SINGAPORE - Maintaining local food heritage in an era of Instagramable dishes is not an easy task, but chef Eric Low believes it is one worth taking on.

Mr Low, the owner of Lush Epicurean Culinary Consultancy, spoke with Straits Times food correspondent Eunice Quek in an askST@NLB discussion on local food heritage and cooking with local food sources.

askST@NLB is a collaboration between The Straits Times and the National Library Board (NLB). The virtual talk was shared on ST’s Facebook page at 7pm on Friday (June 24).

NLB's From Book to Cook series on YouTube explores Singapore's history through food. The series' host and guest attempt to recreate historic dishes with traditional ingredients and tools.

Sourcing for traditional ingredients and tools is not easy, however, said Mr Low. Dishes like tau suan, a Teochew split mung bean soup dessert, have to be adapted with ingredients that can be found locally.

"Previously when making tau suan, we used to use dried tangerine marmalade, but (shops have) stopped selling that in Singapore," he said.

"So we use pandan instead of the marmalade because it's easily found here in Singapore. There is always a way to maintain the essence of the dish's flavour with different ingredients."

He stressed the importance of sourcing for local ingredients as part of an initiative to aid Singapore's food resilience.

Food resilience is the ability to maintain a food system in time of crisis. Singapore's "30 by 30" goal is for the country to produce 30 per cent of its people's nutritional needs by 2030.

"We are on track in terms of technology and infrastructure, but all we need is support from the locals," said Mr Low.

The evolution of traditional dishes with local ingredients is necessary in order to preserve the local food heritage, he added.

"We have to make sure our food adapts with the times and appeals to people through local flavours instead of abandoning them completely. When that happens, we lose the dishes over time."

The public can read more on this topic by checking out the resources from ProQuest Central, a database subscribed by NLB, at this website, using the keywords "food heritage" and "Singapore food".

A myLibrary ID is required to access this database. Those without accounts can sign up for one at account.nlb.gov.sg using their Singpass, NRIC number or foreign identification number.

The video recording of this event and all past AskST@NLB sessions can be found at this website.

Recommended Reading

• Singapore Food: A Treasury Of More Than 200 Time-Tested Recipes by Wendy Hutton
• Singapore Heritage Food: Yesterday's Recipes For Today's Cook by Sylvia Tan

More reading recommendations on food heritage can be found on NLB's LearnX page, specifically under "Content on Food Heritage" on this website.