If you’re looking for an authority on the cuisines of Asia in Australia, Tony Tan is your guy. The Malaysian-born chef trained in France, has studied Renaissance history and Chinese language at university, and is absolutely steeped in Nonya, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Chinese cuisines, among many others. His latest cookbook, Tony Tan’s Asian Cooking Class, unlocks his vast stores of knowledge for the home cook via more than 150 recipes across a slew of cuisines, offering context, history and an unparalleled depth of knowledge.
As Tan explains, this recipe for roti john reflects the border-crossing nature of cookery and cuisine in many Asian countries, as well as how dishes and tastes are ever-evolving.
“This street food of minced beef or chicken with eggs slathered on French bread and fried is popular in Indonesia, Brunei, Singapore and Malaysia,” Tan writes. “This simple and delicious sandwich made its debut back in the 1960s when there was a British naval base in Singapore. Apparently, while the soldiers were stationed in Singapore, they would stop at a stall selling bread and omelettes. According to legend, as the stallholder saw all British soldiers as more or less the same, he would ask them this question: ‘Roti, John?’ Every British serviceman was referred to as John. Regardless of its origin, it really is a joy to eat. I’m surprised it hasn’t caught on in the west.”
Even the garam masala used in this recipe illustrates how ingredients move between borders; this spice mix originated in north India and is now used everywhere from Sri Lanka to the Caribbean and Iran – the deeply personal nature of each household’s mix tells a story itself.
“Meaning ‘hot spices’, garam masala has many regional variations and every home has its family recipe,” writes Tan. “It is added towards the end of the cooking process. Packaged garam masala is a pale imitation of homemade blends. Many recipes call for black cumin or shah jeera, aka royal cumin, which is often confused with nigella seeds. My recipe uses regular cumin to avoid this confusion. Some cooks dry-roast the spices separately before grinding them to a powder, but I don’t.”
Tony Tan’s roti john
Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus cooling
Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients
⅓ cup (80ml) neutral oil or ghee
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp lemongrass, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1–2 tbsp meat curry powder (such as Alagappa or Cap Burung Nuri)
½–1 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala (see below)
500g beef, lamb or chicken, finely minced
Salt and white pepper, to taste
4 eggs
1 baguette, cut into 4 equal pieces
Softened butter, for brushing
Coriander sprigs, to serve
Chilli sauce and tomato sauce, to serve
Garam masala
1 tbsp green cardamom seeds
5cm stick cinnamon, broken into bits
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp nutmeg, grated
Method
To make the garam masala, place all the ingredients except the nutmeg in a spice or coffee grinder and blitz for 30–40 seconds to a fine powder, then mix in the nutmeg. This recipe makes more than needed; store the remainder in an airtight container. I keep mine in the fridge.
Heat a wok over medium-high heat, then add 2 tbsp of oil. Once it’s shimmering, add the onion, lemongrass and garlic and stir-fry until the onion turns translucent.
Meanwhile, mix the curry powder, chilli, turmeric and 1 tsp garam masala with enough water to make a paste. Add to the wok and cook for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the meat and cook, stirring now and then, until it is well coloured and the moisture has evaporated. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and add enough water to cover the meat. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Leave to cool.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the cooled meat mixture and stir to combine. Cut each piece of baguette in two lengthways (but not all the way through) and open them up.
Generously grease a large non-stick frying pan with the remaining oil, heat over medium-high heat, then add a large dollop of the omelette mixture and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring and tossing until softly set. Open out a cut baguette and place it on top of the omelette in the pan, crust-side up, pressing gently so the omelette sticks to it. Cook until the omelette is firm, brushing some butter on top of the baguette as it sets. Remove the baguette and omelette with a spatula and fold together to form a sandwich. Top with coriander and serve with a mix of some chilli sauce and tomato sauce, to your taste.
Images and text from Tony Tan’s Asian Cooking Class by Tony Tan, photography by Mark Roper. Murdoch Books RRP $59.99.
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