I always chuckle when I think of roti john because it reminds me of the first time the husband and I played Taboo (Singapore edition). He hadn’t eaten roti john before and he didn’t know everything about Singaporean cuisine since he only moved to Singapore from the UK not long then but he managed to describe it as ‘what we ate this morning, something prata’ and ‘my name’ and so that made up ROTI JOHN, lol.
Anyway, for those new to roti john, ‘roti’ means bread in Malay and ‘john’ just came about because of the “Western origin of the baguette and the tomato sauce used in the dish.” (according to Wikipedia) It is somewhat like an open-faced omelette sandwich and is a popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore.
I don’t really eat roti john outside that much because it’s not easy to find a good one. I had eaten greasy ones most of the time that were just middle-of-the-road stuffs so I decided to try making it up at home. This is really an easy-peasy recipe and I guarantee it is so much more healthy to make your own. Give it a try 😉
Roti John Recipe
Ingredients (makes 4 servings)
2 eggs
200g canned sardines in tomato sauce
1 red onion, sliced
1 red chilli, seeded & sliced
1 green chilli, seeded & sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 portions french loaf/baguette (I halved the loaf in the middle and then halved it lengthwise again to get 4 portions)
tomato ketchup
Instructions
1. Combine all ingredients (except oil, baguette and tomato ketchup) into a mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a skillet.
3. Spoon the sardines mixture onto each half of the baguette and pan-fry each piece (sardine side down) till golden brown.
4. Serve with tomato ketchup if desired.
And this is how I like to eat my roti john by smearing tomato ketchup all over 🙂 Shiok! ?
Nice roti john and nice plate with flowers on it. Yummy ?.
Thanks Chitra 🙂
love it!
Hello, Roti John was created by one Malay hawker , he has passed away recently.
The Straits Times mentioned his daughter has taken over the business.
Most Singaporeans will know that the “John” in the name of this dish, is the name every hawker used to call a British male back in the 1950s and 1960s.
I was born in the early 70s. Even in the 80s, hawkers at Newton were still calling “John” !
just like now, in American news, whenever police finds a female unidentified body, they name it as “Jane Doe”