The Modern Nonya Table

Book excerpt: Sylvia Tan's The Modern Nonya Table is a compendium of her beloved Peranakan recipes for the modern kitchen. Herself a modern Nonya, Sylvia draws from family heritage recipes and updates them, dispensing with tedious techniques but never compromising on the flavours. She helps readers navigate their way through the Peranakan kitchen, explaining the food culture of the Peranakans (or Straits Chinese) and its influences. Spice pastes, so essential to Peranakan cooking, are broken down into their fundamental elements. With Sylvia's guide, mouthwatering favourites like ayam buah keluak, babi pongteh and laksa lemak, to lesser-known dishes such as loh kai yik, charbeck and hati babi bungkus, can be easily prepared by the modern home cook.