Singapore Fruit Salad (Rojak)

Some dishes just bring back strong memories. And to me, Rojak is one of them. It brings me back to one of my earliest memory that when I was around the age of 5. I was staying in Toa Payoh, one of the earliest town in Singapore. I remember that school was fun and play was part of the learning. There was this lesson which I enjoyed very much and I could still remember vividly. The teacher brought my classmates and I to the hall. There, I saw many tricycles and the teacher got us to cycle on them in the hall. Because there were not enough tricycles to go around, we took turns and was told to ferry our classmates when it was our turn to cycle. From that lesson, I learnt about caring for one another and also to always extend help to someone in need. Such lessons are so valuable and important as part of my growing years. 

In the same year, I had also experienced the feeling of fear and worry. My mum liked to bring us to the town center to do some shopping and get lunch. On a fateful day, I wandered off and soon lost sight of my family. Although, I knew the town center at the back of my hand and knew my way home, I started to get frightened as I was worried that my family would not be able to locate me. Tears started to well. I walked to a pavilion nearby and stood there for my family to spot me. I waited and waited... Minutes felt like hours. After some time, I heard my sister calling out for me and I was relieved to see her and my mum. Tears poured. Instead of being reprimanded, my mum told me that she had reported the police and now I had to go to the police station to apologize to the policemen. (During those days, kids were told that policemen are out to catch naughty kids and put them into jail) I was so scared that hid behind my mum when she walked towards the police post. As we walked, she steered away from the direction of the police post and towards a coffee shop to get our usual dosage of Rojak!  Although I am not sure if that store is the famous Toa Payoh Rojak, I remember it was very delicious and it was wrapped with a colored rubber band. 

Ingredients:

A) Main

• 1 Apple, thinly sliced
• 1 small turnip, thinly sliced
• 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pineapple, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 Dried Beancurd, toasted and sliced
• 2 doughsticks (You Tiao),  toasted and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1/2 cup Beansprouts, blanched
• 1/4 cup Grounded Peanuts, toasted 
• 1 Ginger torch
• 1/4 tsp Grated lime zest

Steps:

1. Prepare the ingredients. 
2. As for the ginger torch, chop the top 1 inch of the flower finely. This ingredient is important to bring out the flavour of rojak.

B) Sauce

• 3 tbsp Prawn Paste (Hei Ko) 
• 2 tbsp Assam, mixed with 3 tbsp of hot water and strained
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Fresh Green Lime juice

Prawn Paste (Hei Ko)

Steps:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix the assam mixture with sugar until sugar dissolves. 
2. Add in the prawn paste and lime juice. You may adjust the sauce according to your preference. 
3. Add half of the toasted peanuts and mix well. 
4. Add in ginger torch and grated lime zest. Mix well. 
5. Add in the main ingredients and ensure every pieces is coated well with the sauce. 
6. Plate it on a serving plate and top it with the rest of the peanuts.