3 Ways to Eat This Tasty Age-Old Popcorn of Singapore
Kacang means beans, while puteh (putih) refers to white in Malay. Originating from India, kacang puteh is an assortment of nuts (cashew nuts, peanuts, sugar-coated peanuts), legumes (chickpeas, green peas, broad beans) and crackers (muruku), making a colourful concoction.
There are about 20 types of kacang in total. Typically sold by Indian men in white sarongs, this light snack is packed in a cone made of paper. In the olden days, they would use newspaper or paper torn from school exercise books. Don’t worry, though, clean paper is used today.
Stationed outside cinemas, their main target was the movie-going crowd. Kacang puteh has thus been labelled the ‘Singaporean popcorn’. It is so crunchy, it gets your mouth and brain moving so you definitely won’t waste your bucks on that movie ticket. Keeps you alert, keeps you going and it’s so yummy, you’ll crave for more.
The kacang puteh man has become a figure we are all familiar with and we so love. The more entertaining men would balance a wooden rack filled with nuts on their heads so as to draw crowds to his business.
Here are 3 ways to enjoy your kacang puteh:
1) Pick your least favourite one and finish that first (or play Scissors, Paper, Stone with your friend. Winner decides what goes into the Loser’s mouth first)
2) Pour some onto your palm and eat off
3) Pour directly into your mouth
Today, there is only one seller left in Singapore. Mr Moorthy still opens his stall faithfully outside Peace Centre. His father had been in the line for decades past and had passed the baton to him.
To prepare this snack, Mr Moorthy has to manually steam and fry the ingredients, either dry-frying or with oil. For the sugar-coated peanuts, he still has to go an additional step to dip the peanuts into sugar.
However, due to the tighter regulations and higher rentals as Singapore advances, these stalls cannot afford to maintain their businesses. Most of the patrons are the older folks who lived in the era when kacang puteh was a hit like how bubble tea is today. The younger people don’t exactly take a liking to the snack.
Companies like Tai Sun and Camel have sold their versions of kacang puteh, sealing them in modern packaging and according English names to them. However, to me, the paper cone is still the best. So original, so humble.
If you’d like your treat sweet, ask for more of the white sugar-coated peanuts. The other kacang are mostly salty.
Catch an interview with Mr Moorthy here.
What are your fondest memories of kacang puteh?
