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Hawker food with less sodium – can you tell the difference?
Mr David Yong of Tanjong Rhu Wanton Noodle uses less salt in his soup and wonton filling.ST PHOTO: LIM YAO HUI
Tan Hsueh Yun
UPDATED NOV 26, 2024, 11:13 AM
SINGAPORE – In the past year or so, more hawkers have been selling less salty food, either by cutting down on the table salt they use or by switching to lower-sodium salt. And judging by the reaction – or lack of it – customers have not noticed.
Owners of five hawker stalls that now serve less salty food say none of their customers have complained. Two of them say some customers help themselves to soya sauce, but for the most part, it is business as usual.
Convincing hawkers to sell less salty food is part of the Health Promotion Board’s (HPB) war against salt. Nine in 10 people here bust the recommended daily limit for sodium.
That recommended daily limit is 2,000mg, which is one teaspoon of table salt, kosher salt or rock salt, including Himalayan pink salt. But according to HPB’s 2022 National Nutrition Survey, which tracks the eating habits of adult Singapore residents, nine in 10 people here are averaging 3,620mg of sodium a day, compared with 3,480mg a day in 2019.
The Health Ministry’s National Population Health Survey of 2022 shows that more than one-third of Singapore residents have hypertension, one of the consequences of a high-salt diet, and this proportion has nearly doubled from 2010.
HPB has been fighting the battle on all fronts since 2011: getting sauce manufacturers, caterers, restaurants and other businesses to reduce sodium levels in their food, and getting people to cut down on salt when cooking.
A spokesman says that in July, the board ramped up its efforts among hawkers, rolling out its Healthier Ingredient Promotion Programme to encourage them to use lower-sodium ingredients.
“We are looking into how to better support them in this journey, as they may not be aware of available lower-sodium alternatives and where to get them,” the spokesman adds. “Given that hawker centres are a common eat-out option for many Singaporeans, supporting hawkers in reducing sodium content will enable us to increase the availability, accessibility and variety of affordable lower-sodium meal options.”
So, the board sends promoters stall to stall to educate hawkers on why there is a need to reduce sodium in their food, hand out samples of lower-sodium ingredients and link them up with suppliers of these ingredients, among other things.
Some 300 hawkers have made the switch to lower-sodium salt, sauces and seasonings as at September, and the board hopes to reach out to hawkers in 110 centres by the end of 2025.
While some hawkers have reduced the amount of table salt they use in their food, others switched over to K-salt or potassium salt, which HPB says is at least 25 per cent lower in sodium than table salt. Potassium, which is found in food, is often blended with table salt to lower its sodium content. The mineral is said to help lower blood pressure.
To find healthier hawker food, look for stickers on the stall that say “Lower-sodium options available here” or “Healthier options available here”.
Extending self-care
Tanjong Rhu Wanton Noodle
Where: 01-60 Geylang East Market & Food Corner, 117 Aljunied Avenue 2Open: 6am to 2pm (Fridays to Wednesdays), closed on Thursdays
Doctors told him the spells could be because he was not drinking enough water or it could be due to his elevated blood pressure. They advised him to cut down on salt in his diet.
He did that and, three months ago, also cut down on the salt he uses for his wonton soup and wonton filling.
Mr Yong has been selling wonton noodles for more than 20 years, with the last six years in Geylang East. He figured that what is good for him would also be good for his customers, many of whom are elderly.
“I didn’t tell customers,” he says in Mandarin, of the lower-sodium move. “I have a lot of elderly customers and I noticed how some of them would now add soya sauce to their soup. Slowly, I think people will get used to the taste.”
His wonton noodles, priced from $3.80 a serving, come with soup made with pork bones, dried ikan bilis, peppercorns and rice grains for thickening, among other things.
The proportion of ingredients remains the same, but there is now 15 per cent less salt.
Business has not dipped since he made the change, and he has ordered K-salt, a lower-sodium alternative, with a view to using it in the food he sells. He tried it at home after getting samples at an HPB roadshow.
“At home, I tried the healthy salt in my cooking, and without MSG, it tastes good,” says the hawker, who has a 20-year-old son. “I find that when there is too much normal salt in soup, you just don’t want to finish it. And my son complains when the food is too salty.”
More spices, less salt
What Da Duck
Where: 01-53 Albert Street Market & Food Centre, 270 Queen StreetOpen: 11am to 7pm daily
That is because the four entrepreneurs behind the brand decided to halve the amount of soya sauce they use in the all-important broth, and replace it with K-salt, a lower-sodium alternative to table salt.
To get the same rich flavour, Ms Metika Wisadrungjarend, 34, tweaked her mother’s recipe. She simmers the soup for longer, and uses more cinnamon and star anise, among other spices, to achieve the same flavour.
“We cook it at a higher heat and cook it longer to strengthen the taste,” she says. The noodles are priced from $5.50 a serving.
Mr Sie says: “We are in a silver zone. About half of our customers are elderly. When we see them, we are reminded of our parents. So when HPB came by our shop with K-salt, saying it has the same flavour of salt, but with less sodium, we thought, why not do something for our customers?”
He adds that his father, who is in his 60s, has the “three highs” – high blood pressure, high blood sugar and high cholesterol.
“Some food that we find salty, to them, it’s not salty at all,” he says. “They complain there is no flavour in it.”
His health-conscious maternal grandmother raised him, and he grew up eating food with less salt, he adds. Now, he hopes to convince his dad to cut down on salt in his diet. “If you have any ideas, tell me,” he says.
Business bump
Big Daddy’s Chicken & Noodles
Where: 01-108 Boon Lay Place Food Village, 221B Boon Lay PlaceOpen: 11am to 9pm daily
He thinks it is because the stall displays HPB’s “Lower-sodium options” sticker, which tells customers it uses lower-sodium alternatives to salt.
“The sticker is helpful, especially for Chinese customers,” he says. “People think Malay food has a lot of MSG in it, but they now feel confident to give us a try. I have one Chinese uncle who eats my chicken rice every day.”
He has a personal reason for switching to lower-sodium salt. One of his eight brothers is diabetic, while the others and his two sisters have hypertension.
He has been cutting down on sugar and carbohydrates in his own diet, and in six months went from 135kg to 95kg. He sweetens his drinks with stevia, a sugar substitute.
Some 80 per cent of his customers are elderly, and he sometimes tells them about the lower-sodium salt he uses. He is also looking for dark soya sauce and oyster sauce with less sugar.
“I also recommend it to friends who run nasi padang and Western food stalls,” he says of the lower-sodium salt. “I tell them it’s good for health.”
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Less salt, less sugar
Jit Man Prawn Noodle & Lor Mee
Where: 01-16 112 Bukit Merah Market & Food Centre, 112 Jalan Bukit MerahOpen: 3.30 to 10am (Mondays to Thursdays), 3.30am to 12.30pm (Fridays to Sundays)
She says her mother, who was diabetic, died at age 70 in 1995, the year Ms Teo took over her father’s prawn noodle business.
“She had to take medications every day,” she says of her mother. “I was afraid of getting diabetes too, so I started eating less salt and sugar. I want to be healthy and I want others to be healthy too.”
There are no other changes to her father’s recipe for the prawn noodles, priced from $3.50 a serving. Even her laksa (from $3.50) and lor mee (from $3.50) have less sodium.
The changes she made to her own diet have paid off, as she has normal blood pressure and blood sugar. Her three children, aged 19 to 26, have also become accustomed to eating less salt and sugar.
For health-conscious customers
Nam Wah Heng Fish Head Steamboat
Where: 02-01 Jurong West Hawker Centre, 50 Jurong West Street 61Open: 11am to 3pm, 4 to 9pm (Tuesdays to Sundays), closed on Mondays
So, about four months ago, they made the switch. The stall, and two others in the hawker centre that they run – Mini Wok Zi Char and Old Street Hainanese Curry Rice – sport the “Lower-sodium options” sticker. The three stalls go through about 20kg of K-salt a month.
The younger Mr Lee says: “A lot of our customers ask for less oil and salt, especially those in their mid-teens to early 20s.”
Other popular dishes include Curry Fish Head ($28), Hotplate Oyster Omelette (from $12) and Ginger Paste Chicken ($18). All are made using lower-sodium salt.
Mr Lee says: “When HPB came to introduce us to the lower-sodium salt, we gave it a try. We used it in the dishes and there was not much difference in taste, so we will continue to use it.”
