Contributions by: Ang Xiao Ting, Kuah Kai Wen
With the climate crisis emerging as the biggest threat in the 21st century, sustainability has become a central point in discussing food security, the environment and food production. Eating seasonally has been promoted as one aspect of a sustainable diet, with the rising farm-to-table movement and the use of hyper-local, seasonal produce emerging as a growing trend in restaurants globally.
“Seasonality” as a trend is not new to the culinary scene. In Seasonality as a consideration, inspiration and aspiration in food design, a study interviewing Michelin star chefs, indicated that seasonality was the first step in menu creation, due to the perception that seasonal produce automatically equates to higher quality. In Singapore, this has typically manifested in imported produce sourced from all over the world; grown in-season locally, but consumed out of season globally. In this instance, air-flown produce is seen as “premium”, despite its outsized carbon footprint compared to frozen food transported by land or sea, or fresh food imported from neighbouring countries. This problem is exacerbated with menus that feature fragile fruits and vegetables like berries and asparagus, which must be consumed quickly and spoil easily.
The Irony of Eating Local: Challenging Public Perception of Southeast Asian Produce
So what does sustainable eating look like in a country with no seasons, where 90% of our food is imported, and only 1% of land is set aside for agricultural use? And what does sustainable eating look like in a country where imports may no longer be the norm in our not-so-distant climate-affected futures? Instead of global seasonality, could we perhaps look towards eating local instead?
Simply put, eating local means: grown here, consumed here. Yet, there are a few roadblocks. Firstly, while the Singapore government has set an ambitious ‘30 by 30’ goal to locally and sustainably produce 30% of the nation’s nutritional needs by 2030, current limitations apply. These include scale, pricing and consistent supply, making it largely impossible for Singapore restaurants to rely solely on local producers. As pointed out by Singapore chef Han Li Guang of Labyrinth, “when we talk about ‘local’ in the Americas or Australia, it’s a whole continent, but Singapore is tiny. So we have to get some things such as chicken from Johor (Malaysia), which comes in fresh every morning across the Causeway over land.” To realistically champion eating local, the concept of “here” thus has to expand to include surrounding Southeast Asian regions like Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Secondly, this mindset shift has unveiled deep-seated perceptions of how Southeast Asian produce is valued. The irony is that local produce is often seen by diners as either “lesser quality” versions of their imported counterparts, or ingredients only used in heritage dishes or tze-char (a home-style type of cooking more elaborate than hawker food, but sometimes cheaper and lacking the polished presentation of restaurants). As such, until recently Southeast Asian produce has rarely appeared on the menus of many of the nation’s independent modern restaurants.
Singaporean chef and food artist Kuah Kai Wen belongs to a growing movement of Southeast Asian chefs reinterpreting “local” consumption through culinary-innovative and non-traditional approaches. He is currently an artist-in-residence at Practice Tuckshop, an interdisciplinary theatre space and kitchen reimagining a just and sustainable future through the arts. His ingredients are predominantly sourced from small Singapore producers, including seafood from the floating fish farm Ah Hua Kelong, mushrooms from mycotechnology company Bewilder Farms, or chocolate from artisanal bean-to-bar choco manufactory Fossa, to name a few. He also acquires produce from traditional wet markets, which typically have a closer relationship with growers in the region.
Yet it’s his work in the kitchen that illustrates an essential shift in mindset when it comes to eating locally. Kuah has further developed his practice in “presenting Southeast-Asian produce through global sensibilities” with in-depth ingredient exploration filtered through his background in French and Japanese cuisine. This can be broken down in two main directions:
Noting that heritage dishes are the main way Singaporean diners encounter Southeast Asian ingredients, Kuah consciously chooses to focus on exploring the ingredient itself by stripping its cultural associations. For example, locally-farmed barramundi (otherwise known as Asian sea bass) brings to mind steamed whole fish, or fish curry. Instead, Kuah experiments with soy-curing and smoking the fish, creating a “barramundi ham” which can be served sliced (referencing cold cuts) or as a garnish (shaved over dishes, like bottarga). In his own words, “I wanted to create a secondary product out of something fresh. In this way, it keeps well for a long time yet retains its natural forms and flavours”, reflects Kuah. “Perhaps one day I’ll even create a charcuterie board based on the produce of the region!”
Another innovation is mussel sauce. While diners are more familiar with the imported New Zealand greenlip species, a local variety of mussels are widely available and, considering their status as an invasive species, offer a sustainable solution to controlling their populations. What began as the development of a mussel-based oyster sauce (a condiment frequently used in Chinese and Straits cooking), eventually became its own blended mussel sauce, served over pasta with confit tomatoes and local greens.
Transforming an ingredient is core to the practice of a culinary artist. With Kuah’s approach however, he has gone one step further to consider it within the realms of sustainability, with shelf-life as a key consideration. His barramundi ham taps both to the current global culinary trend of preserved/fermented food, while also paying homage to Southeast Asia’s long relationship with fermented fish products, while his mussel sauce is also another way to extend the longevity of a Southeast Asian staple protein – shellfish!
To help reframe the public’s perception of local ingredients, Kuah stresses the need for a recognisable reference point by preserving elements’ core characteristics such as taste and texture. For example, his “pesto” replaces basil with leafy vegetables native to Southeast Asia, like sweet potato leaves or mani chye, which would otherwise be typically steamed or stir-fried. Rather than being doused with heavy flavours, the pesto is lightly seasoned (substituting parmesan cheese for fried ikan bilis) to allow the vegetables’ distinctive taste to shine through.
In fact, this exploration has also challenged Kuah’s own perceptions of what is available locally. An unexpected bunch of plantains found in a blind box of produce resulted in a dish centred around it. “When we think about plantains, the reference point is typically Mexican or Filipino cooking. In Singapore, we’re much more familiar with bananas, yet this was grown just across the Causeway, less than 60km away!” The plantains were lightly roasted and served with a garlic-stem cream cheese mix and chicken gizzards, keeping the treatment relatively simple so diners could identify it through texture and form.
Thinking About Seasonality: A Pivotal Shift
Whether it’s called “eating locally” or “hyper-seasonal”, the true spirit of seasonality means paying attention to our environment and letting that process seep into our work and lives. Kuah’s approach offers insight into what seasonality may mean in a Singaporean context. Instead of being locked down by fixed assumptions, his artistry leans into the ebbs and flows of global food production in the spirit of adaptability. It displaces certitudes. Instead of being wholly defined by genres (sensibility, cooking techniques), his menu curation is a balancing act between respecting local preferences while challenging them, inspiring a shift in values and an attitude of openness; an attitude absolutely necessary in the future of dining.
As an artist-in-residence at Practice Tuckshop, Kuah (along with a group of eco-artists of varied disciplines and approaches) explores how storytelling and food come together to imagine new stories of what a sustainable future can look like. As George Monbiot says in his book, Regenesis (2022): “we need stories that tell us where we are, how we got here and where we need to go [...] so what would a new restoration story about food, which could carry us through this century and into those that follow, sound like?”
With culinary artists like Kuah, the dining room becomes a space for criticality, allowing us to challenge our current values and preconceptions, ultimately putting forth a new narrative for the future of food in Singapore.
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References
Monbiot G (2022) Regenesis: Feeding the World Without Devouring the Planet. London: Penguin Books, pp. 225
Xin is a writer, researcher and dramaturg. Currently The Theatre Practice’s writer and researcher, Xin crafts the institutional voice of The Theatre Practice (Singapore), and communicates its artistic values through her documentation, copywriting and social media content creation. She is also part of the Practice Tuckshop core team, where she spearheads communications. Selected research and writing credits include: Tuckshop Annual Report 2017-2024 (writer, editor) and Four Horse Road 2018, 2020, 2024 (research, copywriter).
Xin’s practice harnesses non-traditional storytelling forms to facilitate dialogue and exchange, with an interest in exploring the intersection between food and theatre. Past projects include co-creating the long-running micro performance lecture Recess Time, and dramaturging 3 editions of Play With… Flavours (2019-2021), a series of participatory storytelling experiences featuring F&B artists.
