Spicy Dried Shrimp Floss: A Uniquely Singaporean Bread Spread.
Hae Bee Hiam or Spicy Dried Shrimp Floss on a slice of bread The dried shrimp fron which Hae Bee Hiam is made. The Americans: Peanut Butter The French:Duck Rillette with Baguette The Italians: Tomato Bruschetta with Mozarella Cheese The English: Marmalade on Toast The Australians: Vegemite Something spread on a slice of bread is one of the most basic of foods. Usually meant as a quick and easy way to quell hunger pangs. The Americans have their peanut butter and Nutella, the English have Marmalade, Australians have their VegeMite, the French their potted meats, Middle-Easterners their Hummus, Jews their chopped liver, Italians their tomato bruschetta and so on. Bread spreads are not meant to be complex, just utilitarian. Nobody need spend an inordinate amount of time dreaming up complicated recipes for bread spreads. But here in Singapore, we are fortunate to have inherited a recipe for a bread spread so exotic that I believe it qualifies for the title of "most interesting...