Vadai & Curry Puffs: History Of Iconic Singapore Hawker Snacks | Belly Of A Nation 3 | Part 1/4

We look at how Singapore hawker food is built on the food of home, usually made of humble ingredients. One little known snack is the lentil Vadai, once cooked at home and sold in the streets. How did the Tamil Vadai become a Singaporean snack, and how has it transitioned from an obscure Pasar Malam item into the snack spotlight? We meet the family of Stephen Suriyah as they continue to promote the prawn Vadai big time. Another snack is the curry puff which is a generic term for a stuffed, spiced pastry but with many cultural interpretations. In this continuing theme, we look at the old school Katong Kali pok and the Malay Epok Epok.

In the post Covid-lockdown era, stalls in hawker centres are filling up with new ideas. One such idea is the homely, rarely available Nasi Ulam. What made Redha Abdul Wahid sell the food of foragers? And we catch up with Lee Syafiq who has introduced Roti John into the Ashes Burnnit menu. It’s an old time snack whose history is legendary.

WATCH MORE Belly Of A Nation 3
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00:00 Introduction
01:55 Roti John, the original Singaporean burger?
06:18 Vadai, deep-fried street snacks
10:26 How The Original Vadai started their first permanent stall
15:21 Curry puffs: many different varieties
20:17 A peek at a decades-old curry puff recipe
26:51 Expansive and creative epok epok menu
32:24 A family of hawkers selling rice dishes
38:34 Singaporean version of Nasi Ulam, rice salad

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About the show: How do hawkers take obscure, native foods like Nasi Ulam or humble snacks like Vadai into the spotlight and how do they convince future generations to join them, or overseas customers to appreciate Singapore’s street food? Go behind the scenes into their lives as they navigate the year in Belly Of A Nation 3.
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