chores, work for a farmhouse cooking school, video-editing and writing for Singapore Noodles, and preparing dinner. When my husband Wex returns home from work in the evening, we eat dinner together, catch up, and often watch a movie before going to bed.
For those who might not be familiar with your work yet, how do you think wet markets contribute to the vibrancy of our local culture?
I see wet markets as one of those untouched, unmanicured places in Singapore, where you get a true glimpse of local culture. People dress and interact casually, there are no pretences, and people often just speak their minds! Wet markets offer a very raw and visceral experience – you get caught up in the sights, smells, and sounds.
And each has its own spirit and culture. The smaller ones tend to feel more peaceful, with the crooning of radios and sounds of greetings exchanged between vendors and regulars. The larger ones such as Tiong Bahru market and Ang Mo Kio 628 market can feel more chaotic with all the haggling and bargaining going on. I prefer to go to the smaller ones, early in the morning, because there is always some form of quiet beauty lurking.
How do you see the pandemic affecting the future of wet markets, and what can the younger generation do to help?
I don’t think the pandemic would really affect the future of wet markets in Singapore because, even though wet markets have garnered a bad reputation internationally, I believe that Singaporeans are aware of the distinction between our wet markets and the wildlife markets from which the virus spread.
That said, I do believe wet markets face a very real threat of phasing out. Many of my peers still live with their parents and hardly cook at home, and so don’t have a reason to go to the wet market, while the ones who are married and have moved out are time-starved. Since wet markets only operate in the mornings, supermarkets are the destination of choice for young Singaporeans to obtain their groceries.
To ensure the longevity of our wet markets, it’s vital for the younger generations to not only cook more, but also cultivate an interest for the unique regional ingredients that our wet markets offer. There also needs to be a mindset shift from the wet markets as being places that are “dirty” or “smelly” to places with intrinsic cultural value.
What local ingredients do you think more people should know about?
Chinese yam is one of my favourite finds from the wet market. My mother is Cantonese and there was always a pot of Chinese soup for dinner when I was growing up. I always heard her point out the dried wai san (Cantonese for Chinese yam) in the soup, which she got from medicinal halls. I later realised that our wet markets stock fresh wai san, and that they are widely used in Japanese cuisine (known as nagaimo). It fascinates me that a little grated Chinese yam completely transforms minced meat, giving patties a silky texture.
Another of my favourite ingredients is taro. Many people are familiar eating it in the form of yam cake or yam rice, but few from my generation cook with it. I think young Singaporeans should cook with taro more because it’s as versatile as the potato! It can be steamed, deep-fried, boiled, and more. I like making taro croquettes (wu kok) – the recipe in my book works well to produce a taro dough with a shatteringly crisp honeycomb lattice. What’s interesting about taro is that it is equally prized in sweet dishes as it is in savoury dishes – orh nee is one such dish that I share about on Singapore Noodles.
Which recipe would you recommend people try from Singapore Noodles/ your book and why?
From my book, I would recommend the taro croquettes mentioned above because the recipe truly highlights the unique characteristics of taro. I also really enjoy cooking the mouthwatering chicken, which is a crowd-pleaser for all ages. The chilled celtuce “noodles” work so well with the silky poached chicken and spicy, tingling ma la vinaigrette.
In this time of lockdown when everyone has more time on their hands, I also recommend making the curry puffs featured on Singapore Noodles. It involves basic pantry ingredients and a little patience, but it rewards you with a newfound appreciation of the humble curry puff.
When it comes to food and/or entertainment, what have been some of your guilty pleasures since the lockdown started?
I hate to admit it, but Ben and Jerry’s has its own space in our freezer. We’ve also been snacking on Kingstons (a coconut and chocolate biscuit) a lot. In terms of entertainment, Wex and I binge-watched the entire season of Upload. Artificial intelligence is the next big thing and it’s so cool to see all the upcoming trends of self-driving cars, 3D-printed meat, and digital afterlife incorporated into one TV series.
Complete the sentence: The first thing I’m going to do when lockdown measures are lifted is…
Have people over. I miss entertaining and having friends over for a home-cooked dinner. I think it’s key to our identity as Singaporeans – to have a spread of food on the table, and to share it with friends and family. More than words or physical affection, sharing food and feeding people is our love language.
