Growing up in a nonya kitchen: Asian recipes from my mother

313 Pages·2013·18.208 MB·English

by  Weers, Sharon

Dedicated to the
loving memory of my mother
whose perseverance and
talents gave me something
to write about.
Mrs. Polly Wee nee
Cheang Siew Geok Neo
(1930—2001)
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N
onya Kitchen
Growing Up in a
Asian Recipes from My Mother
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Editor: Brenton Wong
Designer: Lynn Chin
Photographer: Joshua Tan, Elements By The Box
Recipe Testing & Food Preparation: Dorothy Wong
Photo Credits
Singapore Heritage Society: page 10, image of Cheang Hong Lim from the book One Hundred
Years' History of the Chinese in Singapore by Sir Song Ong Siang
Cornell University Library: page 10, image of Mrs Cheang Hong Lim
Chan Eng Thai (great grandson of Madam Chia Gin Tee): page 10, images of Cheang Jim Chuan,
Chan Kim Hong Neo and Chia Gin Tee
Singapore Press Holdings: page 12, newspaper article
All other images courtesy of author
First published 2012
Reprinted 2013
Copyright © 2012 Sharon Wee and Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited
Published by Marshall Cavendish Cuisine
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish International
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
prior permission of the copyright owner. Request for permission should be addressed to the Publisher,
Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Private Limited, 1 New Industrial Road, Singapore 536196.
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] E-mail: [email protected]
Online bookstore: http://www.marshallcavendish.com/genref
Limits of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The Author and Publisher of this book have used their best
efforts in preparing this book.The Publisher makes no representation or warranties with respect to the
contents of this book and is not responsible for the outcome of any recipe in this book. While the
Publisher has reviewed each recipe carefully, the reader may not always achieve the results desired due
to variations in ingredients, cooking temperatures and individual cooking abilities. The Publisher shall in
no event be liable for any loss of profi t or any other commercial damage, including but not limited to
special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Other Marshall Cavendish Offi ces:
Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 99 White Plains Road, Tarrytown NY 10591-9001, USA • Marshall
Cavendish International (Thailand) Co Ltd. 253 Asoke, 12th Flr, Sukhumvit 21 Road, Klongtoey Nua,
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Subang Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Batu Tiga, 40000 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Marshall Cavendish is a trademark of Times Publishing Limited
National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Wee, Sharon (Sharon Beng Ling)
Growing up in a Nonya kitchen : Singapore recipes from my mother / Sharon Wee.
– Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Cuisine, 2012.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN : 978-981-4346-36-8

1. Cooking, Peranakan. 2. Cooking, Singaporean. I. Title.
TX724.5.S55
641.595957 -- dc22 OCN775289868
Printed in Malaysia by Times Offset (M) Sdn Bhd
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Preface 8
Halcyon Baba Days 11
A Married Woman’s Life 15
Preparation 21
Ingredients 29
Cooking Utensils 45
Chinese New Year The Housewives Baking Club
Itek Tim 55 Pineapple Tarts 94
Pong Tauhu 56 Almond Cookies 97
Hee Pio 58 Cashew Nut Cookies 98
Chap Chai 61 Peanut Cookies 98
Chicken Curry 62 Kueh Bangket 101
Curry Powder 65 Cheeselets 102
Ayam Buah Keluak 66 Sugee Biscuits 103
Itek Sio 69 Cats’ Tongues 104
Satay Babi 70 Sagun 104
Ngo Hiang 73 Dominos 107
Sambal Belachan 75 Daisies 108
Ati Babi 76 Kueh Koya 110
Ayam Kormak 79 Kueh Bolu 113
Sayur Kuakchai 80 Kueh Lapis Spekkoek 114
Achar 81 Kueh Bijan 116
Sambal Timun 84 Fruit Cake 117
Nonya Hokkien Noodles 86 Sugee Cake 120
Rojak Chinchang 87
Golden Agar Jelly 88
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Sunday Family Gatherings A Very Festive Family

Laksa 125 Nonya Kueh Chang 179
Nasi Lemak 127 Kaolak Chang 183
Otak Otak 130 Kueh Chang Abu 186
Prawn (Shrimp) Sambal 131 Kueh Ku 188
Mee Siam 133 Red Eggs 190
Mee Rebus 134 Yew Peng 191
Hokkien Mee Soup 136 Mooncakes 192
Gado Gado 138 Mee Sua 195
Kueh Ee 196
Life of the Party The Secrets of Arab Street

Popiah 144 Nasi Biryani 201
Pai Ti 149 Nasi Minyak 203
Popiah Goreng 153 Ikan Masak Ceylon 204
Paper-wrapped Fried Chicken 154 Ayam Panggang 205
Chicken Drumsticks 157 Ayam Rendang 207
Sweet and Sour Pork 158 Lontong 208
Chilli Chuka 160 Bergedil 211
Satay 161 Soto Ayam 212
Nonya Pork Satay 164 Opor Ayam 215
Curry Puffs 166 Beef Rendang 216
Pang Susi 168
Kueh Kledek 170
Cream Puffs 172
Almond Jelly with Lychees in Syrup 173
Bijik Selaseh 174
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Our Daily Fare Sweet Rewards
Ikan Nanas 222 Kaya Egg Jam 263
Squid Stuffed with Minced Pork Putri Sarlat 265
in Soup 225
Kueh Wajek 267
Chicken Macaroni Soup 226
Kueh Ko Swee 268
Pork Meatballs and Tofu Soup 228
Kueh Lapis Kukus 271
Ayam Kombak 229
Kueh Talam Hijau 272
Udang Garam Assam 231
Kueh Lompang 275
Ikan Gulai 232
Kueh Ko Chee 276
Ayam Tempra 234
Ondeh Ondeh 279
Tauk Yu Bak 235
Kueh Dadar 280
Ayam Limau Purut 236
Kueh Ambon 283
Prawns Stir-fried in Soya Sauce 238
Kueh Bengka Ubi Kayu 284
Prawns Stir-Fried in Chilli Paste 239
Kueh Pisang 286
Sambal Stuffed Sotong 241
Goreng Klodok 287
Sambal Telor 242
Kueh Bongkong 288
Sambal Terong 243
Apom Bokuah 290
Ikan Sumbat 244
Sweet Potatoes in Ginger Syrup 292
Sambal Bendi 246
Talam Agar Agar 293
Kang Kong Belachan 247
Pandan Chiffon Cake 295
Sambal Titek 249
Pulot Hitam 296
Pork Chops in Cinnamon Gravy 250
Kachang Hijau 298
Roti Babi 253
Tau Suan 299
Chicken Pie 254
Bubor Cha Cha 301
Ginseng Chicken Soup 256
Apom Balek 302
Bubor 257
Acknowledgements 305
Sandwiches from the Can 258
Weights and Measures 307
Index 308
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During her lifetime, my mother had fi led away
hundreds of recipes. She had our family heirloom
Preface recipes, orally passed down for generations,
transcribed many times by daughters and
maids. When I was growing up, I was tasked with
reading aloud my mother’s recipes just before
she cooked those dishes, so I knew the favourite
versions that she referred to most often.
Like my mother, I enjoy food and love to entertain. on studies and a career than tapping those tips from my
I was often motivated enough to wake up at 3 am to mother. I could not boast that I had learnt to cook under
cook for family and friends and soon realised that my mother’s tutelage.
perhaps, I should compile her recipes for posterity.
Still shocked by her passing, my sisters and I rummaged
During Chinese New Year in 2001, I came up with a through her belongings and documented all her cake
simple idea of a spiral bound compilation for my nieces, moulds, pots and pans and collection of cookbooks. I
consisting of my mother’s most popular recipes. I vividly hurried through her decades-old recipes, stripping them
remember that we sifted through stacks of paper, I then out of their plastic fi les and lumping them into storage
scanned the ‘trusted’ copies with a vintage machine. boxes. Then I hand-carried them all back to New York,
Armed with the bulging plastic folder of documents, I with the plan that someday I would study them more
fl ew back to New York, back to my MBA classes for the closely.
next few months, putting aside this personal project for
when I had the time. By the time I graduated from business school in 2003,
the option of going back to work full-time became a
I delayed returning to Singapore that summer, assuming dilemma in light of some medical reasons that my baby
that I could pick up my mother’s techniques a few had. Moreover, I had grown up with a mother who stayed
months later over Christmas. Perhaps then, I could also at home all the time. I did not know any different and
combine the baking lessons as she geared up for Chinese wanted to do the same for my children. But my education
New Year. Nonetheless, I enrolled in the fi rst of many would have been wasted so I decided that perhaps, the
cooking classes at the end of August 2001 because I little spiral book should become more ambitious. Her
wanted to sharpen my basic skills, like how to make passing meant that I was left to fi ll in many gaps before
the perfect French omelette! It was during that fateful I could complete this book. More problematic was the
period that I had to rush home to Singapore because my fact that I had put all her recipes into a box and now
mother had become seriously ill. She passed away three needed to catalogue them once again. The project took a
months later. I was never to learn alongside her. backseat many times during those years, as we welcomed
another baby, moved to a new home and fulfi lled
Like many Nonyas of her generation, my mother took commitments associated with raising a young family.
many of her best-kept cooking secrets to her grave. And Yet, the drive to publish this book never went away as
like many Nonyas of my generation, I was more fi xated more friends and family egged and encouraged me on.
8 Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen
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It faced its many challenges along the way. It fi rst started Baba Malay vocabulary, Nonya ingredients and food
with converting her handwritten recipe measurements descriptions. It opened up a whole new appreciation
from katis and tahils (old Chinese measurements) and of this culture and a love for its beautiful legacy and
learning the different daun (or herbs) and rempah (spice rich history. In short, as a fi fth generation Nonya from
pastes). Recipe testing in New York could be challenging. both sides of my family, I became a more genuine
Shopping for ingredients necessary for our cuisine often Nonya by choice, not just by birth.
entailed trekking down to Chinatown by subway with
a large shopping trolley, sometimes in the wake of a This project did not only benefi t me. Many who
snowfall. It was not as easy as driving to the nearest NTUC helped work on this book were fl ooded with nostalgic
to stock up on sago fl our or obtain freshly grated coconut memories of the cooks in their own families. As they
from the wet market. Fresh chillies also seemed to be tried the recipes in this book, they recognised that
seasonal and could not be found easily during wintertime. they too could reproduce some of the old dishes
Gradually, I grew fearless with what I could bring back which they had enjoyed long ago but were often
to the US. I literally began to smuggle in ingredients that daunted by just the thought of cooking. In an effort
were hard to fi nd and even got caught once. to resuscitate such memories, I began a blog to share
what I remember of my childhood, hoping that others
In the process, I got reacquainted with my Nonya heritage would be reminded of theirs as well (http://www.
which I had taken for granted. I interviewed older relatives memoriesofanonyakitchen.com).
and family friends and inadvertently forged a closer
kinship with them that was unexpected, given all those This cookbook memoir refl ects my mother’s life and
years of growing up around them. passion… a passion that infected me in the process.
I hope that you too will tap into your own self-
Researching techniques, deconstructing and discovery and remembrances of things past as you
reconstructing recipes meant that I had to study the enjoy this book.
“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
9 9
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