Professor William Chen, the Michael Fam Chair Professor in Food Science and Technology at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), said that beyond encouraging the use of lower-sodium ingredients, making healthier meals cheaper and easier for hawkers to prepare could also help.
He suggested shared vegetable preparation facilities and cold-chain distribution to cut labour costs and reduce food waste.
Food technology could also help develop ingredients that provide flavour without relying as heavily on conventional seasonings, he added.
Singapore is already developing such innovations.
Prof Chen pointed to research at NTU’s Food Science and Technology programme, where researchers have developed a fermentation method using oyster mushroom mycelium to turn okara – the pulp left over from soy milk and tofu production – into an ingredient rich in protein and umami flavour.
The technology, conducted in collaboration with Japanese food manufacturer Ichimasa Kamaboko, remains at the proof-of-concept stage. Researchers have yet to establish whether it can be produced affordably on a commercial scale, with further studies planned on production costs, food safety and consumer acceptance.
For now, the challenge lies in reconciling what consumers expect from an affordable meal with the nutritional quality of what ends up on their plates, Dr Shin said.
She noted that consumers can easily assess portion sizes and taste, but nutritional quality is much harder to gauge.
“If customers associate value mainly with quantity, increasing inexpensive staples relative to other ingredients could help operators maintain that perception. Depending on the recipe and quantities involved, this could contribute to a more calorific meal,” she said.
She suggested that hawkers could incorporate affordable protein sources such as tofu, tempeh, lentils and beans into suitable dishes, or replace part of a rice portion with legumes to boost protein and fibre content.
However, such changes would need to be tested against preparation costs, customer acceptance and operators’ profit margins.
As efforts to make meals healthier gather pace, changing what Singaporeans choose to eat may take time.
For instance, marketing analyst Elizabeth Teh rarely asks for less oil or salt when ordering her food.
The 33-year-old said: “For most hawkers, I feel stressed asking for customisations because of the queue and the hurried pace of ordering.
“I usually only do this for mala xiangguo (hot pot) because it tastes the same (if I ask for less oil) and makes it feel less sinful.”
For others, however, making healthier choices has become a habit, without necessarily sacrificing the taste they enjoy.
Mr Aaron Chan, a 34-year-old banker, said: “I always ask for less oil at hawker centres and so far, (my experience) has been good as I’m consuming fewer calories and the taste isn’t that different.”