This is a cookbook, and an intimate memoir, giving readers a sense of what it felt like to grow up in a Peranakan Chinese family — descendants of local womenfolk and the earliest Chinese settlers to Southeast Asia.
As a fifth-generation Nonya (honorific for female Peranakans) from both sides of her family, Sharon Wee recollects her life in Singapore. She interviewed older relatives and recreated her mother’s personalized recipes, many orally passed down for generations.
Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen
was originally published in 2012. This updated edition includes revised recipes and cooking methods, with more detailed explanations and guidance for the young or unfamiliar cook to Peranakan food, spiced with a dose of humor. It also includes new contributions by subject experts on the heritage and beautiful cultural legacy of the Peranakans.