SINGAPORE MUST BE one of my favourite places to eat, having such a rich and diverse cuisine. I always stay in Chinatown so I can start the day with my favourite hawker dishes at Maxwell Food Centre. These feature in the following recipes and are some of the most popular hawker dishes in Singapore.

The start of these recipes is a great paste. I love the freshness and amazing flavour of making my own paste from scratch. I also find it is much easier to balance the salt at the end if not using bought pastes that are high in salt, MSG or other flavour enhancers. Of course there are some very good pastes out there, and you can substitute a bought variety if time is short (use less than a fresh paste). Just be careful adding soy or fish sauce and try to use low-salt or unsalted stock where you can.

Most of the following pastes and sauces freeze well so you can portion into smaller sizes and freeze until needed.