Soya and Spice
Food and Memories of a Straits Teochew Family
Jo Marion’s parents were her first cookery teachers and our little kitchen was her classroom. She, being the eldest, often pitched in to help with food preparation, eventually learning to cook at a fairly young age.
The food of her childhood is humble and simple, yet hearty and wholesome. Some, like Hiang See Poong (Salted Black Bean Rice), Ang Zhao Mee Sua (Rice Wine Vermicelli Soup) and Fish Cake Rolls, you will not find in food centres or restaurants. Others are much-better-tasting home-cooked versions of popular Teochew favourites such as Soon Kueh (Turnip Rice Cake), Braised Duck, Hae Chor (Prawn Balls), Lor Bak (Braised Belly Pork) and Oh Nee (Yam Pudding). Then there are also the Malayanised dishes of Hae Bee Hiahm (Spicy Prawn Floss), Hiahm Bak (Spicy Pork) and Assam Prawns. To these she has added a few of her own creations, including Roast Turmeric Chicken and Dory with Curry Leaves.
In this book, she shares with you the recipes for these dishes and many more passed down by her parents, uncles, aunts and grandparents. They are recipes which she continues to use for my own family.
We all have an emotional connection to food and Jo Marion Seow has invoked for us a past that is part of our children's inheritance.
Size: 213 x 265 mm
Extent: 168 pages
Binding: Flexibound
Weight: 675 g
ISBN: 978-981-4189-21-7
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Reviews
One of those rare folks who can draw on both science and tradition to explain the whys and how-tos of cooking, Jo Marion Seow's recipes are full of flavor and feeling. Whether you want to replicate her dishes or just gather fodder for social conversation, Jo's book is a delight.
– Tan Shee Lah
Soya and Spice is a cookbook after my own heart, full of reminiscences of her family and the past. Food history is hard to come by and when a writer such as Jo Marion Seow delivers it with such warmth and flavour, it is a treat. The food she writes about, mostly wholesome home cooking, also raise happy memories of the Teochew side of my family and I love her leisurely accounts of how to make well-loved dishes such as Teochew ap, Hae Chor and yes, Oh Nee, that sweet sticky yam dessert.
– Sylvia Tan