审视新加坡的木炭煲仔饭趋势

2024 年，众多食品趋势兴起，如硬币煎饼、kunafa、碎牛角面包等。但我们特别注意到一种具有独特持久力的东西：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，众多食品趋势兴起，如硬币煎饼、kunafa、碎牛角面包等。但有一种趋势似乎具有独特的持久力：木炭煲仔饭。虽然煲仔饭一直是当地美食的基石，但今年人们似乎对以新颖的方式使用这种烹饪容器产生了新的兴趣。事情始于火爆的炭火煲啦啦，但不久之后，炭火煲鸡、煲仔虾，甚至煲仔面也出现了，引发了一股真正的潮流。我们把它比作一场军备竞赛，每个新摊位似乎都试图用他们想出的任何粘土锅加什么混合物来超越最后一个摊位。但在某些时候，人们不得不怀疑他们是否如此全神贯注于自己是否可以，而没有停下来思考是否应该这样做。

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.

如果您对这一趋势感到好奇，请不要担心，我们已经为您解答。在这些景点刚开业时，我们参观了许多景点，因此决定深入研究它们的起源，并理解这种奇怪的现象。

What is this charcoal claypot trend, anyway?

到底这种木炭煲仔饭趋势是什么？

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.

煲仔饭在当地美食中的使用可以追溯到 19 世纪初，当时中国移民将他们的烹饪传统带到了新加坡。这导致煲仔饭和煲仔饭咖喱鱼头等菜肴成为我们饮食文化的支柱。近年来，煲仔饭的创新用途随处可见，包括老王煲仔饭和金吉福建面在内的餐馆都用粘土炊具在他们的招牌菜肴上进行了旋转。

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

然而，这一最新趋势可以归因于吉隆坡大淘拉拉锅的煲仔饭拉拉火锅。

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.

煲仔饭拉拉在炭炉上盛放，配以拉拉蛤蜊、生姜、绍兴酒等的美味汤汁，还可以选择配菜，享受火锅风格，这道煲仔饭拉拉在社交媒体上掀起了一场风暴。当大淘去年在新山开设分店时，新加坡人跨越边境只为品尝这道令人兴奋的新菜肴。

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”.

也许这道菜大受欢迎也就不足为奇了。它本质上将砂锅烹饪、火锅餐饮和新鲜海鲜（新加坡人喜爱的三样东西）结合到一个套餐中。这也不是一个噱头。我们的作家对它赞不绝口，将其描述为“浓郁芳香的海鲜汤，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.

没过多久，当地食品企业家就注意到了这一点。 2024 年 1 月，Ubi Claypot Lala 成为新加坡第一家提供煲仔饭拉拉的摊位，为其他几个摊位效仿打开了大门。

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.

但这不仅仅是煲仔饭啦啦。不久之后，木炭煲仔虾的概念就出现了，包括 Woodlands Claypot Prawn 和 Hae！虾煲就是突出的例子。前者背后的人们甚至决定进一步推出木炭煲仔蟹。所有这些摊位都提供炭火加砂锅组合和火锅配菜，只不过各自菜肴的主要食材是虾和螃蟹，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.

炭火煲仔鸡也在同一时期开业，提供炭火煲汤和火锅配菜，但主要区别在于汤底，而是以鸡肉为主。虽然据说这个摊位的灵感直接来自粤式火锅，但它在这波新的煲仔饭摊位浪潮中的出现或许并非巧合。

The nuances of claypot cooking

煲仔饭烹饪的细微差别

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.

虽然木炭煲仔饭摊位的兴起确实令人兴奋，但值得一问的是：用煲仔饭烹饪这些菜肴真的会有所不同吗？与大多数事情一样，答案取决于。

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”.

陶罐的优点是这些装置有很多好处。它们非常适合慢速烹饪，因为它们均匀分布热量、保留水分并增强风味。这一切如何发生的确切科学仍有争议，但正如 TASTE 的这篇文章所暗示的那样，用粘土锅烹制的食物“呈现出更柔软、更圆润的品质”，并具有“微妙的泥土和烟熏味和香气”。

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.

这些品质自然适合火锅菜肴，例如煲仔饭啦啦。煲仔饭的慢煮特性有助于所有元素，包括蛤蜊、绍兴酒和其他火锅原料融合在一起，从而强化和提升整体味道。这会产生芳香浓郁、鲜味十足的肉汤，让人们流连忘返。

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.

但就煲仔虾和煲仔蟹概念而言，事情变得有点棘手。虽然拉拉可以长时间炖而不会变得太硬或有弹性，但虾和螃蟹很快就会煮过头。

That was what we experienced when reviewing some of

这就是我们在审查某些内容时所经历的