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.
ROTI JOHN RECIPE
Serves 4 people
- Heat a wok over medium-high heat, then add 2 tablespoons of oil. Once it’s shimmering, add the onion, lemongrass and garlic and stir-fry until the onion turns translucent.
- Meanwhile, mix the curry powder, chilli, turmeric and garam masala with enough water to make a paste. Add to the wok and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly.
- Add the meat and cook, stirring now and then, until it is well-coloured and the moisture has evaporated.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add enough water to cover the meat.
- Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Leave to cool.
- Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the cooled meat mixture and stir to combine.
- Cut each piece of baguette in two lengthways (but not all the way through) and open them up.
- Generously grease a large non-stick frying pan with the remaining oil, heat over medium-high heat, then add a large dollop of the omelette mixture and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring and tossing until softly set.
- Open out a cut baguette and place it on top of the omelette in the pan, crust-side up, pressing gently so the omelette sticks to it.
- Cook until the omelette is firm, brushing some butter on top of the baguette as it sets.
- Remove the baguette and omelette with a spatula and fold together to form a sandwich.
- Top with coriander and serve with a mix of some chilli sauce and tomato sauce, to your taste.
GARAM MASALA RECIPE
- Except for the nutmeg, place all the ingredients in a spice or coffee grinder and blitz for 30 to 40 seconds to a fine powder, then mix in the nutmeg.
- Store in an airtight container. I keep mine in the fridge.
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.
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