A roti john is a popular Singaporean street food, a baguette filled with a curried beef omelette. Its origin is somewhat disputed but the classic version involves an American tourist approaching a hawker in Singapore and asking for a hamburger. The hawker then supposedly whipped up something similar to what you see here to satisfy his customer and later added the dish to his permanent repertoire. The name reflects this story and is derived from the Malay word for bread, roti, combined with John which is the name generally colloquially given to Western men.
Roti John
a popular Singaporean street food, a baguette filled with a curried beef omelette.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 1 medium baguette sliced open lengthwise
- ½ tablespoon sambal
- 1 shallot finely diced
- ½ teaspoon mixed garlic
- ¼ red capsicum diced
- ½ green chilli diced
- ½ tablespoon peanut oil
- 150 g beef mince
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ketchup and mayo to serve
- chopped spring onion and coriander to serve
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, heat the oil on medium heat. Add int the garlic, capsicum, shallot and chilli and fry stirring regularly for 10 minutes or until softened. Remove from the pan.
- Place pan back over heat and add the beef. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring only every 2-3 minutes. Return the vege to the pan along with the curry powder and cook stirring for a further 3 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and set aside for 5 minutes to cool. Wipe pan clean.
- Once cooled, combine the beef mixture with the eggs and mix well. Spread the sambal on the inside of the baguette then top with the beef and egg mix.
- Heat the butter in the pan until foaming. Turn the open baguette into the hot butter egg side down. Cook for 5 minutes then flip and fry the outside of the bread for a further 3 minutes. Transfer to serving plate and top with ketchup, mayo, spring onion and coriander.