Fish head curry is a

Singaporean Singaporeans, or the Singaporean people, refers to citizens or people who identify with the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country. Singaporeans of Chinese, Malay, Ind ...

dish deriving from a hybrid of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

ethnic cuisines. The head of a

red snapper Red snapper is a common name of several fish species. It may refer to: * Several species from the genus ''Lutjanus'': ** ''Lutjanus campechanus'', Northern red snapper, commonly referred to as red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlanti ...

is stewed in a

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in trad ...

with assorted vegetables such as

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

and eggplants. It is usually served with either rice or bread, or as a shared dish.

Description

Origins

Fish head curry was invented in Singapore when a chef from the state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

named M.J. Gomez, who was living in the country, wanted to bring

South Indian cuisine South Indian cuisine includes the cuisines of the five southern states of India—Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana—and the union territories of Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.Th ...

to local diners. He started a restaurant called ''Gomez Curry'', which was located at Sophia Road and eventually at 9 Selegie Road, both located within the

Rochor Rochor is a planning area located within the Central Area of the Central Region of Singapore. Rochor shares boundaries with the following planning areas – Kallang to the north and east, Newton to the west, as well as Museum and the Downtow ...

district in the Central Region. Although fish head was not widely served in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

customers considered Fish head casserole as a special delicacy, and so Gomez had the idea of cooking the fish in curry instead, as well as his own ingredients, therefore formulating a new dish. Today, restaurants of all races in the country all serve variations of this dish. Fish head curry has become a popular dish among Singaporeans and tourists alike. Costing between S$10 to S$20, it is generally not considered cheap

hawker Hawker or Hawkers may refer to: Places * Hawker, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Hawker, South Australia, a town * Division of Hawker, an Electoral Division in South Australia * Hawker Island, Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarct ...

fare. It typically comes served in a

clay pot Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and porc ...

, and is often sold at hawker centers and neighbourhood food stalls.Chan, M. (2 November 1986). Fish-head curry on a platter.

The Straits Times ''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...

, p. 4. Retrieved from NewspaperSG; Khoo, T., & Tay, L. (2015). The Singapore heritage cookbook: Past, present, future. Singapore: Food2Print Asia, p. 199. (Call no.: RSING 641.595957 KHO)

Preparation

Tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae ...

(asam) juice is frequently added to the gravy to give the dish a sweet-sour flavor (see asam fish). This variety of fish head curry also has a thinner, orange gravy. Coconut milk can be added to this dish.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish Head Curry Singaporean cuisine Peranakan cuisine Singaporean fusion cuisine Chinese fusion cuisine Indian fusion cuisine Southeast Asian curries Fish stews

Description

Origins

Preparation

See also

References