Singapore River Roots of Rendang, Briyani & Bak Kut Teh in Singapore

When Raffles first stepped foot on Singapore on this spot (marked > ) in 1819, it was the proverbial fishing village.

Google map screen grab

During the 99-year kingdom of Singapura from 1299 to 1398, Singapore River was home to a thriving trading port for traders from Indonesia, China, India and also Arabia. Singapura faded into obscurity after it became part of the Malacca Sultanate (1398 - 1511) and Johor Sultanate (1528 - 1855).

The arrival of Raffles in 1819 and his vision of the free port of Singapore led to its revival from sleepy fishing village to great seaport.

Image credit: The Bute Archive at Mount Stuart

Village huts on the left bank of Singapore River mouth surrounded the Temenggong's (minister) palace where Raffles landed. Singapore was then part of the Johor-Riau sultanate based in Lingga (over 200km south of Singapore). Sultan Hussein ruled from his capital in Lingga, and Singapore was a backwater.

History of rendang

Food came from the land and sea cooked with local and imported spices.

Barking deer. Image credit: Wikipedia

As wild deer was abundant in Singapura forests, deer rendang would be the head dish among villagers especially during celebratory events and hosting important guests.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Rendang is a Minangkabau dish.

Minangkabau people come from west Sumatra. Minangkabau society is matrilineal, meaning heredity rights are passed down through the females of the family. Minangkabau people are also required to marry outside of their own clan. So, Minangkabau men are encouraged to leave home and re-establish themselves beyond their hometown. It's a custom known as "marantau" which means to "travel from coast to coast".

By the time Raffles arrived in Singapore, Minangkabau people were well established in many areas in Sumatra and the Malay peninsula including Singapore. Minangkabau people brought rendang with them everywhere they went as it was the traditional way to preserve meat for travelling. Rendang was served in Malacca sultanate (in which Singapore was a part of) royal banquets in the 15th century.

Image credit: Wikipedia

Rendang is made by slow cooking meat (beef, lamb, deer, chicken, etc) in coconut milk and spices like turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, chili, lemongrass etc. The process is known as merendang which means slow cooking till all the water is evaporated.

When done, all the coconut milk is evaporated and turned into coconut oil. All the spice and coconut flavours and aromas are infused into the meat, saturating every fibre with delectable taste and allure of perfume.

Today, rendang is a popular dish at nasi padang stalls and restaurants in Singapore.

Singapore River 1830. Image credit: National Archive of Singapore

Raffles put his vision of the free port of Singapore in action as soon as the ink dried on his river agreement with Temenggong Abdul Rahman and Sultan Hussein of the Johor-Riau sultanate in 1819*. By 1822, the first ships were unloading their cargo in Singapore.

*After the Anglo Dutch Treaty of 1824, the Johor-Riau sultanate was partitioned into the Johor sultanate and Riau-Lingga sultanate.

Image credit: Wikipedia

For lightermen to help transfer goods between ocean going ships and Boat Quay in Singapore River, Raffles called upon Marakayar Chulia seamen.

Image credit: Wikipedia

The Marakayar Chulia were descendants of intermarriages of Arab seafarers and Tamil women along Coromandel Coast of India. They were renowned seamen and had been handling the lighterage work of ports of Madras (today's Chennai) and Penang under the British East India Company.

Image credit: Wikipedia

The Marakayar Chulia lighter craft is the tongkang which was a large boat. Shippers only trust Marakayar Chulia lightermen to handle their precious cargo in the narrow confines of Singapore River.

Jackson Plan 1823. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Chulia lightermen were settled in Chuliah Campong where Central Mall @ Clarke Quay is located today.

Hamid's Briyani Singapore

The Chulia brought with them the Tamil-Muslim style of briyani to Singapore.

Tamil-Muslim biryani is cooked by frying meat (goat, chicken etc) with spices like turmeric, cardamon, cumin, chili etc in ghee. Then, water and rice are mixed well inside the large pot of fried spices, covered and boiled till everything is cooked.

The cooked rice is well infused with spice and meat flavours. The meat is fall-off-the-bone tender and well infused with flavoursome and aromatic spices.

Twakows in Singapore River. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

With the advent of steamships, opening of the Tanjong Pagar docks which allowed ships to moor wharfside (in 1864) and Suez Canal (in 1869), the demand for large lighter craft like the tongkang declined. By the early 1900s, the Chulia tongkang was wholly replaced by smaller twakow operated by Teochews and Hokkiens.

After the decline of Chulia tongkangs, Chulia lightermen moved out of Chuliah Campong and moved to Serangoon Road (Little India).

The Teochews moved into the vacated space which later developed into the Teochew enclave, Ellenborough Market, and today, Central Mall @ Clarke Quay.

Tamil-Muslim briyani can now be found all over Singapore, and Little India is still the best place to get it.

Pepper plantation 1860s. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

When Raffles arrived in Singapore, there were already some Teochew settlements along rivers. They were gambier and pepper planters given permission by the Johor sultan under Surat Sungai (River Letter) arrangements to set up river side plantations. These river settlements were known as "chu kang".

Lau Ah Tee Bak Kut Teh

It is possible that Teochew style peppery bak kut teh originated in one of the "chu kangs". Chinese have been boiling pork in water to make soup since time immemorial. It seems natural that someone in a pepper plantation would one day toss some peppercorn into a pot of pork bones and garlic, thus creating Singapore's first Teochew bak kut teh.

Hawkers 1900s. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Sometime later, with the growing population at Singapore River, someone from the "chu kangs" started selling Teochew peppery bak kut teh at the Quay side. It was likely a makeshift mobile stall to tap on the hungry coolie market.

Coolies on a junk, 1900. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Chinese immigrants arrived en masse in Singapore from the mid-1800s due to wars and poverty in China. China's Qing dynasty wracked by corruption and incompetence was in its death throes. The coolies came mainly from Guangzhou and Fujian provinces in China's south coast. Many Teochew and Hokkien came to work as coolies at Singapore River.

Another type of bak kut teh emerged - an herbal and dark soy sauce variety credited to Hokkiens. The circumstances that led to the Hokkien bak kut teh is a little different from the Teochew peppery one.

A coolie's life is hard - toiling under the tropical heat under heavy sacks from dawn till nightfall. Many were homesick and suffered from pains and sprains. They also needed energy to carry on the next day.

Either a physician or travelling medicine man came up with the recipe of Chinese herbal cures which the coolie boiled with pork bones and dark soy sauce to make a health fortifying herbal tonic.

Ellenborough Market 1950s. Image credit: National Archives of Singapore

Both Teochew peppery bak kut teh and herbal Hokkien bak kut teh were equally popular up to the 1930s. After the 3 year hiatus due to the Japanese Occupation, Teochew bak kut teh grew in popularity and became the more pervasive variant. Singapore's bak kut teh central then was in Ellenborough Market in the Teochew enclave. When the market was burnt down in 1968, the famous bak kut teh shops moved to Hill Street - River Valley area. Today, Teochew bak kut teh is synonymous with Singapore bak kut teh.

The early bak kut teh or pork bone soup was literally that - pork bones were the main ingredient. It was originally a coolie or poor man's dish. As Singapore became more affluent, better cuts of pork were used. Today, pork ribs is the default cut in Singapore bak kut teh.

Today, Singapore Teochew bak kut teh restaurants are found all over the island and have established outposts around the region like Indonesia, Vietnam, China, Taiwan etc.

What other food come to Singapore via Singapore River?