審視新加坡的木炭煲仔飯趨勢

2024 年，眾多食品趨勢興起，如硬幣煎餅、kunafa、碎牛角麵包等。但我們特別注意到一種具有獨特持久力的東西：木炭煲。

2024 saw the rise of numerous food trends such as coin pancake, kunafa, smashed croissants and more. But one trend in particular seemed to have a unique staying power: charcoal claypot. While claypots have always been a cornerstone of local cuisine, there seems to be a renewed interest in using the cooking vessel in novel ways this year. Things kicked off with the viral charcoal claypot lala, but shortly after, charcoal claypot chicken, claypot prawn, and even claypot pasta emerged, sparking a bona fide trend. We’ve likened it to something of an arms race, with each new stall seemingly trying to outdo the last with whatever claypot-plus-something concoction they come up with. But at some point, one has to wonder if they were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.

2024 年，眾多食品趨勢興起，如硬幣煎餅、kunafa、碎牛角麵包等。但有一種趨勢似乎具有獨特的持久力：木炭煲仔飯。雖然煲仔飯一直是當地美食的基石，但今年人們似乎對以新穎的方式使用這種烹飪容器產生了新的興趣。事情始於火熱的炭火煲啦啦，但不久之後，炭火煲雞、煲仔蝦，甚至煲仔麵食也出現了，引發了一股真正的潮流。我們把它比作一場軍備競賽，每個新攤位似乎都試圖用他們想出的任何黏土鍋加東西來超越最後一個攤位。但在某些時候，人們不得不懷疑他們是否如此全神貫注於自己是否可以，而沒有停下來思考是否應該這樣做。

If you’ve found yourself wondering about this trend, fret not—we’ve got you covered. Having visited many of these spots when they first opened, we decided to dig into their origins and make sense of this curious phenomenon.

如果您對這一趨勢感到好奇，請不要擔心，我們已經為您解答。在這些景點剛開業時，我們參觀了許多景點，因此決定深入研究它們的起源，並理解這種奇怪的現象。

What is this charcoal claypot trend, anyway?

到底這種木炭煲仔飯趨勢是什麼？

The use of claypots in local cuisine can be traced back to the early 19th century, when Chinese immigrants brought their culinary traditions to Singapore. This led to dishes such as claypot rice and claypot fish head curry becoming mainstays in our food culture. In more recent times, there have been innovative uses of claypot here and there, with eateries including Lau Wang Claypot and Kim Keat Hokkien Mee putting spins on their signature dishes with clay cookware.

煲仔飯在當地美食中的使用可以追溯到 19 世紀初，當時中國移民將他們的烹飪傳統帶到了新加坡。這導致煲仔飯和煲仔飯咖哩魚頭等菜餚成為我們飲食文化的支柱。近年來，煲仔飯的創新用途隨處可見，包括老王煲仔飯和金吉福建面在內的餐廳都用粘土炊具在他們的招牌菜餚上進行了旋轉。

This latest trend, however, can be attributed to the claypot lala hotpot from Kuala Lumpur’s Dai Tao Lala Pot.

然而，這一最新趨勢可以歸因於吉隆坡大淘拉拉鍋的煲仔飯拉拉火鍋。

Served on a charcoal stove with a flavourful broth of lala clams, ginger, Shaoxing wine and more, with optional sides to enjoy hotpot-style, the claypot lala took social media by storm. When Dai Tao launched an outlet in JB last year, Singaporeans crossed the border just to have a taste of this exciting new dish.

煲仔飯拉拉在炭爐上盛放，配以拉拉蛤蜊、生薑、紹興酒等的美味湯汁，還可以選擇配菜，享受火鍋風格，這道煲仔飯拉拉在社交媒體上掀起了一場風暴。當大淘去年在新山開設分店時，新加坡人跨越邊境只為品嚐這道令人興奮的新菜餚。

Perhaps it’s no surprise the dish became a hit. It essentially combines claypot cooking, hotpot dining, and fresh seafood—three things that Singaporeans love—into one package. And it wasn’t a gimmick, either. Our writers raved about it, describing it as having a “rich, aromatic seafood soup with juicy, plump clams”.

也許這道菜大受歡迎也就不足為奇了。它本質上將砂鍋烹飪、火鍋餐飲和新鮮海鮮（新加坡人喜愛的三樣東西）結合到一個套餐中。這也不是一個噱頭。我們的作家對它讚不絕口，將其描述為「濃鬱芳香的海鮮湯，配上多汁肥美的蛤蜊」。

It didn’t take long for local food entrepreneurs to take notice. In January 2024, Ubi Claypot Lala became the first stall in Singapore to offer claypot lala, opening the floodgates for several others to follow suit.

沒多久，當地食品企業家就注意到了這一點。 2024 年 1 月，Ubi Claypot Lala 成為新加坡第一家提供煲仔飯拉拉的攤位，為其他幾個攤位效仿打開了大門。

But it wasn’t just claypot lala. The charcoal claypot prawn concept arrived shortly after, with Woodlands Claypot Prawn and Hae! Prawn Claypot being prominent examples. The folks behind the former even decided to take things further with Charcoal Claypot Crab. All these stalls offered the charcoal-fire-plus-claypot combo and hotpot sides, except that prawns and crabs were the central ingredients of their respective dishes instead of lala.

但這不只是煲仔飯啦啦。不久之後，木炭煲仔蝦的概念就出現了，包括 Woodlands Claypot Prawn 和 Hae！蝦煲就是突出的例子。前者背後的人們甚至決定進一步推出木炭煲仔蟹。所有這些攤位都提供炭火加砂鍋組合和火鍋配菜，只不過各自菜餚的主要成分是蝦子和螃蟹而不是拉拉。

A Charcoal Claypot Chicken also opened around the same period, serving claypot soup over a charcoal fire and hotpot-style sides—but with the key difference being the broth, which is based on chicken instead. Although this particular stall is said to be directly inspired by a Guangdong-style hotpot, its emergence during this wave of new claypot stalls is perhaps no coincidence.

炭火煲仔雞也在同一時期開業，提供炭火煲湯和火鍋配菜，但主要區別在於湯底，而是以雞肉為主。雖然據說這個攤位的靈感直接來自粵式火鍋，但它在這波新的煲仔飯攤位浪潮中的出現或許並非巧合。

The nuances of claypot cooking

煲仔飯烹調的細微差別

While the rise of charcoal claypot stalls is certainly exciting, it’s worth asking: does cooking these dishes in a claypot actually make a difference? As with most things, the answer depends.

雖然木炭煲仔飯攤位的興起確實令人興奮，但值得一問的是：用煲仔飯烹調這些菜餚真的會有所不同嗎？與大多數事情一樣，答案取決於。

The thing with claypots is that these contraptions have numerous benefits. They’re great for slow cooking, as they evenly distribute heat, retain moisture, and enhance flavours. The exact science of how this all happens is still up for debate, but as this article from TASTE suggests, food cooked in a claypot “takes on a softer, rounder quality”, with “subtle earthy and smoky flavours and aromas as well”.

陶罐的優點是這些裝置有許多好處。它們非常適合慢速烹飪，因為它們均勻分佈熱量、保留水分並增強風味。這一切如何發生的確切科學仍有爭議，但正如TASTE 的這篇文章所暗示的那樣，用粘土鍋烹製的食物“呈現出更柔軟、更圓潤的品質”，並具有“微妙的泥土和煙煙燻味和香氣」。

These qualities naturally lend themselves to hotpot dishes such as claypot lala. The slow-cooking properties of the claypot help all the elements, including the clams, Shaoxing wine, and other hotpot ingredients, meld together, thus intensifying and enhancing the overall taste. This results in a highly aromatic and umami-filled broth that keeps people coming back for more.

這些特質自然適合火鍋菜餚，例如煲仔飯啦啦。煲仔飯的慢煮特性有助於所有元素，包括蛤蜊、紹興酒和其他火鍋原料融合在一起，從而強化和提升整體風味。這會產生芳香濃鬱、鮮味十足的肉湯，讓人們流連忘返。

But in the case of the claypot prawn and claypot crab concepts, things get a little trickier. While lala can be simmered for long periods without becoming too tough or rubbery, prawns and crabs can quickly become overcooked.

但就煲仔蝦和煲仔蟹概念而言，事情變得有點棘手。雖然拉拉可以長時間燉煮而不會變得太硬或有彈性，但蝦子和螃蟹很快就會煮過頭。

That was what we experienced when reviewing some of

這就是我們在審查某些內容時所經歷的