Growing Up in Nonya kitchen

It faced its many challenges along the way. It first started
with converting her handwritten recipe measurements
from katis and tahils (old Chinese measurements) and
learning the different daun (or herbs) and rempah (spice
pastes). Recipe testing in New York could be challenging.
Shopping for ingredients necessary for our cuisine often
entailed trekking down to Chinatown by subway with
a large shopping trolley, sometimes in the wake of a
snowfall. It was not as easy as driving to the nearest NTUC
to stock up on sago flour or obtain freshly grated coconut
from the wet market. Fresh chillies also seemed to be
seasonal and could not be found easily during wintertime.
Gradually, I grew fearless with what I could bring back
to the US. I literally began to smuggle in ingredients that
were hard to find and even got caught once.

In the process, I got reacquainted with my Nonya heritage
which I had taken for granted. I interviewed older relatives
and family friends and inadvertently forged a closer
kinship with them that was unexpected, given all those
years of growing up around them.

Researching techniques, deconstructing and
reconstructing recipes meant that I had to study the

Baba Malay vocabulary, Nonya ingredients and food
descriptions. It opened up a whole new appreciation
of this culture and a love for its beautiful legacy and
rich history. In short, as a fifth generation Nonya from
both sides of my family, I became a more genuine
Nonya by choice, not just by birth.

This project did not only benefit me. Many who
helped work on this book were flooded with nostalgic
memories of the cooks in their own families. As they
tried the recipes in this book, they recognised that
they too could reproduce some of the old dishes
which they had enjoyed long ago but were often
daunted by just the thought of cooking. In an effort
to resuscitate such memories, I began a blog to share
what I remember of my childhood, hoping that others
would be reminded of theirs as well (http://www.
memoriesofanonyakitchen.com).

This cookbook memoir reflects my mother’s life and
passion… a passion that infected me in the process.
I hope that you too will tap into your own self-
discovery and remembrances of things past as you
enjoy this book.