Robin Pereira - Robins Eurasian Recipes

LIKE MANY LOCAL DISHES, with their rich and diverse culinary traditions that originated elsewhere, Eurasian cuisine has Portuguese, other European and Asian roots. I have personally savoured and enjoyed the Eurasian recipes in this book, which are used at Quentins the Eurasian Restaurant at the Eurasian Community House opposite my home at Ceylon Road. I have enjoyed the Eurasian cakes, especially the Sugee Cake and other desserts, not to mention the traditional dishes like Curry Debal.

I join others in thanking Robin Pereira, father of Quentin Pereira, for graciously agreeing to share his authentic recipes with everyone. The recipes are straightforward and easy to follow. As Eurasian cuisine gains popularity and is widely embraced by Singaporeans and visitors alike, this collection of recipes will be a rewarding experience for all those keen to discover and enjoy the richness of Eurasian food that is so much a part of Eurasian heritage.

Mrs S R Nathan

GROWING UP, THE WHOLE FAMILY looked forward to Sunday lunch and dinner. Those meals were cooked by Dad, and even the simplest dish was cooked to perfection. Dad started his cooking career when he was 10. Having lost his father and brother during the war, he was forced to cook and look after his sister, while his mother went to work. All his recipes were passed down from his mother, Charlotte, who together with her sisters, used to cook for Eurasian weddings.

We were the recipients of those precious heirloom recipes. There were six of usHarry the eldest, my only sister Marian, followed by Kevin, Jarrod, myself and Leon. For those wonderful Sunday meals, we would watch as Dad left for the market very early so as to have a wide choice of the freshest items. As soon as he got home, he would start preparing the ingredients. I enjoyed watching him peel the onions and garlic, cut up the meats and pound the spices. Once in a while, I would help him. (Helping him meant doing things his way. If he wanted the onions sliced thin, they had better be thin otherwise he would just select the thin ones and throw the others away!)

Dads passion for cooking made him a fantastic chef. He was in great demandcooking for the church whenever there was a function, cooking for friends parties and cooking at home on Sundays. In 1995, he was approached by friends to become the pioneer chef at Casa Bom Vento, a straits cuisine restaurant, at Joo Chiat Road. He came up with the menu and did the cooking himself, with Mum by his side as always, aiding and assisting him, knowing exactly how he wanted things done.

In 2001, with the help of my eldest brother Harry, I opened a small stall selling Eurasian food in a kopitiam (food court) at Changi Business Park. Every day, I would pick Dad up at 6.15 a.m. and head down to the market to buy the necessary ingredients before going to the stall. We would spend about $100 at the market, go to the stall and cook from 7.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m., then man the stall till the late afternoon. Sales would be just $70. But we persevered. It was here that Dad instilled in me the discipline and passion needed to be a good cook. He explained the necessity of doing things right and why certain things were done in a certain manner. He taught me about the patience and timing needed to get the right texture, taste and presentation of a dish. I learned that to have the perfect dish, quality, freshness, uncompromising dedication and passion are needed. Dad enjoyed seeing the look on peoples faces when they enjoyed his food. It gave him great satisfaction, and that was why he put in the effort. It took almost six months before people started appreciating Eurasian food, and our business venture started to pay off.

The term Eurasian comes from the marriage of two wordsEuropean and Asian. Literally, it means a person born of a European and an Asian. Eurasians generally have European surnames. In Singapore and Malaysia, the term Eurasian is recognised officially, and in 1994, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong recognised Eurasians as a race of people in and of themselves.

Eurasian food is an exotic blend of East and West. It is food that has evolved in the kitchens of Eurasian homes. Ingredients were substituted with others that were more readily available, while traditional western dishes that were found to be too bland for the Eurasian palate were spiced up with fresh and dried chillies. Many dishes were also given piquancy by the addition of tamarind or vinegar. Eurasian food is quintessential fusion food, going back to the 16th century.

In 2006, I started Quentins the Eurasian Restaurant at East Coast Road. Once again, Dad played a pivotal role. He helped to design the menu and till this day, after our relocation in 2007 to the Eurasian Community House, he continues to drop by now and then to ensure that tradition, quality and freshness are still maintained.

This book is a collection of all of Dads recipes. Eurasian family recipes are well-guarded secrets that are passed down from generation to generation. There are many examples where some of these recipes are brought to the grave. Each family is very protective over how their favourite dishes are prepared, but Dad has agreed to share his recipes in this book, so as to ensure that they will always be remembered. The dishes in this book are everything Dad used to cook for us, as recorded by Mum. Till today, she does the baking at home using these recipes. The recipes were made simple and easy to follow.

I hope you will enjoy preparing and cooking these dishes. Most importantly, never forget that in every dish you cook, the amount of effort, passion and dedication you put in will be rewarded with appreciation for the food you cook.

Quentin Pereira

Executive Chef / Owner
Quentins the Eurasian Restaurant

Copyright 2009 Robin Pereira

Published in Singapore by Epigram Books

www.epigrambooks.sg

National Library Board Singapore

Cataloguing in Publication Data

Pereira, Robin Bernard, 1934

Robins Eurasian Recipes/Robin Bernard Pereira.- Singapore : Epigram, 2009

p. cm. - (Epigram heritage cookbook series)

ISBN 978-981-08-4274-1

ISBN 978-981-07-6291-9 (epub)

1. Cookery. 2. Cookery, Asian 3. Cookery, European. I. Title. II. Series : Epigram heritage cookbook series.

TX714

641.5 -- dc22 OCN456029561

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First Edition