Singaporean Appetizers

Appetizers are not a tradition in the Singaporean culture. Usually, dinner is served right away, without any appetizers or beverages beforehand. Singaporean people don’t eat that much, so the main meal is considered enough. Very rarely, there are some meals that are eaten as appetizers: ngo hiang, popiah and siu mai. The ngo hiang consists of 5 rolls made of pork and shrimp, but very spicy. The popiah is a Malay salad with fresh spring rolls and it is sometimes eaten before the main course because it is very light and fresh. The Siu mai is steamed pork with filled wonton wrappers. The ingredients for this appetizer are: pork, shrimp as meats, then mushrooms (preferably Shiitake mushrooms), bamboo shoots or water chestnut, eggs, minced scallions, cornstarch, sesame oil, sugar and salt and pepper. These might seem heavy and caloric, but they are pretty small and only some pieces are served before the main meal.