Singapore — Workers Party MP Jamus Lim (Sengkang GRC) offered a sort of marketing lesson on Facebook that had nothing to do with his job as an economics professor… and yet, perhaps it did.
Associate Professor Lim showed that he is aware that netizens sometimes have an issue when he posts about “unfamiliar” foods. So when he put on social media a picture of a dish that he and his family enjoyed recently, he even provided a breakdown of how much all the ingredients actually cost.
The MP, whose social media posts cover a whole range of topics including economics, exercise, education, anecdotes about his life, and yes, food, shared this photo on Facebook on Tuesday of “miso-glazed cod on a bed of wild rice, with a side of char-grilled broccolini”.
He pronounced himself delighted to have found some frozen cod – a fish usually quite pricey here – which was “not just affordable, but on sale to boot”.
“For us, it was a neat way to incorporate a taste of Japan into our otherwise-pedestrian dinner. It also speaks to the power of interweaving cultures and cuisines, something we have been doing in Singapore for centuries, and something that continues till this day,” the MP added.
In a postscript, he detailed every ingredient:
“2 pieces of cod ($6.50 per 200g piece, plus another 30 per cent off!); 3 tbsp mirin ($0.50); 3 tbsp cooking sake ($0.61); 4 tbsp miso ($0.55), 2 tbsp sugar ($0.05); 1 tbsp canola oil ($0.07); 1 tsp dark sesame oil ($0.07); 2-inch piece of ginger, grated ($0.25) (marinade all that in an IKEA ziplock bag, $0.10, for at least 24 hours); 1 bunch broccolini ($5); 1.5 cups brown/wild blend ($2.60); 1 onion ($0.40); bay leaf, couple pinches dried thyme, paprika dusting ($0.16), you could shore in a handful of pine nuts if you’d like; vegetable broth ($7.20). Total: $28.01.”
It would have cost $7 less, he said, if they had made it with vegetable bouillon instead of the broth used.
Prof Lim seemed very happy with the meal, writing, “Fed the 3 of us, plus baby (priceless), with leftovers.”
Several of those who commented were surprised, and even saddened, at his postscript.
Prof Lim had written in a post in October that when he was younger, he had worked his way around two-thirds of the recipes in a French cookbook. He often posts photos of food he enjoys. Several netizens have criticised him for that.
When he posted about his “cold kitchen” supper, mostly comprising cheese, crackers and fruit, there was some degree of sour-grading from netizens about the “expensive food”.
And it happened again when he posted a photo of, zatar-with-labneh-and-toast breakfast, which he wrote they first learned of while living in the Middle East.
This happened as well when he posted shortly before the holidays last year that he enjoyed panettone, and some commenters dissed it as just fancy raisin bread.
It is, in fact, a sweet bread that originated in Milan, Italy, which is often associated with Christmas and has now become a festive staple in some supermarkets and food shops.
While the MP’s food choices became fodder for some, it prompted Workers’ Party chief Pritam Singh, who had received some panettone as a gift that Christmas, to remember his fellow MP.
In a Facebook post on Monday (Dec 21), Mr Singh said: “Until Jamus Lim introduced panettone into the political lexicon of Singapore on 11 Nov 2020, I, like a fair few Singaporeans I hazard, had no idea what it was. But word is spreading.”
/TISG
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