Hello foodies of the interwebs!

Welcome to the intersection between my perfect excuse to be tam jiak (Hokkien for being a glutton), and my justification for (respectfully) poking my nose into other people's literal business. If you're a stray finance bro wannabe researching consumer staple stocks - well, you've successfully found my ramblings about consommé, street food staples, or cooking stocks instead.

This blog is dedicated towards unveiling the secret ingredient within each of our favourite hawker staples - to celebrate the man or woman wielding their wok, pot or slotted ladle with their iron hands. Toiling tirelessly day after day just to make sure their faithful regulars get their fix, rain or shine, no matter if they're eating in or requesting to da bao. These street food heroes are the human equivalents of master stocks within the context of our Malaysian food scene.

Borrowing from this article, a master stock is a braising liquid whose complexity and intensity in flavour develops as it takes on the flavours and scents of the meats, spices, and aromatics that have bathed in it. A master stock is the foundation on which most Chinese cooking is built upon. It is usually a closely guarded family heirloom that grows and evolves in taste as it is continuously fed and used to feed generations.

There is no fanciful plating or delicate garnish in street food, but there is a complex simplicity in the flavours that are (often like their cooks) bold and unapologetically loud. All at-home attempts at recreating our kopitiam favourites never quite taste the same because most of us lack the patience and perseverance behind years of blood, sweat, and tears that have fuelled the unique recipes of our human master stocks…and we probably have not finetuned our hearing frequencies to be able to hear the ghostly voices of our ancestors tell us how much oil, flour, soy sauce, oyster sauce, spices, etc. to throw in.

It takes a passionately refined palate to distinguish and calibrate the subtle shifts in flavours as different ingredients come together, like a seasoned composer who conducts orchestral harmonies - this "stock keeping" is quickly becoming a dying art as our beloved gatekeepers of these generational recipes begin to retire and younger generations choose to pursue what are perceived to be more lucrative professional interests.

Being in the food industry is grueling, often thankless work - the only thing that keeps cooks going are their sincere love for delicious food and for keeping people well fed. The recent decades have been especially rough on our street food vendors; we, the public, often expect the use of the same quality ingredients served in the generous helpings of old and yet expect to pay low prices no matter the economic condition.

I mean, if people are willing to pay MYR30 for a slice of toast with assorted toppings (sometimes sparsely) scattered over top just because it's "artisanal" in the Western sense, no reason why we should be complaining about MYR2-3 price hikes in our local, equally artisanal food. Granted, our street food has always been branded as "economical" options to be accessible to those of all social strata, but the ensuing debate on affordability and standards of living would stray from the purpose of this blog (although it is a giant fish I'd love to fry and there are plenty of bones I'd like to pick with the leaders who have led us to this sorry state).

Needless to say, the viral fiasco beginning 2020 had an ugly hand in dealing the latest in a harsh stream of blows that wiped out many a street stall and their owners. So, while it is exciting to see aesthetically pleasing cafes serving international fusion fare increasingly popping up all over our cities, I hope to reignite the love and passion of local communities for our classic no fuss nor frills Malaysian food and inspire movements to sustain it or give it new life by sharing the life stories of our humble street cooks.

Welp, I've digressed. Coming back to stocks -

Aside from being a flavourful base for the preparation of soup, gravy, or sauces, 'stock' also refers to a person's ancestry or line of descent. For example, not forgetting our significant indigenous (orang asli / asal) minority, our Malaysian population is largely of Malay, Chinese and Indian stock. Thus, our Malaysian food culture is of a distinctive blend of Arab, Javanese, Sumatran, Siamese, Southern Chinese, and Southern Indian stock, as well as features Western influences from being previously occupied by the Portuguese, Dutch and British.

Additionally, 'stock' may denote conventional, stereotypical characters commonly observed in a given genre of books, movies, and plays. With that in mind, the pak cik / mak cik / bang / kak / uncle / auntie / brader / sista / anneh / macha / boss / tauke / leng lui / leng chai stationed at every pasar pagi, pasar malam, kopitiam, food truck, food car, food motorbike, random street corner, dodgy back alley, etc. (#Malaysiaboleh!) are the recurring stock characters on our vibrant Malaysian food scene.

Now that we've taken stock of all the relevant definitions of 'stock' listed on the first page of my Google search results, it is equally important to establish that the staple in 'Staple Stocks' points to our "human master stocks" and what they create as being an essential element, a "must-have", a hallmark of our Malaysian food heritage. Although, come to think of it, our kopitiam culture brings people of all creed and colour together, thereby serving as staples holding together the fabric of Malaysian culture!

Hence, I have made it my personal mission to walk into one neighbourhood haunt recommended by family and friends (or by you, my dear readers!) every weekend - to befriend a few uncles or aunties, to be regaled with their trademark dishes and tales of dedication towards honing and honouring their craft. After which, I will valiantly fight off my food comas to retell their stories in my teeny corner of the world wide web.

So whether you're an avid disciple of food & culture like I am, or got distracted searching up the nearest kopitiam to you assuming I've managed to trigger SEO (I'm sorry this is not a directory - my friends and family tell me I'm not qualified to give directions because I confuse my left and right), I hope you'll savour these soulful stories behind our beloved Malaysian street food staples and cherish the lives that feed their inimitable stocks.

If you've read this far, don't be a stranger - go on and namedrop your favourite street stall uncle / auntie in the comments below!

YumCheers,

Natalie