EoMEoTE #9: Roti John

This year, Singapore celebrates 40 years of independence. In the spirit of our upcoming National Day, which falls on August 9th, it seems appropriate to mark the occasion with a much-loved local dish, roti john. The Shukor Stall at the former Taman Serasi hawker centre is said to have invented this dish of French loaf fried with an egg-and-onion mixture. In fact, they have been named as one of the 15 Singapore hawker legends by Makansutra.

            

Since roti means "bread", just who is the "John" that this bread was named after? According to this article, Western foreigners used to be referred to as "John". Since this dish was created for them, it was naturally named after them too.

Here's some more history on roti john. The following excerpt from the article Fantastic Fifteen? (July 31, 2005) appeared in The Sunday Times's Lifestyle section:

Norhayati Shukor's father invented roti john in 1975 when the stall was located in Taman Serasi hawker centre, opposite the Botanic Gardens.

The idea was to attract expatriates who lived in the nearby Cluny Road area, by pan-frying slices of French loaf with eggs and onions. But locals grew to love it instead.

Since then, Norhayati, 37, and her brother have introduced chicken, beef and cheese to the dish to make it a more satisfying bite.

            

Well, I've yet to have a taste of Shukor Stall's legendary roti john, but it isn't difficult to replicate this tasty treat at home. And that's just what I did for my contribution to EoMEoTE #9. Mix eggs, chopped onions, fresh chillies, and minced meat (substitute with cheese for an ovo-lacto veggie version) together, then season with salt and pepper. Slap the egg mixture onto slices of French loaf, and fry in a pan till cooked. Dip the roti john with sweet chilli sauce and enjoy. Simply satisfying!

cheers!

Update (August 3, 2005): The recipe for the roti john I made was taken from Sylvia Tan's Singapore Heritage Food, so I'm not going to post the recipe here due to copyright issues. I'd recommend buying this excellent book if you're interested in Singapore food, but if you only want the roti john recipe, please email me for it.

Update (August 18, 2005): Here's Jeanne's roundup of all the EoMEoTE #9 entries.

Comments

[Big BoK]

I miss roti john.. thanks for the recipe.. i will try it sometime soon. :)

[Stephanie]

Fabulous! Why is street foods are always so yummy?

This is great, Julia...thanks for the meat-free tip...I have a feeling Matt and I will be trying this one soon!

[boo_licious]

I love roti john too and your version looks so nice and simple that I think I can make it at home. Thanks for the great recipe.

[babe_kl]

frankly speaking i had my first taste of roti john when i was in Spore way back in 1998 :p many years later i saw roti john in KL but it's very different from Spore version which is nicer hehehe *thumbs up*

[tscd]

My husband really loves roti john - he says it's like Singaporeanified French Toast.

[Reid]

Hi Julia,

I didn't get to try roti john when I was in Singapore. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I'm going to try and make this soon.

[clare eats]

ooh perfect breakfast fare! mmmm

[stef]

i was just reading a roti john recipe and this weekend, there will be roti john in the siem household :)

thanks for showing me that tempting pic :)

[Julia]

Hi everyone :)
Roti john is such a really simple but yummy treat, I'm not surprised there are so many lovers out there.

Hey Stephanie,
I think roti john tastes great with just onions and freshly chopped chillies too. To be honest, I've no idea what the cheese version tastes like. Perhaps you could share your experience if you try it out?

Hi babe_kl,
I'm curious, how is the KL version different from the Singapore version?

Hey tscd,
Singaporeanified French toast...what a mouthful! But I like the way it sounds. :)

Hi Reid,
It's really easy to make. Just like tscd says, it's another form of French toast. Actually, the hawkers split the bread lengthwise, then slice it after frying, but I thought it'd be easier to cut the French loaf into diagonal slices first. It tastes just as good.

Hi stef,
You're welcome! I can smell the lovely aroma of frying onions and chillies in the Siem household already! :)

[Jeanne]

Mmmmm, that looks and sounds fab! Thanks for playing along - here's the round-up:
http://cooksister.typepad.com/cook_sister/2005/08/eomeote9_1.html

[Julia]

Thanks Jeanne, for conjuring such a magical round-up! :)

[Nupur]

Hi Julia, I tried making Roti John yesterday and it was fabulous!!! I loved the spice and the heartiness and the ease of preparation :) I will be making it again and again so thanks for sharing the recipe!

[Julia]

Hi Nupur,
You're most welcome. Glad you liked the recipe! :)

[andre]

hie,

i love roti john. can u please give me recipe on roti john. i wud really appreciate it. thanx!

[Julia]

Hi andre,
Check your mailbox! :)

[Linus]

Hi! Can i have the roti john recipe? I'm currently in sydney, australia, and i am so missing roti john..

[Mins]

Lately, I've been home alot. So I took up cooking. I've tried cooking prawn, chicken, steak. But the only successful meal for me was making Roti John.

[Mel]

Hi Julia... I know this entry has been a bit old.. but can you email me the recipe? Thanks!