A Beginner’s Guide to Peranakan Cuisine
Buah keluak, rempah and the patient art of Nyonya cooking — where to start if you’re new to Peranakan food.
Peranakan cuisine is the delicious result of Chinese ingredients meeting Malay spices over generations of intermarriage and migration. The flavours are bold, sour, spicy and deeply aromatic.
Start with the rempah
Almost every Nyonya dish begins with a rempah — a spice paste pounded from shallots, chilli, candlenut, lemongrass and belacan. Pounding by hand releases oils a blender never will.
Three dishes to try
Ayam buah keluak (chicken with black nuts), laksa lemak (coconut curry noodles) and kueh pie tee (“top hats” filled with turnip) are perfect introductions to the cuisine.
Book a Peranakan home chef on Potluck and you will taste the difference patience makes.
