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The Spice Is Right, the Sunday Times, 23 November 2008 28 taste thesundaytimes November 23, 2008 Eater’s Digest he spice is right Teo Pau Lin Balance out the upcoming festive feasts with healthy eating. We weigh in on three cookbooks on salads Darcy Thong’s passion for spicy and dressings. Peranakan food sparked off a love affair with Nonya cooking London-based Aus- that has lasted for decades tralian food writer El- sa Petersen-Schepel- ern writes in the opening pages: “I Singapore Cooks can be infinitely pe- Huang Lijie dantic about oils – you have been warned.” So you rub your rs Dancy Thong is a Teochew who hands in glee and ex- loves the robust flavours of Perana- pect great things kan food. from this book. Her passion for the cuisine was But you spot the sparked when she was studying ac- first sign of trouble Salads: Appetizers, Mcounting in London in the mid-1970s. when scanning the Entrees And Sides The freelance accountant, 51, says: “I love the ingredients needed By Elsa Petersen-Schepelern use of spices in Peranakan food. It makes the dish- to make Caesar Sa- 2003/Ryland Peters & Small/ es so fragrant and colourful. lad. 128 pages/Hardcover/ “Growing up in Kuching, Malaysia, I ate only The salad is fa- $38.08/Books Kinokuniya home-style Teochew dishes such as steamed fish mous the world and braised duck.” over for its creamy, anchovy-infused She was introduced to Peranakan cuisine by her dressing with a vinegary kick. So how come egg yolk, Singaporean lecturer in London, who regularly in- Dijon mustard and Worcestershire sauce are missing vited foreign students to home-cooked meals. from this recipe? She says: “My lecturer wasn’t a Peranakan but Her version, with romaine lettuce tossed simply in being Singaporean, her cooking had Straits influ- lemon juice and olive oil and topped with ences, and that was how I fell in love with food hard-boiled egg, anchovies and croutons, won’t taste such as Nonya ter kah (pig’s trotters) and assam anything like the original. And nowhere does she say curry.” this is a pared-down version. You mean this book had An avid cook and baker, she began whipping no editor? up Peranakan food based on her lecturer’s recipes, Then, there is the question of authenticity in its and enjoyed success with dishes such as Nonya recipes, which aim to cover the famous salads of the chap chye (mixed vegetables) and achar (pickled world. What are orange bell pepper and Japanese greens). daikon doing in an Indonesian gado gado? Most baffling of all, what are poached Swedish The only mishap she recalls was her initial at- crayfish, mussels in ice wine and chilled Japanese tempt at baking kueh lapis, a multi-layer cake. soba doing here? I thought this book is about salads? She says: “I was curious about how the cake was To think that it all started out so well. Despite its baked but I didn’t have a recipe for it, so I decided gorgeous photos and sections on choosing the right to improvise. oils, vinegars and greens, this book is a creamy dress- “I used the recipe for butter cake and alternated ing short of a Caesar Salad. a layer of batter with a layer of spices before baking it all at once. I ended up with a spicy marble cake.” Her appreciation for Peranakan food also grew Penned by Lon- with help from her then boyfriend, Mr John don-based American Thong, whom she eventually married. food writer Jennifer They met through her lecturer, who happens to Joyce, this book could use a better be Mr Thong’s older sister. He was doing his article- copywriter and ship in chartered accountancy in London at the graphic designer. time. It has insipid sec- She says: “John is very good at cooking Perana- tion headings such kan food. For my 21st birthday, he cooked a as “Use Your Bean” spread of Nonya favourites, including his signa- and “You Say Toma- ture beef rendang. to”. “His beef rendang is very fragrant. After having It has the disori- eaten so many versions of the dish over the years, enting practice of his is still the best I’ve tasted.” lightening words Mr Thong runs his own audit company and that should be put in they have two grown-up sons. bold. And – at least The Well-dressed Salad for me – its unstylish, Mrs Thong continued to refine her Peranakan By Jennifer Joyce middle-of-the-road 2004/Pavilion/160 pages/ cooking by tweaking her recipes constantly, add- font reminds me of ing a pinch of this and a teaspoon of that. Paperback/$38.47/ PHOTOS: JOSEPH NAIR FOR THE STRAITS TIMES my secondary school Books Kinokuniya Her quest for perfect Peranakan recipes ended She may have grown up on Teochew dishes such as steamed fish and braised duck, but Mrs Darcy Thong’s geography textbook. in the mid-1980s, when she met a close friend’s Peranakan dishes such as otak otak telangjang (above) will have you panting for more. But humdrum aes- mother, Mrs Lily Lim, who is a Nonya. thetics aside, this is a Mrs Lim, moved by her enthusiasm for Perana- She says: “It might not look like normal otak book Sharing From Our Hearts, published by the wonderful book to have for inspirational ideas on a wide variety of sal- kan cooking, passed her a number of authentic re- otak, but the essence of its taste, which comes Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) cipes. She also became Mrs Thong’s godmother. last year. She is a YWCA board member. ads. from the turmeric leaf used to flavour the dish, is Sectioned under appetisers, beans, tomatoes, On the most important thing she learnt from retained in this recipe. Her recipes for sweet treats such as apple crum- the septuagenarian, Mrs Thong says: “Patience. It leaves, vegetables, noodles (tossed with interesting “I often serve this dish at gatherings and parties ble pie and fresh fruit tartlets are also found in the dressings), meats and fruit, it contains informed sec- plays a big part in Peranakan cooking. You can’t non-profit organisation’s 2009/2010 calendar. hurry when you fry the rempah (a spice paste com- because it always gets people excited and talking. tions on ingredients and how to choose them. They can’t believe it’s otak otak.” And in the spirit of sharing, she will be baking With the help of photographs that look thankfully monly used in Peranakan dishes). festive foods such as gingerbread man cookies for She adds that the unusual dish is a hit among competent, it shows you how to turn everything “You need to wait for the flavour and aroma of sale at the YWCA Christmas bazaar at the Fort Can- her friends because it can be enjoyed without the from figs and baby courgettes to halloumi cheese into the spices to be released during cooking for the ning Lodge on Dec 13. meal-time show-stoppers. hassle of unwrapping banana leaves, and the gra- dish to be fragrant.” Proceeds from the bazaar, as well as sales of the I tried making the Anchovy, Caper and Garlic Among the new recipes she picked up from Mrs vy goes well with rice. cookbook and calendar, go towards funding the Dressing and it was delicious drizzled over poached Lim is one for otak otak telangjang, which she On why she is making the recipe public, she various community services run by the YWCA. long beans, tomatoes and bocconcini cheese. shares below. says: “Lily is very generous with her recipes and I I can’t wait to sample its Polenta-fried Beefsteak To- Meaning naked otak otak, the fish paste dish is feel that good recipes should be shared so that [email protected] matoes with Corn, Lime and Coriander Vinaigrette, so named because unlike the common grilled ver- they get passed on and others get to enjoy them.” and its Miso Ginger Dressing. sion, it is not wrapped in banana leaf. Indeed, she contributed her recipes for dishes Sharing From Our Hearts ($30) and the YWCA If only the pages didn’t remind me so much of seis- Instead, it is cooked in a silky, piquant coconut such as ayam sio (chicken with coriander and fer- 2009/2010 calender ($12) are available for sale. mic plates and volcanos. gravy. mented bean paste) and chap chye to the cook- Call 6223-1227 for details. If you are not a stick- ler for culinary tradi- tion – that a salad can be slapped to- MAKE IT YOURSELF: OTAK OTAK TELANGJANG gether from what- ever you find in your fridge – then this book is for you. Focused entirely on salad dressings, this handy palm- sized book has 41 re- cipes and gives you free rein over what greens you can pair them with. Los Angeles- Salad Dressings based food and life- By Jessica Strand style writer Jessica 2008/Chronicle Books/ Strand offers sugges- tions, such as how 79 pages/Hardcover/$28.95/ Tarragon Vinaigrette Page One bookstore A B C is best paired with to- matoes, or how Grapefruit Mayonnaise is wonderful spooned over INGREDIENTS METHOD 5. When the seasoning paste turns aromatic poultry or fish. 1 But salad lovers like me would probably want to 300g minced pork 1. Mix the pork, fish paste, /2 tsp salt and after some 15 minutes of frying, turn the heat pepper together thoroughly to form the down to low and add the coconut milk slowly. check them all out, even if I have only iceberg lettuce 600g minced fish paste, unsalted in my veggie compartment.
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