The table below sets out the more popular and commonly available herbs and spices used in Singapore dishes and the cuisines of the surrounding regions of Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand . Used with discretion they give a gourmet touch to basic recipes.

When using a herb or spice one must also be mindful that the right amount is used. When too little of the herb or spice is added, it may fail to bring out the flavour of the food. Too much herb or spice will prove too overpowering as to ruin any good food. Many of the tips given below do not involve the use of herbs and spices in any elaborate preparation but as simple additions to enhance the flavour and aroma of the food. All the selected spices and herbs mentioned are easily obtainable from the local markets and neighbourhood provision stores.

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Basic spice rack 

assam bay leaves cloves corriander leaves
ginger lemon grass oregano pandan leaves parsley
pepper rosemary shallot star anis szechuan pepper thyme tumeric

Herbs & Spices

Description

Culinary Uses & Tips

 
ASSAM

(Tamarind)

 Assam grow in pods from an assam tree. The pulp is used. Assam is packed together with the seeds. Only the water in which the assam is allowed to dissolve is used and the seeds and pulp skin discarded. Use as marinade with turmeric and salt for deep fried fish and meats.

Soaking fish in light assam water (or water to which lime or lemon juice is added) for a minute or two will take away the fishy smell of the fish which can then be prepared for any recipe.
BAY LEAVES Bay leaves are used whole or crushed.Caution: some variety of Bay leaves may make a dish taste bitter if too many leaves are added. Add whole leaves to soups & stews for flavour.

Leaves can be used interspersed between chunks of meat or fish kebabs on skewers for grilling.

Leaves are also added to chillie con carne for flavour.
CHIVES - Chinese Chives(Allium Odorum) A green-tasting herb used for garnish or to flavour a dish. Stir fry with beensprouts.

Great as stuffing for "koo chye soon keuh" (koo chye dumplings)

Often used chopped to flavour butter or cheese.

Stir-fry with other vegetables.

Essential garnish for a local dish called "Mee Siam".
CINNAMON (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) Cinnamon is bark from young shoots of the the Cinnamon tree. Use in sticks or grounded.

This is a strong spice and should be used with discretion.

 Cinnamon sticks are added to some soups and soto ayam.

Ground cinnamon forms part of the grounded spices (including cardamons, star anis and sweet cummins ) which are added to the commercially prepared curry powder.

Cinnamon sticks are also added to fruit stews.

It is also used in Viennese Coffee.
CLOVES Strong aromatic spice. Cloves are the dried flowers of the clove tree. The young flowers are green turning black-brown when they are dried. Cloves are used whole and ground. Use whole in fruit stews.

Whole cloves can also be used to flavour pineapple jams for pineapple tarts, where they can be used as decorative stems for apple-shaped tarts or cooked in the pineapple jam.
CORRIANDER LEAVES Corriander leaves are used chopped in food or as garnish. Chopped corriander leaves are added to salad dressing, soups, patties and curries for added flavour.

Roots of corriander leaves are crushed and used to flavour stirfried chicken pieces.
CUMMINS Cummins are padi-like in appearance and may be used whole or ground. This spice is sweet tasting and is used as a natural mouth freshener by chewing a few grains especially after a spicy meal.

It is also an essential ingredient in curry powder.

Sweet cummins is also used to flavour some cheeses.
DILL Weed-like herb with a distinctive sweet scent. Leaves are generally used whole and give best result when used fresh. Dried dill seeds are also used. Dill leaves and seeds are popularly used to flavour fish dishes,The fresh dill leaves should be used with discretion as they are strongly scented and a little goes a long way.

Also used to flavour salad oil.
GALANGA (Also known as blue ginger) The galanga root is used fresh. This spice has a sharp exotic if somewhat tardy taste. Crushed galanga root is an essential spice for beef rendang - the dry Sumatran curry dish. It is also used in the sayur lodeh (vegetable coconut gravy).

Galanga is also great in sauces and dips. The popular Beef Kuayteow sold in hawker centres is served with chillie sauce flavoured with ground fresh galanga to give it that distinctive tarty flavour.
GINGER This is a versatile root used in most Asian cooking. Fresh ginger gives the best result as there is "no kick" in the flavour of the powdered ginger. Ginger is used crushed to flavour braised duck. This is done by stuffing the inside of the whole duck to enhance the flavour.

Ginger juice is also used as a gravy base for fish dishes. Gravy made with ginger juice, chopped garlic, ginger and spring onions is poured over fish coated in cornflour and fried crisp (whole or in cutlet).

Ginger juice added to the gula melaka syrup used in the dessert of the same name (Sago gula melaka) gives the dessert an enhanced flavour. This is the secret ingredient used by an old chef at the former Police Mess - whose Gula Melaka dessert was well-known among the officers who used to frequent the place.
LEMON GRASS Grass-like plant. The bulbous stem is used. The herb is best used fresh and as the name suggests, it gives off a fresh lemony scent when used to flavour food. This herb is liberally used in Thai cuisine. It is an essential ingredient in TongYam soup - a spicy Thai soup where the stem is sliced thinly and added to flavour the soup.

Crushed lemon grass is also added to flavour Beef Rendang - a Sumatran dish to give it the distincctinctive flavour. It is also added to Sayur Lodeh (coconut milk gravy for Lontong).
OREGANO Oregano leaves are effective when used fresh or dried. The fresh dried leaves are preferred over the powdered oregano. Oregano as a spice is well associated with Italian cooking. It gives spaghetti sauce that distinctive Italian flavour.

Oregano are also added to salads or omelette.
PANDAN LEAVES Pandan leaves are best used fresh. The leaves are used to flavour as well as to provide natural colour to food. Pandan leaves are popularly used in local cooking to flavour savoury dishes as well as desserts. To colour food, the juice of the pandan leaves are crushed and squeezed out and mixed with the food - usually desserts like kueh dada (crepee filled with coconut candy) and chendol.

Pandan leaves are also added whole (tied in a bunch) to hot desserts like bubor chacha, custard, hot syrups and also to savoury rice (nasi lemak).
PARSLEY The stems and leaves of parsley are used. Chinese parsley used as garnish for soups give a distinctive flavour as well as colour to the soup.

Chopped parsley are added to meat and fish patties or pergedil enhances the flavour of the patties.

The crinkled parsley does not have a strong flavour and are generally used for decorative purposes.
PEPPER Black pepper are used ground and whole, while white pepper are generally used ground. Ground black pepper is popularly used to flavour meat marinades and cheeses.

A favourite local dish uses ground black pepper liberally to flavour gravy for stir-fried crabs or prawns.

Ground white pepper is used in a dish called Prawns in Pepper and Salt; this dish goes very well with plain rice porridge. For this dish, unshelld prawns are fried in some oil till cooked and set aside. Chopped ginger and garlic are fried in some oil till slightly cooked (not browned) and the fried prawns are added. The fire is turned off and rock salt and pepper are added. Mix well. Add some cut spring onions ( cut to about 3/4 inch long) and some cut red chillies. Serve hot. This is also a visually attractive dish.
ROSEMARY Rosemary gives a green herby flavour to any food. Fresh and dried rosemary can be used to flavour the marinade for roast lamb.

It is also an ingredient in bouquet garni.
SHALLOT Shallot is often used in local dishes. It is sweet tasting. Shallots are skinned and used in a local cooked pickle dish called "achar" - a condiment for curry dishes.

Shallots are also sliced thin and fried till crisp. This is then used as garnish for food like fried noodles, and soups. They give a distinctive flavour whether used as a garnish or when added as an ingredient to curries.

Try adding fried crisp shallots to mashed potatoes.

Ground shallots are used as a basic ingredient for curries. They are fried in some oil till transparent before the curry paste is added. The curry paste is then diluted with some water to the right consistency. Used this way the ground shallots aslo give some body to the gravy besides sweetening it as well.
STAR ANIS Sweet smelling spice. The star-shaped fruit is used dried. This spice can be used to flavour fruit salads.

It is also used whole in Chinese braised meat dishes.

Pounded star anis together with cinnamon can be added to the commercial curry powder mixture to give it an enhanced flavour .
SZECHUAN PEPPER The peppercorns are used whole to flavour cooked dishes. Try adding some Szechuan pepper whole to braised Shitake mushrooms. (This is a recipe from a Chinese grandmother who has many simple yet great-tasting home recipes which she brought with her from Swatow.) Do not use too many of the peppercorns as they have very strong flavour.About 20 peppercorns should be sufficient to flavour a goodsize dish for four persons. The peppercorns need not be removed when serving the dish, but they should not be eaten either as they will give off a pungent bitter taste.

Experiment using Szechuan pepper with other braised meat dishes. This spice also tastes good with braised chicken feet and braised vegetarian dishes.
THYME Herby-smelling weed-like plant. Best used fresh. Add fresh leaves to flavour salad oils.

Also use in bouquet garni to flavour stews.
TURMERIC Fresh roots and powdered versions are used for both flavour and colour. An acceptable substitute for the more expensive saffron. Essential ingredient for assam marinade for fish and meat. Ingredients for assam marinade are: assam juice, powdered or crushed tumeric and salt.

Turmeric is also added to the water to cook glutinous or ordinary rice to make "Nasi Kunyit" a dish traditionally used by the Malays in Singapore and Malaysia at ceremonial functions. Nasi Kunyit is served with curried chicken or meat. At weddings, the Bunga Telor used to be the traditional gifts distributed to guests. The nasi kunyit is packed into a glass topped with a hard boiled egg (shell dyed red) decorated with paper flowers. This is now a dying tradition and wedding guests are now given items such as sweets and chocolates.

Turmeric is an essential ingredient in Asian curries as it gives the curries that distinctive yellow colouring and exotic flavour.

Turmeric rice goes very well with meat and vegetable kebabs.

Fresh crushed tumeric is added to assam juice and used as a detoxifying drink by some ethnic races.
     

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