A SPOONFUL OF HISTORY
food-crazy island nation of Singapore, and I’m at a food court in the Katong district, breaking a double sweat. It’s not just the tropical heat, but also the aromatic steam billowing from my bowl of curry , a Singaporean concoction of noodles and seafood in a flavorful coconut-milk broth. My first messy spoonful of (rice noodles), fish cakes, and briny cockles and shrimp seems almost mellow—an equatorial answer to New England chowder. Then comes the heat of the chili, the funky umami oomph of dried shrimp, and the mini-explosions of blue ginger and lemongrass in the hand-pounded spice paste called . To finish, the minty flavor of laksa leaves, aka Vietnamese coriander.
