Traditional Nyonya Home Cook Meal

Today, I've decided to cook typical Nyonya dishes which my late mom used to cook for us when we were little. One of the dish is usually cooked using stingray or 'ikan pari' in Malay.  Apart from stingray, you can also use cencaru (torpedo scad) or kembong  (mackerel).  This dish is called 'Kuah Lada' or directly translated, 'Pepper Sauce'.  Whenever my dear mom cooked this dish, she will always prepare sambal belacan or sambal belacan terung assam to compliment it.  So, yes, I made sambal belacan terung assam since my terung assam plant is giving me lots of fruits.  Another wonderful Nyonya dish that my mom taught us is Sotong Assam.

Mom taught us well and I hope to pass on her wonderful culinary skills of Nyonya Cuisine to my children.  Until then, I shall continue in cooking all the wonderful dishes for my family.

Kuah Lada Ikan Kembong

Pound to a paste: Garlic, onion, garlangal, white pepper corns, candlenut, shrimp paste, lemongrass, tumeric.

Fry paste till fragrant, add tamarind water, brinjal and ladies fingers. Boil till veges are tender, add salt to taste and lastly add the fish.  Once fish is cooked through, then your dish is done.

Sotong Assam

 Marinade cuttlefish with sugar, salt and tamarind pulp.  Shallow fry till it dried up.

Sambal Belacan Terung Assam

The yellow fruit is the 'terung assam'.  It's about the size of limau kasturi in the background.  It's very sour and the whole fruit is full of tiny seeds.  To make the sambal belancan terung assam, you need to fry the shrimp paste (belacan) with a little oil and pound it together with the fruit and red fresh chillies.  Add salt to tast and a little sugar if you like, and add some lime juice.