Pearly's Nyonya Pantry

Thinking about the classic Nyonya dishes we eat and enjoy with our family brings back so many super memories. In fact, today it’s getting harder and harder to find some of the real old-school Nyonya classics such as – Laksa Lemak, Char Siput, Too Kwa Kean and Buah Keluak Kay – which you’ll uncover in this cook book. lt’s also becoming more challenging to find certain ingredients because demand has dropped as more people prefer to cook with ready-made pastes and some dishes have simply fallen out of favour (but not flavour!)

 

This book is an attempt to revisit the author’s childhood favourites and share these with a wider audience. Pearly says that good Nyonya cooking is not complicated, and as long as you can find fresh, quality ingredients there’s nothing to stop you from recreating these wonderful recipes in your own kitchen. To help out the beginner or experienced chef, she has included plenty of photos so they can easily identify must-have Nyonya pantry ingredients. She has also added little snippets on the health benefits, superstitions and traditions associated with these ingredients to encourage you to think about the food you put into your body.

 

Even if you didn’t grow up eating Nyonya cuisine, your own food heritage is just as rich. Respect it and treasure it. Eating well is the first step to maintaining a healthy body and you can enjoy all the traditional Nyonya recipes you’ll find in this book with a clear conscience! Do take the time to cultivate the various herbs and greens in your garden or planter boxes and don’t worry too much if you live in a cooler climate, many of the fresh herbs will grow in a warm, humid room.

 

Happy cooking and eating!