#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Pamelia Chia of SGP Noodles

 
Pamelia Chia, author of Wet Market to Table and founder of @SGPnoodles

Pamelia Chia, author of Wet Market to Table and founder of @SGPnoodles

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

I was born and raised in Singapore, though I recently moved to Melbourne with my husband Wex two years ago.

What does home taste like?

Home tastes like many things to me. It is having kaya toast, kopi guyou (butter coffee) and soft boiled eggs at a coffee shop early in the morning. Getting a plate of chicken rice at the hawker centres for lunch. Coming home to my Cantonese mother's dinner, which always features lots of soups, Chinese cooling teas and steamed fish. And having a supper of roti prata and bak chor mee with friends late at night.

Rice or noodles?

I love both equally but I'd pick rice for its versatility. These days I alternate between white rice and brown rice for health reasons but white rice is the best partner for curries, lor zup (soy based gravies) and soy sauce.

How did you learn to cook?

Cooking with my mother was exasperating because she was vague in measurements and instructions - everything was done the 'agak agak' way (by intuition). Self-learning through books and cooking shows was easy enough for baking and Western cooking, but when it came to Singaporean/Chinese cooking, I struggled because there was so little documentation and the intricate details of recipes are not shared (a lot less hand-holding compared to Western recipes). I started learning about Asian food with David Thompson's authoritative tomes on Thai food, and Fuchsia Dunlop's cookbooks, before working up the confidence and ease in the kitchen to approach my own nation's cuisine.

Share a food memory:

My mother always tried to instill a spirit of adventurous eating in me, believing that I should try everything at least once - even if I didn't like something, at least I knew. She introduced offal to me at a young age, and, to entice me into eating small intestines, she told me that it was the Chinese version of chewing gum, alluding to its springy texture. I have been an offal lover ever since!

Most underrated Chinese ingredient:

Preserved sour plums, which are similar but a lot cheaper than Japanese umeboshi. My favourite way with these are in a fish steamboat. Cook the fish bones in water until a milky stock forms, akin to Japanese tonkotsu, then mash one or two of the sour plums in. They provide the most wonderful counterbalance to the richness of the soup, and their acidity whets your appetite. Place the steamboat pot in the centre of the table and serve with plenty of vegetables, meat and steamed rice. If you're short on time, place a few over fillets of fish, with coriander and tomatoes and steam.

Dream dinner party guests:

I am a sentimental person, so I would love to have a dinner party with all my loved ones - those who are alive and those who have passed on. The only time when everyone you love is gathered in one place is probably your wedding haha. Other than that, you often catch up with people in groups. I would love to host a party in Singapore for all my favourite people and cook them food from the heart - simple food to please, not to impress.

Who’s your Chinese food legend?

I don't really have one, because though there have been great Chinese cookbook writers emerging over the past couple of years, they mainly cover the food in China, which is distinctly different from the Chinese food I grew up with - so there's a bit of a disconnect. I do have lots of respect for tze char chefs though! Tze char (zhu chao in Chinese - literally meaning cook, fry) is used to describe roadside eateries in Singapore. While the Chinese food in Singapore's restaurants are really refined and use premium ingredients, tze char is all about making humble ingredients taste good. That is the mark of a good cook and a philosophy that underpins Singaporean cuisine. One of my favourite tze char dishes is coffee ribs, made by tossing velveted pork in a wok with a sinful sweet sauce made from instant coffee. Sounds weird, but so so good.

Dream dinner party guests:

I am a sentimental person, so I would love to have a dinner party with all my loved ones - those who are alive and those who have passed on. The only time when everyone you love is gathered in one place is probably your wedding haha. Other than that, you often catch up with people in groups. I would love to host a party in Singapore for all my favourite people and cook them food from the heart - simple food to please, not to impress

Most underrated Chinese kitchen utensil:

The wok. It is so versatile - you can steam, stir-fry, deep-fry, boil, smoke all in a single contraption. And wok hei makes food taste amazing!

What would you like to tell the world about Chinese food?

I live in Melbourne and the bulk of Chinese food you find here in the city is comprised of the Sichuan fiery and numbing variety. I'd like to tell the world that the world of Chinese food is so diverse, and that it is not all about oily fried rice or full-flavoured stir-fries. Our food can be very delicate and subtle as well. Also!! When someone puts 'master stock' on the menu, it has to mean that the 'stock' is reused over and over again like sourdough. It can't be that tasteless soy-spiked, MSG-laden water. Chefs get away with serving that because no one knows the difference!

 
#ChineseFoodiesofIGJenny Lauchinese identity, women chef, singaporean, singapore, wet market, australia4 Comments