Tony Tan’s Roti John Recipe Shares Taste of Singapore Food Scene

The dish Roti john finds its origins in Singapore, acknowledging the city's melting pot of culture. Photo / Mark Roper

Roti john is a distinctly Singaporean dish birthed in the melting pot of the city’s street food scene, and this recipe from Tony Tan’s new cookbook teaches you how to put it together step-by-step.

This street food of minced beef or chicken with eggs slathered on French bread and fried is popular in Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia. This simple and delicious sandwich made its debut back in the 1960s when there was a British naval base in Singapore. Apparently, while the soldiers were stationed in Singapore, they would stop at a stall selling bread and omelettes. According to legend, as the stallholder saw all British soldiers as more or less the same, he would ask them this question: “Roti, John?” Every British serviceman was referred to as John. Regardless of its origin, it really is a joy to eat. I’m surprised it hasn’t caught on in the West.

Note: Meaning hot spices, garam masala has many regional variations and every home has its family recipe. It is added towards the end of the cooking process. Packaged garam masala is a pale imitation of homemade blends. Many recipes call for black cumin or shah zeera, aka royal cumin, which is often confused with nigella seeds. My recipe uses regular cumin to avoid this confusion. Some cooks dry-roast the spices separately before grinding them to a powder, but I don’t.

Tony Tan’s Asian Cooking Class by Tony Tan, $65, published by Murdoch Books.

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