It’s
that time of the month again where we
talk about food. Yay! Hehe. Happy time, in conjunction with the long weekend
for everyone. Haha. Well, when I was in Japan,
one of the most common questions I got about Malaysia was, “What’s Malaysian
food like?” – so today I thought I’d do something which will pretty much cover
Part 1 of my answer to that question. Haha. Let’s start with one of the types
of Malaysian food – Nyonya food! *smile* To our non-Malaysian friends, this is
especially dedicated to you… *smile*

Being a
multicultural country, Malaysians have over the years adapted one another’s
dishes to suit the taste buds of their own culture. For instance, Malaysians of
Chinese descent have adapted the Indian curry and made it more dilute and less
spicy to suit their taste. In a similar fashion, the Chinese noodles have also
been fused with Indian and Malay tastes, resulting in the famous mee mamak. *grin* Anyway, since we’re
focusing on Nyonya food this week, I though I’d give you a little background on
the origins of this Malaysian food entity. *smile*

Nyonya food, also
referred to as Straits Chinese food
or Lauk Embok Embok, is an
interesting amalgamation of Chinese and Malay dishes thought to have originated
from the Peranakan (Straits Chinese) of Malacca more than 4 centuries years
ago. This was the result of inter-marriages between Chinese immigrants and
local Malays, which produced a unique culture where the ladies were called Nyonya(s), and the men, Baba(s).

Nyonya food is
also native to Penang and Singapore,
with the general key ingredients contributing to its distinct identity being South-East
Asian spices like coconut milk, lemon grass, turmeric, chillies and sambal (a local spicy concoction). *smile*
However, over the years, distinct differences have evolved in Nyonya cooking
found in Penang and Singapore
than that in Malacca. The proximity of Malacca and Singapore
to Indonesia
resulted in an Indonesian influence on Nyonya food. Malacca Nyonyas prepare
food that is generally sweeter, richer in coconut milk, and with the addition
of more Malay spices like coriander and cumin. Meanwhile, the Penang Nyonyas
drew inspiration from Thai cooking styles, including a preference for sour
food, hot chilies, fragrant herbs, and a black prawn paste called belacan. A few typical Nyonya dishes I had this meal at Ah Tuan Ee @ The Curve included…

Err, in the case of this pic, my stomach
obviously got to the ais kacang before my camera did… *sheepish-grin* Sowie~
Hehe. It’s actually supposed to look like this… haha.  

Influences aside,
nyonya recipes are complicated affairs, often requiring hours upon hours of
preparation. Today, though we are lucky to have restaurants like Ah Tuan Ee where you can get decent Nyonya food without having to slog in the kitchen yourself. Haha. I wouldn’t recommend all the dishes there although the joo-hoo-char isn’t too bad. If you’re particular about authenticity you might wanna stay away from the ais-kacang and inchi-kabin. Merely my honest opinion ya… *laugh*

Note to the ladies
who have Peranakan/Baba boyfriends: It has been said that in the old days, a
Nyonya lady seeking a prospective bride for her son would listen to the
pounding of spices by the maiden concerned as it denoted the amount of attention
she would give to her cooking. How about that! Haha. Got the hint ladies?
*laugh*