Latest news with #PeranakanChinese
The Star
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Spotlight on Peranakan cuisine
Nyonya 'popiah' is more complex to make because of its delicate wrapper, rich filling and signature 'sambal'. — Photos: Bernama Association showcases Baba Nyonya classics made from time-honoured recipes WHILE the Peranakan delicacy Nyonya popiah may resemble the spring rolls sold at street stalls or night markets, its wrapper, richer filling, signature sambal and sweet sauce tell a story rooted in cultural heritage. Peranakan Baba Nyonya Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Association's (PPBNKLS) cultural and social committee member Jennifer Lee Choo Neo told Bernama that the delicate wrapper and rich filling reflected the culinary traditions handed down generations by the Peranakan Chinese or Baba Nyonya community. 'Nyonya popiah is more complex to prepare. The wrapper is made from wheat flour, tapioca flour, eggs, warm water and salt. 'The batter is rested for 30 to 60 minutes for a softer, more flavourful texture – unlike regular spring roll wrappers which use only flour and water. 'To create the wrapper, the batter is gently spread in a thin layer over a flat pan,' she said during a Peranakan Chinese cooking demonstration in Shah Alam for the media. Lee said the filling was made from fresh ingredients such as jicama (sengkuang), cucumber, bean sprouts, omelette, fried tofu and prawns, combined with sautéed fermented soybean paste (taucu) and garlic, resulting in a complex blend of sweet, spicy and aromatic flavours. She explained that the sambal was made using either fresh or dried chillies, garlic, toasted wheat flour and palm sugar (gula melaka), while the sweet sauce was made from a mixture of palm sugar, flour and a bit of soy sauce. Lee (left) demonstrating the way to assemble the 'popiah'. 'Although slightly tedious to prepare, this delicacy is often a special choice for various events, including birthday celebrations or weddings,' said Lee, who is a third-generation Nyonya. Nyonya popiah is one of 15 traditional Peranakan Chinese dishes featured at the 'Baba Nyonya Heritage' promotion at The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur in Shah Alam, Selangor, throughout this month. The hotel's general manager Jasmine Ong Li said the campaign was not only aimed at promoting Baba Nyonya cuisine but also served as an important platform to revive time-honoured recipes that were rich in stories and cultural values. Other featured dishes included buah keluak, lobak masak lemak (braised radish in coconut gravy), nasi kemuli, pai tee, stuffed cencaru (fish), ee pioh soup, pajeri eggplant, Nyonya sambal belacan, fried tamarind prawns and various traditional kuih. Ong said each dish was curated to ensure authenticity in terms of its use of cooking techniques, secret ingredients, and traditional preparation methods inherited from the Baba Nyonya community's ancestors. PPBNKLS president Vivienne Lee @ Lianah Abdullah said that to support the initiative, the association had provided intensive training to the hotel's culinary team, covering the ingredients and preparation methods. 'Our collaboration is grounded in a shared goal – to preserve and elevate Peranakan heritage for future generations. 'To us, this partnership is about safeguarding and reintroducing Peranakan heritage, because each dish carries meaning, not just flavour,' she said.
Free Malaysia Today
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Free Malaysia Today
Nyonya popiah offers a taste of Peranakan heritage
It may look like your typical spring roll, but Nyonya popiah has crispier skin, a richer filling, and a deeper story rooted in cultural heritage. (Bernama pic) SHAH ALAM : At first glance, Nyonya popiah may resemble the typical spring rolls sold at street stalls or night markets. But with its crispier skin, richer filling, and signature sambal and sweet sauce, this Peranakan delicacy tells a deeper story rooted in cultural heritage. According to Jennifer Lee from Persatuan Peranakan Baba Nyonya Kuala Lumpur dan Selangor (PPBNKLS), the delicate wrapper and rich filling reflect generations of heritage from the Chinese Peranakan, or Baba, community. 'Preparation-wise, Nyonya popiah is more complex, with a wrapper made from wheat flour, tapioca flour, eggs, warm water and salt. The batter is rested for 30 to 60 minutes for a softer, more flavourful texture, unlike regular spring-roll wrappers, which use only flour and water. 'To create the wrapper, the batter is gently spread in a thin layer over a flat pan,' she said during a Peranakan Chinese cooking demonstration held at The Saujana Hotel Kuala Lumpur recently. Lee, 58, said the filling is made from fresh ingredients such as jicama (sengkuang), cucumber, bean sprouts, omelette, fried tofu, and prawns, combined with sautéed fermented soybean paste (taucu) and garlic. The result is a complex blend of sweet, spicy, and aromatic flavours. The sambal, meanwhile, uses either fresh or dried chillies, garlic, toasted wheat flour, and palm sugar (gula Melaka), while the sweet sauce is made from a mixture of palm sugar, flour, and a bit of soy sauce. 'Although slightly tedious to prepare, this delicacy is often a special choice for various events, including birthday celebrations or weddings,' said Lee, who is a third-generation Baba descendant. Lee showing off her popiah-making skills during the Peranakan Chinese cooking demonstration recently. (Bernama pic) Nyonya popiah is one of 15 traditional Peranakan Chinese dishes featured in the 'Baba Nyonya Initiative' held at the hotel throughout this month. The campaign aims to introduce Baba cuisine to the public while serving as a platform for reviving time-honoured recipes rich in cultural values and narratives. Other featured dishes include buah keluak, lobak masak lemak (braised radish in coconut gravy), nasi kemuli, pai tee, stuffed cencaru (fish), ee pioh soup, pajeri eggplant, Nyonya sambal belacan, fried tamarind prawns, and various traditional kuih. Each dish is carefully curated to ensure authenticity in terms of cooking techniques, ingredients, and time-honoured preparation methods inherited from the Baba community. According to PPBNKLS president Vivienne Lee @ Lianah Abdullah, the collaboration with the hotel is 'grounded in a shared goal to preserve and elevate Peranakan heritage for future generations'. 'It is about safeguarding and reintroducing Peranakan heritage, because each dish carries meaning, not just flavour,' she said.
Rakyat Post
23-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Rakyat Post
Meet The Peranakan Theatre Princess That's Making Baba-Nyonya Culture Go Mainstream
Subscribe to our FREE If you've ever found yourself down the TikTok rabbit hole and somehow landed on , there's a good chance you've seen Wee Shyre May pop up on your FYP. She's the one rocking colourful vintage kebayas, chatting about Nyonya food, theatre rehearsals, and sharing cultural gems your Sejarah textbook totally skipped, like: But Shyre isn't just playing dress-up for clicks. This 32-year-old is a full-on theatre director, storyteller, and the founder of KRATE — a cool cafe-meets-theatre space tucked away in Bukit Beruang, Melaka, that's quietly become one of the most happening cultural hubs in town. KRATE started back in 2016 as a bit of a 'why not give it a try?' sorta thing when Shyre rented a beat-up terrace house and turned it into a stage for drama classes and free-spirited theatre. No rules, just vibes. 'I always wanted to be an artist,' she shared, reflecting on her love for painting and storytelling, but ultimately discovered her true passion in theatre. But Shyre never planned on becoming THE ' Rosie's Diaries , a short film about a young Nyonya bride. She later started digging deeper into her own Peranakan Chinese roots and found a treasure trove of history and heart. So naturally, she turned all of that into theatre. The more I learned and researched, the more fascinated I became. The Peranakan culture is so rich and colourful. Wee Shyre May. One of her first major hits after her Peranakan-soul-searching journey was The Best Nyonya — a delightful musical comedy filled with laughs, drama, and emotional moments that celebrate Baba-Nyonya culture and blends classical charm with contemporary flair. First debuted in 2022, it's already sold out shows in Melaka and KL — and that was before Shyre even jumped on TikTok. Then, boom — she became TikTok's very own 'Little Nyonya'. Before long, her TikTok turned into a whole stage of its own. And these days, she's got thousands of followers and counting, turning all that cultural goodness into fun, bite-sized content and making Peranakan culture accessible to everyone. I posted about kebayas and my creative process just for fun. Then people started asking questions, wanting to learn more. Wee Shyre May. And now, for the first time ever, Shyre and the KRATE crew are packing their props (and their prettiest kebayas) and heading up north to Penang! This May, they're teaming up with Nyonya Palazzo to bring to Georgetown Mansion — and it's gonna be a whole experience with good music, big laughs and juicy drama. The show's mostly in English, sprinkled with a bit of Peranakan lingo for flavour — but no stress, got English and Chinese subtitles so everyone can follow along. Plus, audiences also get to makan kuih and even try on some kebayas too So if you're in Penang, don't miss it. Butttt if you can't make it? No worries. You can still follow Shyre on Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
South China Morning Post
13-03-2025
- General
- South China Morning Post
‘Chinese, Western, Thai and Malay all mixed, that is our Phuket culture,' hotelier says
Growing up in Phuket, Pichakorn Phanichwong did not think she had a different upbringing than anyone else. Advertisement Born and bred on the biggest island in Thailand, she felt she grew up in a typical Chinese Thai, or Phuket Baba, household. 'My grandmother would observe most of the major Chinese holidays,' she says. 'All of them involved a large meal that was arranged on our best tableware in front of the pictures of our ancestors, then we'd pray to bless the food and we'd have a large family gathering.' What Pichakorn – who uses the name Peach online – describes seems like a household version of the blessing of offerings to ancestors and deities commonly observed in rural China. That comes as no surprise, as she is a Peranakan Chinese of Hokkien descent; merchants from southeast China began trading in Southeast Asia in the 6th century. A typical Phuket Peranakan family feast at home for Pichakorn Phanichwong. Photo: handout The term Peranakan is used primarily in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, where it refers to a native-born person of Chinese or mixed Chinese and Malay descent. Advertisement When Penang in present day Malaysia was established as a trading post by British naval officer Captain Francis Light in 1786, it attracted Hokkien merchants who were already in the region and looking for financial security and business opportunities.
