History of Indian Rojak in Singapore

Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeI like this 1980s photograph of Indian rojak in Singapore - unembellished, no "food styling" so we know what the dish really is. There's spiced cuttlefish, fried battered egg, fried tofu, different types of fried fritters, cucumber slices and a reddish dipping sauce in three small bowls.

The origins of the dish seems uncontroversial. We are sure it is not from India because there is no such dish in the whole of South Asia. Not in the past, not even today.

VadaiMost sources say it is created in Singapore by Indian Muslim hawkers, though who and when is unclear. It is said the Indian hawkers at first only sold traditional Indian fritters like vadai and masala vada. Seeing how Malay and Chinese hawkers were doing better business selling their respective versions of rojak, the Indian hawkers jumped on the rojak bandwagon. (Rojak is a Malay word meaning "to mix". The Malays and Indonesians have several forms of the dish. Basically, it is jumble of cut fruits, vegetables and other ingredients tossed and mixed to coat it with a sauce made with a blend of crushed toasted peanut, prawn paste, tamarind juice, chili paste etc)

Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeImage credit: National Archives of SingaporeSo, enterprising Indian hawkers expanded their menu beyond vadai and masala vada to include tofu, various varieties of fried fritters with egg, prawn, tofu, tempeh, potato etc inside. They also added spiced squid, fish balls, flower crab, beef lungs, etc. Now, it really was a rojak of Indian, Malay and Chinese inspired fritters to cater to a wider audience.

Ministry of RojakAs it is hard to eat much fried, crispy, greasy food without something to moisten and soften the texture, and to add more flavour, they created a sauce for their rojak. The flaming orange-red rojak dipping sauce turned out to be the item that gave soul to the newly created dish. The sauce held everything together (which would otherwise just be a heap of fried fritters). No one is sure who created the magical concoction. It is a blend of crushed peanut, sweet potato, hot chili pepper, dried shrimp, onion, garlic, lemongrass, belacan, aromatic spices like turmeric, tamarind paste, sugar, salt etc. Every stall have their own secret recipe, some adding crushed biscuit, others peanut butter etc. While no one is sure where was the first Indian rojak stall, everyone agrees that the best place for it was the row of 13 street side stalls at Waterloo Street across Saint Joseph Institution and beside their school sports field.

Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeMy dad brought me here in the 1960s. At that time, my dad (I believe many non English speaking locals too) called SJI, "三个公仔" meaning "three statues" in reference to the statues of St. John Baptist de la Salle and two boys outside. I can't remember the details of the Indian rojak much, except that it was a really good treat and delicious. We ate and watched people played sports in the field in front of the stalls on a laid back 1960s Singapore afternoon. After Indian rojak, dad took me to one of the coffee shops along Bras Basah Road and I had my first roti prata there. After that, roti prata became one of my favourite dishes. I really love the curry which had quite robust goat smell.

Image credit: National Archives of SingaporeIn the 1980s, the Indian rojak stalls outside St Joseph were moved but they retained their Waterloo Street name wherever they went as a badge of honour.

Ministry of Rojak, SingaporeI still love Indian rojak as much as ever because it hasn't changed much since I first ate it and a part of me never changes doesn't want to change. Pasembur in Seremban, MalaysiaIn the parallel universe of Malaysia, where and when did pasembur or rojak mamak (their names for Indian rojak) came about? I have been searching but have not found any references yet. If we can find out more about pasembur or rojak mamak, maybe it can inform us about Indian rojak too. Can you help?

Date: 6 Jun 2020