Apart from Melaka, Nyonya food is also native to Penang and
Singapore. 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 pungent black prawn paste (belacan).
Influences aside, Nyonya recipes are complicated affairs, often
requiring hours upon hours of preparation. Nyonya housewives of
the past would spend the better part of their lives in the
kitchen, but they were fiercely proud of their unique cuisine,
preferring Nyonya food to any other type of food.
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!
Nyonya cooking is
also about the blending of spices, employing pungent roots like
galangal, turmeric and ginger; aromatic leaves like pandan leaf,
fragrant lime leaf and laksa leaf, together with other ingredients
like candlenuts, shallots, shrimp paste and chilies. Lemon,
tamarind, belimbing (carambola) or green mangoes are used to add a
tangy taste to many dishes.
For dessert,
fruits are seldom served and are instead replaced by cakes. Nyonya
cakes are rich and varied, made from ingredients like sweet
potato, glutinous rice, palm sugar, and coconut milk.
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