Street Food of Singapore--an Open-Air Buffet : Cuisine: Besides the traditional soups and satays, each hawker makes a few regional specialties.

Singapore is a foodie’s dream. You can nibble and nosh. You can savor satays and slurp soups. Any reticence to indulge in native foods can be abandoned, and without hesitation one can lose his street-food innocence.

The street-food vendors are called hawkers, and rather than pushing their carts along the narrow, uneven, cobblestone streets of Chinatown or the broad, modern avenues of the financial district, they are now gathered into food centers, each of which has its own character.

The center at Rasa Singapura, near the handicraft center on the outskirts of the downtown Orchard Road shopping district, is like an outdoor food festival, with open stalls set in a park. The Satay Club center, with vendors offering grilled skewers of chicken or beef accompanied by fiery peanut sauces, is on a river walk similar to the one in San Antonio. It is next to the statue of the Merlion (the city’s symbol, a fantasy creature with the head of a lion and the body of a fish). And the center at Cuppage Road is above a fragrant and colorful fruit and vegetable market.

While these are some of the more visually aesthetic centers visited as part of a canvassing of the island’s outdoor offerings, my mind drifts back to my first hawker adventure at a typical city food center. This one is located on the second and third levels of a parking garage behind the Funan Center near Chinatown.

It was an eerie sight at 7 a.m., as workers filed in with their jackets over their arms, since Singapore’s climate year-round is like a Louisiana day in August, with heat and concomitant humidity heavily blanketing the city.

In the glow of dawn, the food shops were emitting a blue cold light, like an Edward Hopper painting. Each hawker stall is about five feet wide, crowned with photos of its offerings on lighted boards advertising the local lager, Tiger beer, the way our sandwich shops’ menu boards tout Coca Cola. Beneath the signs were pots of steaming broth and huge black iron woks in which food was being quickly stir-fried with angular twists of the cook’s wrist.

Graceful Arabic script was juxtaposed to vertical rows of Chinese characters, interspersed with occasional Hindu lettering. Between the food vendors were fruit stalls featuring spears of bright red papaya, wedges of odd-smelling durian fruit with porcupine spikes covering the skin, or bags of sweet yet refreshingly light-green sugar cane juice, pressed by rolling unwieldly stalks through rollers like dough through a pasta machine.

In order to make the best choices, I thought of the food center as a huge buffet table, and I followed my philosophy that the best strategy is to scout the options before choosing, otherwise you risk filling your plate with salad before sighting the smoked salmon.

In this case, while the dish of bee hoon (thin noodles with assorted stir-fried vegetables and beef swimming in a rich aromatic broth), may be sensuously delicious, it should be chosen only after you have considered the beef kway teow , which are broad noodles like Italian pappardelle coated with a thick brown sauce dotted with chopped green onions and punctuated with slices of beef.

Each hawker makes a few specialties, with noodles the predominent offerings of Chinese and Nonya cuisine (the amalgam of Chinese and Malay dishes native to Singapore).

After much deliberation, I selected mee Siam , a Nonya specialty of silky rice noodles similar to vermicelli with toothsome boiled egg, crunchy bean sprouts and tender prawns in a sweet and sour broth scented with chiles. My host decided on bakwan kepiting , another local specialty, which has pork and shrimp balls floating in a rich broth and chili paste served on the side for the brave of palate at that early hour.

Filling the space between the rows of stalls on the concrete floor, unadorned except for the vendor’s signs, were low, round plastic pedestal tables with eight stools bolted around them like flower petals. We sat down, and the cook’s grandson brought an alcohol stove topped by a kettle of boiling water. On his next trip a teapot, cups, chopsticks, soy sauce and tiny condiment cups appeared.

My host filled the teapot and our cups with water, and after a moment poured the still steaming liquid from the vessels into a tin bowl intended for that purpose. He then placed tea in the pot and allowed it to seep for a few moments before pouring it into our heated cups.

At that moment, our food arrived ceremoniously at the table and the same young boy changed his demeanor from that of a frenzied busboy to an elegant French captain.

The aroma filled my nose, and I started pulling bits of egg and prawn out with my chopsticks. There was a panoply of taste and textures. Then I sipped the satiny broth from the bowl.

Around me were old men arguing about stories in the newspaper, young couples sharing a bowl of breakfast noodles, and teen-age girls dressed in the blue jumpers and white blouses of school uniforms. For them, this was the Egg McMuffin to fuel their bodies for the day.

PORK SATAY WITH PEANUT SAUCE

2 tablespoons grated ginger root

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon curry powder

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup whipping cream

2 pounds pork tenderloin

1 tablespoon oil

1/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 tablespoon molasses

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup lime juice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, packed

Dash ground coriander, optional

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Combine ginger root, garlic, curry, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and cream in small bowl. Trim pork of all fat and slice 1/4-inch thick (easier to do if pork has been frozen 30 minutes). Add sliced pork to bowl and marinate, refrigerated, at least 4 hours or overnight.

Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Saute, stirring constantly, 3 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add peanut butter, molasses, water, lime juice, remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce, pepper, ground ginger, brown sugar, coriander and hot pepper sauce. Stir until blended. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring constantly, then set sauce aside at room temperature.

When ready to serve, heat grill or broiler. Thread meat onto bamboo skewers (soaked in water to cover at least 20 minutes) and grill 3 minutes on each side. Serve accompanied by peanut sauce. Makes 6 servings.

MEE SIAM

(Siamese-Style Noodles)

5 to 10 small dried red chiles

12 shallots, peeled

1 stalk lemon grass

1 teaspoon dried shrimp paste

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons fermented black beans

4 cups water

1/4 cup coconut flakes

1/2 pound hard bean curd, cut into large slices

1/2 pound fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained

1 cup sliced green onions, white and green parts

1 pound vermicelli or Chinese egg noodles, cooked al dente and drained

1 pound peeled and deveined cooked shrimp

3 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered

2 limes, quartered

Depending on desired level of heat, soak 5 to 10 chiles in hot water 10 minutes, then drain. Grind chiles, shallots, lemon grass and shrimp paste in food processor fitted with steel blade or in blender until smooth.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in small skillet and saute chile mixture 3 minutes. Add beans and cook 1 minute. Set aside.

Puree water and coconut in blender or food processor fitted with steel blade. Pour into small saucepan and add 1/2 chile mixture. Bring to boil and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set sauce aside.

Heat remaining 1/2 cup oil in large wok over high heat. Add bean curd and fry until golden. Remove with slotted spatula and set aside.

Pour off all but 3 tablespoons oil and add remaining 1/2 chile mixture. Stir-fry bean sprouts and green onions 30 seconds. Add noodles and shrimp and stir-fry until heated through. Add 1/2 sauce mixture. Mound noodle mixture onto serving plate.

Arrange bean curd and hard-cooked eggs on top of noodles and place lime wedges around rim of platter. Garnish each serving with additional sauce and squeeze of lime juice. Makes 6 servings.

Note: Lemon grass, dried shrimp paste and fermented black beans are available at Asian groceries.

BAKWAN KEPITING

(Pork and Seafood Balls in Broth)

1 tablespoon oil

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

5 cups chicken stock

1 cup finely shredded bamboo shoots

Salt, pepper

2 dried shiitake mushrooms

1/2 pound ground pork

1/4 pound shelled and deveined raw shrimp, finely chopped

1/4 pound crab meat

1 green onion, chopped

1 egg

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons soy sauce

Fresh cilantro leaves

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and stir-fry until golden. Remove from pan with slotted spoon and set aside.

Add stock and bamboo shoots to saucepan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Soak mushrooms in boiling water 15 minutes, drain and finely chop, discarding stems. Combine mushrooms, pork, shrimp, crab meat, green onion, egg, cornstarch, soy sauce and dash pepper in bowl, mixing well. Form into 1-inch balls. Poach in simmering stock 15 minutes.

To serve, place meatballs in soup bowls and top with broth. Sprinkle with cilantro leaves and fried garlic. Makes 6 servings.