Refactoring cuisine: how an Iraqi stew sailed to Singapore
3 days ago
- The author makes bamya assam, a sweet-and-sour okra stew using calamansi, a Philippine lime.
- The dish originates from Iraqi Jewish bamya, modified in India by local cooks, then adapted in Singapore.
- The Ship of Theseus paradox illustrates how diaspora cooking evolves through ingredient substitutions.
- Foreign domestic workers from the Philippines and Indonesia often cooked the stew in Singaporean households.
- Authenticity is defined by adaptation and family history, not static tradition.