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The descendants of early Chinese settlers in Penang and Malacca – the so-called Straits-born Chinese – combine elements of both Chinese and Malay culture, quite unlike the mass of Chinese migrants who arrived at the beginning of the 20th century. These pioneering Chinese traders often took Malay wives, although as time went on, and their descendants tended to marry either pure Chinese or the children of other Straits Chinese, the Malay bloodlines eventually became greatly diluted. The term Nonya (or Nyonya) originally referred to the Malay wives of the Straits-born Chinese, who in turn were known as Babas. They generally spoke a mixture of Malay and Chinese dialect, dressed in modified Malay style, and combined elements of both cuisines in the kitchen. Typical Chinese ingredients such as bean curd, soy sauce, candlenuts, sesame oil, dried mushrooms and noodles blended well with Malay ingredients such as coconut milk, galangal, belacan (shrimp paste), pandan leaf, kaffir lime leaf and pungent spices. Nonya cuisine (sometimes also referred to as Peranakan cuisine, although strictly speaking, this applies to the Indonesian equivalent of Nonya cuisine) often requires painstaking effort; in old-style households, the Nonya wife devoted all of her time to running the home and supervising the kitchen, assisted my a small army of servants – a luxury few modern Malay women can indulge in. This, combined with the tendency of modern Nonya girls to marry non-Straits-born Chinese – and hence cook more Cantonese or Hokkien-style food – almost lead to the demise of Nonya cuisine. However, there has been somewhat of a revival over the past few decades, and elements of Nonya food can be found in many Malaysian and southeast Asian restaurants. One of the most celebrated Nonya dishes is laksa, a rice-noodle soup which blends Malay spices with Chinese noodles – the most common version is rich in coconut milk, spicy, contains belacan, and is fragrant from the addition of lemongrass and galangal. It has become popular in many western countries, and is perhaps the most famous export of the Nonyas. Regional variations in Nonya cuisine does occur; for example, the Penang Nonyas developed a passion for sour food (lots of lime and tamarind), fiery hot chilies and belacan. Nonyas from Malacca and Singapore, on the other hand, prepare food that is rich in coconut milk and Malay spices, and usually add more sugar than their northern counterparts. Over the last few centuries, the food of Peninsula Malaysia has been influenced by its foreign occupiers, including the Dutch, English and Portuguese. Particularly in Singapore, Indian immigration has seen the introduction of spices and dishes from the subcontinent. Nonya cuisine may contain any of these elements, but should also include both Chinese and Malaysian ingredients. Most of the recipes that follow are Nonya, but one or two are perhaps more Indian-Malay than Chinese Malay. |