Rempah Fish pictures (1 of 2)
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If there is one Nyonya dish that I wish I could make in the United States but couldn’t, this rempah fish or fried fish stuffed with sambal would probably be it.
Why? Because a true and authentic Nyonya rempah fish (‘Hu Chee Rempah” in Penang Hokkien) can only be made with hardtail mackerel, a fish that is not available in the waters here. If you don’t have hardtail mackerel (or “Ngeh Buey” in Hokkien), you simply don’t make rempah fish because other fish will do no justice to this dish and will not deliver the essence, texture, and authentic flavor. Yes, Nyonya will not compromise when it comes to ingredients used in Nyonya food…
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Acar Awak: Nyonya Pickled Mixed Vegetables
Nyonya loves pickled vegetables of all kinds. So, there is no surprise that my family in Penang is partial to pickled or preserved foods—vegetables, fish stomach (perut ikan), and cincaluk (preserved baby shrimp). Grandmother was a huge fan of pickled Nyonya dishes. I grew up watching her and my aunt making lots of acar (also called acar awak) or pickled mixed vegetables in a spicy and sour “pickle” sauce.
My aunt who in her 70’s now still makes acar religiously for celebrations or prayers to our ancestors. After I told her on the phone that I launched a Nyonya food blog, she made a big serving of acar for the purpose of this blog. Too bad I am based in the United States, but my siblings are the lucky ones who got to savor her fabulous acar…(get Acar recipe after the jump)
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Asam Prawn (Tamarind Fried Prawn) pictures (1 of 6)
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Asam prawn or “asam heh“.
This tamarind fried prawn recipe was posted on Rasa Malaysia, but I am adding it here on Nyonya food because asam prawn is a very popular Nyonya recipe…
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Kuih Dadar (Kuih Tayap) pictures (1 of 2)
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Nyonya kuih—or Nyonya sweet cakes—is a big part of Nyonya cuisine. In fact, Nyonya kuih is iconic, so much so that it outshines savory dishes. Ask anyone around and it’s likely that they have had some sort of Nyonya kuih, but may not have sampled other Nyonya dishes. Many Nyonya kuih are simply adaptations of Malay kuih-muih, or Malay version of sweet cakes and desserts.
Kuih dadar or kuih tayap is a rolled crepe flavored with pandan juice and filled with grated coconut steeped in gula melaka or Malaysian palm sugar. Pandan leaf is the core ingredient of kuih dadar/kuih tayap. The green exterior of kuih dadar is made of batter colored with natural pandan juice extracted from pandan leaves. Nowadays, many kuih vendors use artificial coloring for convenience purposes, but the end product usually lacks the tempting sweet fragrance of pandan leaves. Also, the coloring appear somewhat bright or fluorescent green, a sure-fire tell tale sign of artificial coloring…
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