Nonya recipes

Jui Hu Char       

Nasi Ulam

Sambal Belacan  

Chilli Crab

Sambal Kangkong

Malay recipes

Pulut Udang

Laksa

Kueh Malaysia

Onde-Onde

Pulut Udang

Nyonya Food

Nyonya Cuisine (Peranakan food) is a blend of Chinese and Malay cooking styles, that originates from the Peranakans or Baba and Nyonya (Nonya) of Malaysia and Singapore. This cuisine is unique to Malaysia and Singapore - the food of the communities that are found mainly in Penang, northern part of Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore and Melaka

Note: Nyonya Food originates from the Peranakans or Baba and Nonyas. Baba and Nyonya refer to early Chinese migrants who came to the Malay peninsular from the 18th century to 19th century. Some married Malays or are decendents of 'old' Chinese families who assimilated many cultural practices of the Malays into their Chinese culture. Though their cultural practices and spoken dialect differ from that of Chinese, they are administratively not classified as a cultural group and are classified as Chinese. Nyonya is spelt Nonya in Singapore)

Description of many Nonya Food

 Penang food

Malaysian Nonya kueh (cakes)

Jiu Hu Char

( Fried mixed vegetables with cuttlefish)

One medium sized yambean/ bangkuang

One carrot

2 cabbage leaves

50g dried cuttlefish, shredded

5 shallot finely sliced

2 cloves garlic, diced

2-3 pieces dried mushroom, soaked and cut into strips

5 to 6 lettuce leaves

30g pounded dried prawns or chicken meat cut thinly into strips

Oil, oyster sauce,  salt, pepper to taste

Cut the bangkuang, carrot and cabbage into fine, thin strips or shred the vegetables and mushroom. Heat oil in kuali/pan. Fry shallot and garlic until lightly brown and add in the cuttlefish and dried prawn or chicken. Add shredded vegetables and stir fry. Add water, oyster sauce, pepper and salt to taste. Stir for at least 5 minutes. Dish and serve on a place of lettuce leaves. The dish can be eaten wrapped in lettuce leaves and with rice.

Nasi Ulam

(Rice with herbs and vegetables)

Two cups of rice, cooked with 2 stalks of lemon grass and pandan leaves

Garnishing:

5 -6 shallots, sliced

100g dried salted fish fillet, fried and pounded

100g dried salted prawn, pounded and fried

50g desiccated coconut

lime juice

Ulam vegetables:

Daun kadok (sirih tanah)

Daun cekor (leaves of Indian galangal)

mint leaves

red and green chillies

2 stalks bunga kantan (flower of blue ginger)

Wash and cut all the Ulam vegetables into thin shreds.

To serve, mix the cooked rice with the garnishing and cut ulam vegetables. The amount of ingredients mixed can be according to taste.

Sambal Belacan

(Chilies with shrimp paste)

6 red chilies

5mm slice of square shrimp cake/paste or belachan

2 small lime

sugar, salt to taste

Remove seeds from chilies. Chop shrimp cake into small pieces and fry (no oil) till dry or toast.

Pound or grind chilies with toasted shrimp paste. Add juice of the lime and sugar and salt to taste.

Serve with rice and other dishes.

Chilli Crab

(crabs fried in spicy chilli sauce)

1kg crabs

2 tablespoon tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chilli sauce (optional)

Two medium tomatoes - sliced

1 egg - beaten

2 tablespoon tamarind pulp

2 tablespoon oil

1 1/2 cups of water

1 stalk of coriander or spring onion (chopped for garnishing)

2 tablespoon sugar, salt to taste

Pound/grind ingredients below:

- 3 fresh red chillies, 3 dried chillies

- 5mm slice of square shrimp cake/paste (belachan)

- 2 cm piece of lengkuas/galangal

- 1cm piece of ginger, 1cm piece of turmeric

- 2 stalks lemon grass

- One stalk bunga kantan (flower of ginger plant)

- 2 big onions, 3 shallots

- 6 cloves garlic

Clean crab and remove top shell and cut into 2 pieces.

Heat the oil. Stir fry pounded ingredients until slightly drier and fragrant. Add in the crabs, tamarind pulp, tomato & chilli sauce and stir fry well.  Add water, tomatoes and sugar and salt to taste. When crab is cooked, add egg, stir well and dish out.  Serve with rice and other dishes

Sambal Kangkong

(fried vegetables with chillies and prawns)

6-10 stalks of Kangkong

(Those not familiar with this vegetable can substitute with alternative vegetables: young leaves and shoot of sweet potatoes or spinach or bean sprouts)

some small shrimp

oil for frying

Pounded/grounded ingredients

- 2 to 3 long red chillies

- 5 medium shallot

- belacan or shrimp cake/paste

- one tablespoon dried prawns

note: Kangkong is a vegetable known also as water glorybind or water spinach and swamp cabbage. This green leafy vegetable is widely sold in markets in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. There are two types of culture - wet and dry grown.

Heat the oil. When oil is hot, put in the grounded ingredients and stir fry until fragrant. Put in shrimp and fry, then kangkong and a little water. Dish out when vegetable is cook and serve with rice.

Malay Food

Pulut Udang / Pulut Panggang

Contributed by Nasariah Shaari (a Kedah-born residing in Perak)

Ingredients A

1 kilogram glutinous rice soaked in water for at least 8 hours

½ Kilogram coconut – extract coconut milk or santan to make 3 cups

2 flat teaspoon salt

1 big tablespoon sugar

50 pieces of banana leaf cut 5-6 inches wide (place leaves above fire for a few seconds to soften it)

Fillings Ingredients  B

500g grated coconut

100g dried prawns

10 dried chillies

4 stalks lemon grass (serai)

3 big onions

½ cup sugar

2 teaspoon salt

1 tbl. spoon tumeric (kunyit) powder

1 tbl. spoon fennel (jintan manis) powder

Condiment to taste

Steam the pulut rice until cook. Mix with the salt, sugar and coconut milk evenly. Stir well the mixture. To make the filling, grind the filling ingredients B – prawns, chillies, lemon grass, and onions, in a blender. Add grated coconut to grind but do not over grind. Mix blended ingredients with salt, sugar, and the powdered spices and cook over fire until dry.

Spread flat one or two heap spoonful of the glutinous rice on a piece of the banana (lengthwise), place the fillings in the centre along the length. Roll up the leaf, fold or sealed ends with toothpicks. Grill over fire or on a flat hot plate, cool and serve.

   This Malaysian cake (kueh) made from rice and prawns, is a favourite with Malaysian of all races. It is usually taken for breakfast or afternoon tea. It is called Pulut Udang in the state of Kedah and Pulut Panggang in Perak.

Malaysian / Singapore kueh, cakes

Onde Onde

Ingredients:

200g glutinous rice flour

10 pandan (screw pine) leaves

1/2 fresh grated coconut

salt to taste

Filling:

80g gula Melaka or palm sugar mixed with two tablespoon of brown sugar

Cut the pandan leaves into smaller lengths and blend (grind) it with some water to form a pulp. Strain using a sieve to obtain about three tablespoons of pandan juice and set aside.
     Sift the glutinous rice flour and add a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in hot water and pandan juice. Fold well to form a  smooth dough. Divide the dough into lime sized balls. To make the ball, depress the dough of the small balls and put about half teaspoon of the filling, then rolled it up. Drop the onde onde balls into boiling water - the balls float when cooked. Remove the onde onde with a perforated ladle. Toss in the grated coconut and serve. This kueh is a nice light breakfast taken with other kueh or served as a dessert.