NTU Grad Is Now A 3rd-Gen Wet Market Spice Seller, Offers Over 150 Customisable Spice Blends

There’s a stereotype that wet market hawkers are uneducated and boorish. That’s not the case now, as university graduates are also choosing to take over their parents’ stalls, despite having opportunities to work in a comfier office environment.

Jeya Seelan, 36, has a mass communications degree from NTU’s Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, where he majored in advertising. After a short stint in corporate communications at Jurong Bird Park, he realised he would rather work at the traditional spice store started by his grandfather at the old Chong Pang market in 1947.

“Who say I never put my degree to good use hah? Communication studies right? So I need to know how to communicate [with customers],” he jokes to 8days.sg. “I feel selling spices is an art. I need to be able to understand the nuances of every customer.”

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Overcoming stigma about graduates

He reckons that the “stigma” is there when older customers opine: “You study so hard, why you do this kind of job?” Jeya avers that he simply “likes” what he does, even if it is not a typical graduate’s career path.

He points out: “A lot of youngsters out there should also do their best to protect traditional trades like this and be passionate about giving the best to people. For the nation!”

He has memorised over 150 spice blends

Jeya is now such an expert in spices, he has memorised over 150 spice blends for various recipes. It’s a vastly wider selection than his grandfather’s original simple menu of just three spice blends for chicken curry, fish curry and sup kambing.

Not just that, he can also tell you the names of various spices in Mandarin, and whip up his regulars’ favourite orders by heart. “My customers can just come here, no need to say anything one,” he shares.

It was also a regular customer who introduced him to his future wife, and the couple is now expecting a baby. “I’m the Spice Man. I have a son on the way, he will be the Spice Boy,” Jeya jokes.

Freshly-ground spices

The spices at Jeya’s shop are displayed in large containers, and he deftly portions out the fragrant powders according to request. “The spices are ground by my own team at my factory in Mandai. We grind every single spice fresh every day,” he says.

If you are a novice cook, Jeya can put together a bag of spices for you to take home and cook, no adjustment needed. If you’re looking to impress with homecooked curry but cannot decide on a recipe, he explains: “Indian curries are very dark, thick and creamy. Spice explosion. Malay curries place a lot of emphasis on garlic, lemongrass, coriander, cumin and fennel. Chinese curries, for a lack of a better word, are bland.”

How to cook curry

But still, his most popular blend is for Nyonya chicken curry, which he loads with candlenut paste. “Candlenut is the star of Chinese curry, it makes the curry thick and creamy,” he says. And cooking curry with his spice blend requires just four steps. He advises: “Heat up oil and fry the spices until it’s fragrant. Pecah minyak (a Malay term that means ‘oil splitting’, which refers to a cooking technique for stir-frying spices till moisture is fully evaporated from the paste, and the oil separates and floats to the surface).”

Next, add your ingredients. “Your chicken, fish or vegetables. Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes. When it’s done, add water. When the water boils, add coconut milk,” Jeya shares, adding: “I hope you can please your mother-in-law with this!”

Jeya Spices is at Blk 294, Yishun St 22, #01-327, S760294. Tel: 8726-1905. Open daily, Mon 6am-12pm, Tues-Sat 6am-9pm, Sun 6am-4pm. Online store with delivery at www.jeyaspices.sg.