Pasar to Table: The Coconut Edition

Coconut trees have grown in Singapore for centuries and are an indispensable part of our lives. Older generations of Singaporeans recall helping their mothers grate coconuts, while many vintage cookbooks provide measurements of coconut milk not in volume, but in numbers of whole coconut, which home cooks would then have to grate and squeeze to extract the milk. A 1940s record of hawker food in Singapore also mentions coconut oil as one of the most commonly used fat at that time.

With packaged coconut milk becoming available in the late 1980s and packaged coconut water becoming mainstream in the 2000s, we started to lose touch with skills such as cracking and grating coconuts. But Singaporeans love our coconuts - there’s no doubt about that! It is an iconic ingredient loved across all cultures and ethnicities.

So in celebration of Singapore’s 29th Racial Harmony Day, we celebrate the coconut in this specially curated cook-and-dine…