PUBLISHED ONMarch 08, 2024 4:42 AMByMelissa Teo After her father landed up in the hospital following a heart attack back in 2010, Christine Lock decided to switch up her diet in a bid to be healthier.
And when she and her husband opened a stall at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre, they were adamant that their nasi lemak should be light on sodium.
Their stall Pangkor Island Nasi Lemak, which opened in December 2022, specialises in Malaysian-style nasi lemak.
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Lock recounted how she got a nasty wake up call when her father suffered a heart attack back then.
He was later sent to the hospital for a heart bypass surgery due to three blocked blood vessels.
And when she started her hawker stall years later, she decided to offer a healthy version of their specialty. This means taking great pains to ensure that the sodium content of their nasi lemak is low.
For instance, for the ikan bilis, she and her husband would wash off the salt on the surface of the fish before cooking it.
As for the rice, she uses less coconut milk and substitutes this with pandan, lemongrass, ginger and cinnamon so that it does not lack in flavour.
Christine also came up with a chicken recipe that she says is healthy yet delicious.
"Chicken thigh meat contains more fat, so I cook it with less oil and season it with nine kinds of herbs and spices, such as lemongrass, galangal and turmeric," she shared with Shin Min.
The couple are so serious about keeping the salt content in their food low that they even use a salt meter to make sure that the sodium content of each serving does not exceed the limit.
"Over the past few years, I've tried my best to educate people around me about the importance of healthy eating," Christine told the Chinese daily.
In fact, the couple have also joined the nationwide sodium-reduction campaign, which hopes to shift consumers' behaviours to take up low-sodium alternatives.
Surveys have shown that Singaporeans are consuming way too much salt, with many averaging 3,620 mg of sodium a day
For context, one teaspoon of salt (6,000mg) contains about 2,326mg of sodium.
According to the Health Promotion Board (HPB), 31 per cent of dine-out dishes contain more than the daily recommended 2,000mg of sodium.
A HPB spokesman spokesperson also previously said that the majority of our sodium intake comes from salt, sauces and seasonings added during food preparation, of which two-thirds come from salt and one-third from sauces and seasonings.
ALSO READ: How to manage your sodium intake while still enjoying hawker eats
melissateo@asiaone.com