Peranakan or Nonya cuisine combines Chinese, Malay and other influences into a unique blend.
Cooking Peranakan Food has always been my greatest passion. Dishes like Ayam Buah Keluak, Itek Tim (Duck with Kiam Chye Soup), Babi Pongteh (Stewed Pork with bamboo shoot) and many more.
Nonya cooking is the result of blending Chinese ingredients and wok cooking techniques with spices used by the Malay/Indonesian community. The food is tangy, aromatic, spicy and herbal. Key ingredients include coconut milk, galangal (a subtle, mustard-scented rhizome similar to ginger), candlenuts as both a flavoring and thickening agent, laksa leaf, pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius), belachan, tamarind juice, lemongrass, torch ginger bud, jicama, fragrant kaffir lime leaf, rice or egg noodles and chinchalok - a powerfully flavored, sour and salty shrimp-based condiment that is typically mixed with lime juice, chillies and shallots and eaten with rice, babi pongteh and other side dishes.
Cooking Peranakan Food has always been my greatest passion. Dishes like Ayam Buah Keluak, Itek Tim (Duck with Kiam Chye Soup), Babi Pongteh (Stewed Pork with bamboo shoot) and many more.
Nonya cooking is the result of blending Chinese ingredients and wok cooking techniques with spices used by the Malay/Indonesian community. The food is tangy, aromatic, spicy and herbal. Key ingredients include coconut milk, galangal (a subtle, mustard-scented rhizome similar to ginger), candlenuts as both a flavoring and thickening agent, laksa leaf, pandan leaves (Pandanus amaryllifolius), belachan, tamarind juice, lemongrass, torch ginger bud, jicama, fragrant kaffir lime leaf, rice or egg noodles and chinchalok - a powerfully flavored, sour and salty shrimp-based condiment that is typically mixed with lime juice, chillies and shallots and eaten with rice, babi pongteh and other side dishes.
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This concoction of dishes are unique to the Straits Born people of Malacca and Penang and is a must try for those who love eating. The specialties are so aromatic and tasteful that it is very different to the traditional ethnic dishes from China, India or Indonesia.
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3 comments:
Yummy! Congratulations on going live
I first became acquainted with Stella's popiah and Peranakan cooking when we were colleagues in Motorola. I remember the "out of this world" feeling when I first bit into the popiah that she made. That was about 6 years ago. It was this memory that led me to dig up Stella's phone number a couple of weeks ago to ask her if she was still making her popiah, as I would be hosting about 15 of my current colleagues in my home and didn't want to cook. To my delight, she said "yes".
On the Saturday that just passed, my colleagues and I tasted Stella's popiah. We were all wowed by the excellent taste and quality of the popiah. The first thing that struck me, as I received the popiah ingredients and condiments from Stella (who personally delivered the stuff to my home), was the meticulousness and tender-loving care that had gone into making and delivering it. Stella had stored the ingredients in a large cooler box and lugged it all the way to my home. Everything was painstaking labelled, and instructions (both verbal and on printed paper) were provided so that we could roll up the best popiah.
I continued to be impressed when I opened up all the different boxes of ingredients and condiments. You would not find any of the coarsely chopped ingredients associated with commercial manufacturers...everything that was supposed to be sliced was done finely and expertly, I reckon, most of it by hand - from the egg shreds to the tiny nuggets of lard pieces to the thinly sliced shallots. They were also expertly fried - crispy and not a tad oily. The bean sprouts had all their tails removed.
The real test was of course in the eating, and Stella's popiah passed with flying colours. My colleagues and I fell in love with the egg skin wrap, painstakingly made by hand. It was neither too thick nor thin - it held up the popiah filling well, even when we had directly smothered the gula melaka sauce, garlic and chilli on the skin. Stella also thoughtfully put in tiny wedges of pandan leaves in between the popiah skin so that we could lift off the popiah skin easily.
Talking about the gula melaka sauce, it was really unique and it made the commercial sweet sauce that everyone else uses feel rather disgraceful. The gula melaka sauce, which I assume was mixed with some spices, gave a unique taste to the popiah.
The best part of it all was of course the turnip filling, cooked in a hearty pork broth chock full of ingredients such as prawns and taukwa. It was full of flavour and complemented all the other ingredients and the skin to make a really tasty popiah.
We also ordered mee siam, which was also great. The bee hoon, in particular, was very smooth and velvety soft. The gravy had kick, although some of my colleagues found it a little salty. Cutting out some salt would probably make it a really excellent mee siam.
The food was supposed to be for lunch only, but my colleagues and I ate so much that we all decided to skip dinner.
I probably paid more for Stella's popiah than if I had ordered from other popiah suppliers who do their business in bulk. However, in my view, for something that was personally hand-made and which tasted so good, the money was well spent.
- From a Foodie
Our families really enjoy the recent gathering of Stella's Nonya's Peranakan food for our mum's birthday. The food are superb especially everyone of us love the kiamchye duck soup which is the best we ever tried. Knowing Stel for many years we know that she cook with her heart. We love the Assam Pedas Stingray, Petai sambal, chicken rendang, sambal sotong etc... Seeing my families going for the food again and again are wonderful feeling. Will not hesitate to recommend my friends. The dessert black glutinous rice was a little too thick but good taste. Yes, not forgetting the chillies which was real hot as it suit us real well. Thanks Stel everyone in my family commented they never try any Peranakan food that authentic and yummy. The lablelling of the food really help. It really make our night and it leave such wonderful feeling. Best Regards,
Doris Tan
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