Tapioca Pearls: A Modern Day Obsession

In Singapore, one can scarcely walk into a shopping mall without seeing a bubble tea shop. This story’s focus, the tapioca, is a key ingredient in bubble tea: Its boba pearls are made of tapioca flour. Yet, tapioca consumption in Singapore dates back to the 1800s, long before the introduction of this ubiquitous Taiwanese dessert drink.

Tapioca is scientifically known as Manihot esculenta Crantz. Named in 1766 by a botanist from Luxembourg, Heinrich Johann Nepomuk von Crantz, it is native to South America.¹ The term tapioca is derived from tipi'óka, its Tupi language name which was spoken by natives when the Portuguese arrived in Brazil in the 1500s.² It translates to sediment or coagulant, referring to the starchy sediments obtained from tapioca. Around the world, the plant is also known as cassava, yuca, or manioc; locally, tapioca is known as ubi kayu in Malay and as mu shu (木薯) in Chinese.³

Plantation Crop: Introduction into Malaya

Tapioca was brought into the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay States in the nineteenth century as a plantation crop.⁴ In 1880, the Trafalgar Estate at Seletar dedicated 400 hectares of land to the cultivation of tapioca by mainly Chinese farmers.⁵ In addition to planting and harvesting tapioca, local workers also processed the crop at the Estate. This processing for consumption and sale included grinding the tapioca and sieving it into flour and pearls.⁶ Beyond Trafalgar Estate, this plantation was also cultivated in Bukit Timah, Serangoon, and Telok Blangah.⁷ Thus, the popularity of this plantation crop can be seen through this specific factory. Indeed, tapioca planting reached its peak in the second half of the nineteenth century.⁸

However, the cultivation of tapioca soon declined as rubber became a more lucrative crop to grow for the colonists. Tapioca cultivation was also destructive to the soil and official opinion started to oppose the planting of tapioca in the 1890s.⁹ First, it was regulated and then more stringent measures were put in place, such as tapioca land grants requiring concurrent cultivation of permanent crops like coconut or rubber.¹⁰ In the early twentieth century, a sharp drop of prices further accelerated the tapioca industry’s decline.¹¹

Wartime Survival Food: Despised but Necessary

“I am broke, I want to plant tapioca.”

This is a quote from an oral history interview from Mr. Sng Choon Yee, who became a tapioca seller during the Japanese occupation of Singapore from 1942 to 1945.¹² Mr. Sng’s oral history gives an insight into the lifestyles of locals during this period, in which there were severe food shortages due to wartime trade embargoes and the Japanese policy of autarky or economic self-sufficiency. To remedy this, there was a reconfiguration of office hours: Offices closed at 2pm and their workers tended to gardens from 3pm until nightfall. Many Singaporeans, including Mr. Sng, turned to small-scale subsistence farming to supplement their incomes and diets.¹³

In the interview, Sng details how he managed to get space to plant tapioca in land-scarce Singapore. As a member of the Hokkien Huay Kuan, a Chinese clan association, he requested to use the association’s cemetery land to plant tapioca. The Huay Kuan allowed him to utilise the cemetery land, located near today’s Whitley and Adam Road, as long as he did not dig up the graves.¹⁴ In contrast to colonial plantations, the growing of tapioca during the Japanese Occupation was mainly scaled at the individual level as a means to earn enough money to survive.

Tapioca cultivation provided a means of subsistence for many during the Japanese Occupation. On Sng’s plot, young boys would help him plant tapioca on an unpaid basis. They brought their own tools like the changkol or the plough. The boys used the Malay name for tapioca—ubi kayu. They were also more irreverent of the cemetery than Sng and his business partner: They would shift bones to obtain more land for planting tapioca. When Sng tried to stop them, the boys justified that the remains were of Australian soldiers killed in war, and not Chinese bodies. This shows how the desecration of the graves was justified by the need to harvest tapioca as a commercial crop.

Furthermore, the variety of food had reduced as Japanese authorities requisitioned other staples such as rice. Yet, tapioca continued to be available as it was perishable and Japanese authorities mandated that it was consumed in the location they were produced.¹⁵ Interestingly, a Malayan recipe book featuring local food substitutes in local recipes was distributed by the Japanese administration, aiming to alleviate the food shortages caused by the lack of other staples. In 1943, tapioca bread and noodles were distributed as rations.¹⁶ Thus, with the Japanese administration’s promotion, the plant became a staple food. The area for cultivation of root crops, including tapioca, grew from 35,000 acres in 1939 to 188,000 acres in 1945.¹⁷ Thus, tapioca became increasingly cultivated in Singapore once again.

Even with the promotion of tapioca cultivation during the occupation, people were compelled to profiteer off tapioca. Although the boys in Sng’s plot were unpaid, they received a commission when the tapioca was sold. The boys would sell the tapioca at the markets to “red-cloth house builders”, which likely meant the samsui women. Inflation also caused the price of tapioca to be paid in gunny bags of money. 100 katis was one gunny bag, which contained a whopping $130,000 in banana money. Thus, tapioca suddenly experienced a resurgence of use, only this time it was out of necessity, rather than for the accumulation of wealth. With massive war time inflation, this former cash crop ironically regained its monetary value.

Furthermore, a 4 August 1942 article in the Syonan Shimbun reveals how “Kang Siang Gee, a proprietor of a substantial wholesale business in Teluk Ayer Street" was sentenced to a fine of $1,500 "or nine months’ rigorous imprisonment” for profiteering off tapioca flour.¹⁸ He had sold a sack of tapioca flour priced at an inflated price of $22.85, about 66% higher than its usual price of $13.76. Kang also had 1204 catties of tapioca flour in his shop. The salesman, Kang Tai Lye, was also convicted and subjected to a fine of $750 or two months’ and two weeks’ rigorous imprisonment.¹⁹ This illustrates the thriving black market during the occupation and the harsh punishments that came with breaking the law.

After the Occupation, tapioca was even more unpopular to the layperson. As historian Paul Kratoska puts it, “The Malayan population had not eaten well under Japanese rule, and people wanted to be liberated not only from Japan but also from tapioca.”²⁰ Thus, the food shortages post-occupation could no longer be remedied by tapioca. A 1946 Malaya Tribune editorial advised, “Everywhere we see the ruins of gardens torn up with gay abandon during the delirious days immediately following the reoccupation. These gardens should be replanted at once with green vegetables and even the despised tapioca.”²¹ However, between December 1945 to April 1946, the area used for cultivating the crop dropped from 133,000 acres to 99,000 acres.²² Once again, tapioca cultivation was on the downturn in Singapore.

Although tapioca is no longer widely cultivated in Singapore, the crop has left its mark on Singapore’s landscape. Today’s Ubi Estate and Jalan Ubi, in Geylang, are reminders of Kampong Ubi—an area that gained its name because its residents grew tapioca during the Japanese Occupation.²³ Tapioca persists in Singapore’s culinary landscape, as well.

Nyonya Cuisine: Women who Write

Tapioca flour is a starch made by washing and pulping tapioca. Locally, it is used in making nyonya kuehs, a type of Peranakan dessert. These include Kueh Bingkar, a tapioca cake, and Kueh Ubi Kayu, tapioca with freshly grated coconut. Peranakan cuisine is mostly a fusion of Chinese and local Malay elements brought about when early Chinese immigrants settled in the area and intermarried with local women.

Also made using tapioca flour, Kueh Bangkit, not to be confused with Kueh Bingkar, is a small white cookie eaten during Lunar New Year celebrations. Many recipes for this biscuit appear in old newspapers, intended for home bakers preparing for Lunar New Year festivities.

In a 13 February 1980 New Nation article titled “Nyonya cakes for new year”, Margaret Chan, New Nation food columnist, provides a recipe for Kueh Bangkit.²⁴ Beyond the recipe, she also gives handy tips for making the perfect kueh. Chan advises that while pre-frying the flour, “the flour will exude a fragrance and will become lighter to stir as the moisture is evaporated.” ²⁵ She also gives suggestions on where to get the ingredients: “Kueh Bangkit can be flavoured with vanilla essence or the new Star Brand pandan essence or pandan powder from Spices of the Orient.” ²⁶ In another 1980 New Nation article, Chan compiles Kueh Bangkit recipes from other women as well. For example, Mrs. Marican describes her Kueh Bangkit recipe slightly differently from Chan.²⁷ She adds a personal, experienced touch to her description of how “she simply pats the dough flat with her hands and does not bother with a rolling pin.”²⁸ This compilation is unique in giving many variations of the Kueh Bangkit recipe, reflecting the experiences and tastes of the women behind them.

Born in 1949, Dr. Margaret Chan is a Peranakan woman who has had a diverse career as a television and film actress and food critic; she is currently an associate professor at Singapore Management University’s School of Social Sciences.²⁹ She was a pioneering food critic in Singapore, and many restaurant advertisements from the 1990s specifically highlighted her words of praise. Commended as a “Top Food Columnist,”³⁰ a Harbour City Restaurant advertisement describes her as follows: “She fills her column unabashedly and candidly. A true professional.”³¹ She reviewed a multitude of cuisines beyond just Peranakan food, including Cantonese or Indonesian cuisine. Through her recipes and reviews, she helped to define food culture in Singapore.

Beyond Peranakan cuisine, Margaret Chan is also an iconic spokesperson for local Peranakan culture as she was the first Singaporean to play the titular role in Stella Kon’s play Emily of Emerald Hill. This one-woman play details the life of a Nyonya throughout her journey as a daughter, mother, and eventually matriarch of her family. In 1986, Margaret Chan even performed the play at the Commonwealth Arts Festival in Edinburgh, bringing this uniquely Singaporean play to the world stage.³² Through her culinary and stage career, Margaret Chan has become a key representative of the Peranakan culture in contemporary Singapore, especially amidst the broader Peranakan cultural revival of the 1980s.

Looking into the genre of food writing, women’s contributions to Peranakan cuisine can be more recognised and praised. Women like Dr. Margaret Chan have been instrumental in making food blogging and reviews a staple of newspapers and social media today. The story of Kueh Bangkit, a small biscuit made of a tapioca flour, can cast an overdue spotlight on the realm of food and women’s history in Singapore.

Tapioca: Beyond the Bubble

Through a species lens, we can trace the tapioca through different periods in Singapore’s history up to today. The colonial desire for economic exploitation led to its arrival to Singapore and then its eventual displacement in favour of the more lucrative rubber. During the Japanese Occupation, local people grew tapioca for survival, whether for monetary gain or simply for food. Tapioca’s role in Peranakan food not only elevates a tasty kueh, but also brings to the foreground the women who make and write about food. The next time you enjoy your favourite cup of bubble tea, spare a moment to appreciate tapioca’s diverse role in Singaporean history.

References