Growing Up in a Nonya Kitchen: Singapore Recipes From My Mother
Sharon Wee
Singapore: Marshall cavendish, Cuisine, 2012
ISBN: 9789814346368

This is more than a cookbook filled with ingredients and cooking methods. Sharon Wee lovingly remembers and records memories of her mother, family and childhood. In doing so, she tells the story of a Singapore family growing up in the mid-20th Century, seen through the lens of her Peranakan heritage and culture. The recipes themselves are like a historical record of the times, hinting at centuries-old British Colonial influence in the region, mirroring the diverse multi-cultural tableau flourishing in a nascent island republic, and finally recording some of the distinct cultural practices of the Peranakans in Singapore.