The Singaporean cookbook author Sharon Wee, who wrote “Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen,” customarily makes these slick noodles tossed in a savory sauce for Lunar New Year’s Eve to mark the beginning of the two week-long celebrations Her mother taught her how to throw proper Peranakan feasts, which include a unique blend of Malay, European and Chinese influences They spent weeks pickling vegetables in spiced vinegar, making pork liver meatballs and braising duck in a tamarind gravy
Sharon Wee is a fifth generation Peranakan on both her mother and father’s sides. She descended from the earliest generation of Chinese immigrants to Singapore and Malaysia from as early as the 1500s. Wee describes the unique ways her family celebrates Lunar New Year.
For many families in Singapore, a meal is not complete without a generous side of sambal belacan The highlight of the condiment is belacan, fermented shrimp paste, which lends an aromatic pungency This popular hot sauce, accented with makrut lime leaf, is slung over noodles, stuffed into fried mackerel, or used as a dip for crispy prawn crackers