Nonya Heritage Kitchen

Book excerpt: The Peranakan or Baba and Nonya culture is the result of intermarriage, from the 15th century, between Chinese immigrants and the local population of Indonesia and Malaya. The resulting fusion of cuisines, however, is not just of China and the Southeast Asian archipelago, but also from Portugal, the Netherlands and England, as well as the places they colonized. Nonya Heritage Kitchen brings together the stories of how popular food, cooking techniques, ingredients and utensils from these spheres of influence interacted to create Nonya cuisine. This telling is via the background and recipes of both well-known and rare dishes such as Bak Chang, Rempah Udang, Sugee Cake, Kiam Chai Ark, Kuih Bahulu, Cheak Bee Soh, Sesargon, and Kuih Koci. Also included is a list of stores and online shops for Nonya kitchen utensils. Here is an extraordinary and practical cookbook that reveals new information about the wide-spread and global roots of Nonya food.