Terms used across the recipes — Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese, Hainanese, and Malay. Glossed inline on first use; gathered here for reference.
ang chao
Foochow red wine lees (红糟) — the dark-rose grainy paste that settles at the bottom of a red yeast rice fermentation jar after the wine is pressed off. Used as a colour-and-flavour anchor across Foochow cookery, ambient in early chapter recipes and foreground hero in R35.
ang jiu
Foochow red rice wine (红酒) — the amber-rose liquid wine pressed from the red yeast rice fermentation. Sweet, fruity, low-alcohol. The cooking liquid in Foochow red wine chicken; the diner's table-side flourish. Distinct from Shaoxing yellow wine.
asam gelugur
Dried slices of Garcinia atroviridis fruit-rind — pale-tan-brown, distinctly arc-shaped, used as a souring agent that imparts tartness without clouding broth (unlike tamarind pulp). The signature heritage-Peranakan acid in Itek Tim and other clear-broth Peranakan dishes.
asam jawa
Tamarind pulp — the dark sticky pulp of the tamarind pod, dissolved in warm water and strained for use as a souring agent. The signature acidity in many Peranakan and Malay dishes.
bak chor mee
Hokkien for 'minced pork noodles' — a Teochew-style mee pok or mee kia variant featuring minced pork, mushroom, fish balls, and a vinegar-chilli sauce. The Tai Hwa version is internationally famous.
bak kut teh
Literally 'meat bone tea' — a Hokkien-Teochew pork rib soup. Two regional styles exist: peppery clear (Singapore-Teochew) and dark herbal (Klang, Malaysia).
bangkuang
Yam bean / jicama (沙葛) — a pale-cream-yellow root vegetable, crisp and slightly sweet when raw, the primary filling for kueh pie tee. Often shredded into thin strips. NOT to be confused with white turnip or daikon.
batang
Malay/Hokkien for Spanish mackerel — firm, lightly sweet flesh, the Singapore standard for sliced fish soup. Sold whole or as fillet at wet markets.
batu giling
The heritage Peranakan and Malay granite slab and roller — a flat granite stone paired with a heavy roller-pestle, used for crushing-and-pressing rempah ingredients into an integrated paste. The crushing motion is fundamentally different from a blender's chopping action.
bawang goreng
Malay for "fried onion/shallot" — heritage golden-fried shallots, dark-amber-bronze flakes used as a final garnish across Malay, Peranakan and Indonesian cooking.
bee hoon
Hokkien for rice vermicelli — fine, white, slightly translucent rice noodles. The default carb in Teochew fish soup, sliced fish soup, and many Singapore noodle dishes.
belacan
Malay for fermented shrimp paste — pungent, salty, deeply umami. Toasted before use to bloom the flavour. The Peranakan-Malay-Indonesian umami foundation.
Bibik
A Peranakan term of address for an elder Nyonya matriarch — the senior woman who keeps the family's recipe knowledge.
buah keluak
The seed of the Pangium edule tree, native to the mangrove swamps of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Toxic when fresh (high hydrogen cyanide content); rendered safe through a 40-day boil-and-bury fermentation. Used whole and stuffed, or as scraped kernel paste, in Peranakan cooking. The defining ingredient of ayam buah keluak.
chap chye
Hokkien for 'mixed vegetables' — a Peranakan/Hainanese-style braised cabbage-and-tofu dish, slow-cooked with mushroom water, dried lily buds, and bean curd skin.
cheng
The Foochow-tongue word for razor clam — short for zhúchēng (竹蛏). Heritage Foochow coastal staple.
ching
Teochew/Hokkien for 'clear' or 'pure' — the Teochew cooking philosophy of letting natural flavours speak with minimal intervention. Applied to soups, steamed fish, and clear-broth dishes.
chye poh
Preserved sweet radish (菜脯) — sun-dried and salt-cured daikon, sweetened and chopped, used as a savoury-sweet pickle in Teochew and Hakka stir-fries.
chye sim
Choy sum (菜心) — a leafy Chinese flowering cabbage, mild and slightly sweet, blanched as a soup green.
cili padi
Malay for bird's-eye chilli — small, fierce, common in Singapore-Malaysian sambals and dipping sauces. Sliced into rounds and floated in soy or vinegar.
dabao
Mandarin (打包) for 'takeaway' or 'pack to go' — used at hawker stalls and restaurants in Singapore-Malaysia. The takeaway container itself is also called a dabao box.
daun kesum
Vietnamese coriander / Polygonum odoratum — pungent jade-green herb, the signature garnish of Nyonya Laksa. Distinguished by its citrus-pepper-mint note. Always minced fresh just before serving for peak fragrance. Never substitute regular coriander.
daun limau purut
Kaffir lime leaves — the glossy double-lobed leaves of the kaffir lime tree, used whole and torn for their citrus-floral aroma. The Peranakan chapter's signature aromatic and visual continuity marker across all five recipes.
dong cai
Mandarin for preserved Tianjin vegetable — finely chopped, salted-fermented, with a deep umami punch. Used to garnish noodles, soups, and congee.
gula melaka
Malay for palm sugar — dark, fragrant, smoky-sweet, made from the sap of the coconut palm or aren palm. The defining sweetness of Peranakan and Malay cooking.
hae bee
Dried shrimp (蝦米) — small sun-dried shrimp, soaked and used as a foundational umami ingredient across Hokkien, Teochew, Cantonese and Peranakan cooking.
hor
Cantonese for 'river' — used to refer to broad flat rice noodles (hor fun / kway teow). The 'river' alludes to the noodles' flowing, silken width.
ikan bilis
Malay for dried anchovies — small whole salted-and-dried anchovies, used as a stock base across Singapore and Malay cuisines.
janggut
Malay for "beard" — the nickname of Ng Juat Swee, the originator of Singapore's Janggut Laksa lineage, referring to a prominent mole-hair on his chin.
kaki babi
Malay for "pig leg" — specifically the front-leg trotter, the heritage Peranakan cut for babi pongteh, prized for its luxurious gelatin-rich mouthfeel after the long braise.
kampong
Malay for 'village' — used in 'kampong chicken' to denote a free-range, village-raised bird. Firmer texture, deeper flavour, premium over farm-raised.
kang kong
Malay for water spinach (Ipomoea aquatica) — long hollow stems, deep-green leaves. Common Singapore-Malaysian green; blanches quickly.
kapur sirih
Slaked lime paste (calcium hydroxide) — heritage Malay-Peranakan baking-and-betel-leaf addition; the alkalinity adds colour and crunch to fried batters. Sometimes called "chunam" in heritage Singapore architecture-jargon.
kejia
Hakka, literally "guest people" — the southern Chinese migrant clans who moved south from the central plains.
ketupat
Malay for compressed rice cubes — traditionally rice steamed inside woven palm-leaf packets that compress and shape it. Eaten with satay, lontong, gado-gado.
kiam chye
Pickled mustard greens (咸菜) — the Chinese provision-shop staple, vat-pickled in salt-and-water-and-rice-wine-lees brine, dark-green and salty-tangy. Used across Hokkien, Teochew, Hakka and Peranakan cooking. Heritage Peranakan kiam chye is the whole-leaf vat-style, not the leafier modern Malaysian variety.
kiam chye ark
Teochew/Hokkien for "salted-vegetable duck" (咸菜鸭) — the Chinese parent dish from which the Peranakan version (Itek Tim) evolved. Distinguished by tamarind-paste souring (rather than asam gelugur) and rice-wine finish (rather than brandy).
kih chao
Foochow for "loving the paste in" — the hand-pressed marinade technique for ang chao chicken. Reportedly the heritage Sibu term for working the dark-rose paste into every surface of the bone-in chicken pieces by hand.
kih dik-iong
Foochow for "begging the ocean" — the dialect-homeland phrase for the coastal way of life. Some begged the small ocean for crabs, scallops, and clams; some threw themselves into the big ocean for years.
kim chiam
Hokkien (金針) for dried lily buds — pale yellow, slightly chewy, used in chap chye, lor mai gai, and Buddhist monk's vegetables. Soaked to soften before use.
kipas
Malay for hand-fan — traditionally woven from palm leaf, used in Malay-Peranakan kitchens to fan charcoal embers and direct smoke. The constant fanning maintains satay-grill temperature.
kō kèu
Hakka romanisation of 小芋头 — the smaller variety of taro yam, prized over the large oblong "elephant taro" for its starch character.
kou wun
Kou wun (扣碗) — the deep ceramic bowl with an inward-curving rim used specifically for kou rou. Its shape determines the dome's shape after inversion.
kuih jambang
Malay-Singaporean dialect alternative name for kueh pie tee — "jambang" means "vase" in the local Singaporean Malay dialect, referring to the shape of the fluted shell.
kway teow
Hokkien/Teochew for broad flat rice noodles — also called hor fun in Cantonese. Sold fresh in lengths at wet markets; eaten in soups, stir-fries, and gravies across Singapore-Malaysian cuisine.
lap cheong
Cantonese for Chinese sausage — sweet, slightly chewy, dark red, made from pork and pork fat with rice wine and seasonings. Sliced diagonally and steamed or stir-fried.
lei pun
The deep clay-fired ceramic mortar (擂盆) with fine incised ridges scored into its inner surface, used specifically for Hakka Lei Cha. The ridges shred the herbs as the pestle grinds.
lei pun mu
The long thick wooden pestle (擂盆木) used in heritage Hakka Lei Cha grinding — typically dark walnut, smooth from generations of use, paired with the deep ceramic lei pun mortar.
lesung batu
Malay for 'stone mortar' — the heavy granite mortar and pestle used for grinding rempah and sambal in Peranakan-Malay kitchens. Said to give deeper flavour than electric blenders.
lor
Teochew/Hokkien for 'master stock' or 'master sauce' — a richly seasoned braising liquid kept alive over years and decades, replenished but never discarded. The signature of Teochew braised meat traditions.
lor bak
Cantonese/Hokkien (滷肉) for braised meat — pork belly slow-cooked in dark soy and aromatics. Often interchangeable with kong bak (扣肉, soy-braised pork belly).
lor mai gai
Cantonese (糯米鸡, literally 'glutinous rice chicken') for steamed sticky rice with chicken, mushroom, lap cheong and salted egg yolk. Wrapped in lotus leaf in the dim sum tradition; in Singapore, more commonly served in small steel bowls.
mei cai
Preserved mustard greens (梅菜) — sun-dried, salt-cured mustard greens with a deep savoury funk and a long sweetness. The Hakka pantry's most travel-hardy vegetable.
Mem
From Hindustani 'memsahib' — the lady of the colonial household. Used by domestic-service staff in colonial-era Singapore and India to address the British matriarch.
minyak pecah
Malay for "oil breaks" — the heritage Peranakan and Malay rempah-cooking marker. The moment when rendered oil separates from the cooking spice paste and pools at the surface, signalling the rempah is fully cooked through. Also rendered as pecah minyak.
mok yee
Hokkien (木耳) for wood ear fungus — dried black/brown ear-shaped fungus, springy when rehydrated. A textural component in chap chye, soups, and stir-fries.
nam yu
Cantonese for red fermented bean curd — soft, salty, deep red, with a fermented umami punch. Used in Cantonese roast meats, braises, and as a condiment.
ngṳ̀-uòng
The Foochow-language word for fishball — sometimes called "balls of blessings," a play on the Fu (福) in Fuzhou's name, which itself means "blessing."
Nyonya
A Peranakan woman, particularly an elder matriarch. The keeper of the family's culinary tradition. (Counterpart: Baba — a Peranakan man.)
o-a-tsian
Hokkien-style oyster omelette — deep-fried, thicker, more egg than the Singapore-Teochew version.
pecah minyak
Malay for 'split oil' — the moment when the aromatic oil separates from the rempah paste and pools on the surface. Indicates the paste is fully cooked and ready for the next ingredient.
Peranakan
The descendants of early Chinese traders — mostly Hokkien and Teochew men — who settled in the Malay archipelago from the fifteenth century onwards and married local Malay women. The community developed a hybrid culture: Chinese ancestral practice, Malay language and dress, and a kitchen that synthesised the two.
qq
A Hokkien onomatopoeic adjective describing the bouncy, springy, slightly chewy texture prized in fish balls, noodles and pastes.
rempah
Malay for 'spice paste' — the foundation aromatic of Peranakan, Malay and Indonesian cooking. Shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, chillies, candlenut, belacan, ground or pounded together and fried until oil splits (pecah minyak).
sambal belacan
A heritage chilli-and-shrimp-paste condiment — fresh chillies pounded with toasted belacan, lime juice and sometimes a touch of sugar. The non-negotiable Peranakan-and-Malay table side, served alongside rich gravies and rice.
sambal kicap
A heritage Malay-Peranakan condiment — sliced bird's-eye chillies in dark soy sauce, served on the side at the family table for diners to dip or drizzle.
sand-ginger
Sand-ginger (沙姜, sha jiang) — a small woody-camphor-aroma rhizome related to galangal, the defining spice of Hakka salt-baked chicken. Available as fresh root or dried powder at Chinese medicinal-ingredient stalls.
santan
Coconut cream / coconut milk — the rich pressed-from-coconut-flesh liquid foundational to Peranakan, Malay and Indonesian curries. Thick santan is the first press; thin santan is the second.
siu mei
Cantonese (烧味) for 'roast meats' — the tradition of Cantonese hung-roast meats, including char siew, siew yoke, roast duck, and soy chicken, displayed in glass cases and chopped to order.
siu yoke
Cantonese for 'roast pork belly' — pork belly with crackling-glass skin, juicy meat layer, rendered fat. Centrepiece of the siu mei display alongside char siew.
sng buay
Hokkien for salted preserved plums — packed in brine, dark-amber-brown. Used as a fruit-acid layer in clear-broth soups; the heritage acid in Hokkien kiam chye ark.
sua lor
Hokkien for sea prawns — the wild-caught, head-on, larger marine prawns sold at Singapore wet markets. Premium for stock-making.
Syonan-to
The Japanese name for Singapore during the 1942–1945 Japanese Occupation (昭南島, "Light of the South"). Used here in "Syonan-to Pie" — one heritage-debated name for the Occupation-era precursor to kueh pie tee.
tah
Hokkien for 'dry' (薄 / 干) — referring to noodles tossed in sauce with the soup served separately, rather than in the soup. The labouring-class default for portable, durable noodles.
tai bai fen
Mandarin (太白粉) for potato starch — the Cantonese-Singapore standard for silken sauces and glazes. Sunflower brand is the hawker default. Different from cornflour: glossier, holds heat better, doesn't break down.
tang hoon
Hokkien (冬粉) for glass noodles / cellophane noodles — made from mung bean starch, translucent when cooked. Used in soups, braises, and chap chye.
tau cheo
Fermented soybean paste (豆酱) — salty, funky, dark-rust-brown, used as a savoury anchor in Peranakan and Hokkien cooking. Heritage cooks prefer the whole-bean variety so the soybeans remain visible in the finished gravy. The defining flavour foundation of babi pongteh.
tau kwa
Hokkien/Teochew for firm tofu — pressed, dense, slightly chewy. Used in stir-fries, braises, and as a vehicle for sauces.
tau pok
Fried tofu puffs (豆卜) — golden-yellow hollow squares of deep-fried bean curd, used as a vessel for stuffing or as a soup ingredient.
taupok
Fried tofu puffs — golden-yellow hollow squares of deep-fried bean curd. Heritage signature topping for Nyonya Laksa; the spongy puffs absorb gravy and burst on bite.
ti po
Dried sole fish — toasted, ground or muslin-tied, used as a heritage umami booster across Hokkien, Teochew and Foochow soups and noodle gravies.
tok panjang
Malay for "long table" — the Peranakan family-feast tradition where multiple heritage dishes are laid out together and shared across an extended dining table. The setting for ayam buah keluak, babi pongteh, itek tim and other Peranakan banquet dishes during Chinese New Year and major festive occasions.
wah lao
Singlish/Hokkien interjection meaning 'wow' or 'good heavens' — used in surprise, admiration, or mild exasperation.
wantan mee
Cantonese for 'wonton noodles' — thin egg noodles served either dry (tossed in dark soy + chilli + lard) or in soup, accompanied by pork-and-prawn dumplings called wantans.
wat tan
Cantonese for 'smooth egg' — referring to the silken egg-ribbon technique used in wat tan hor and other Cantonese gravy dishes.
wok hei
Cantonese for 'breath of the wok' — the smoky char and aromatic flavour imparted only by a screaming-hot, well-seasoned wok over a high flame. Cannot be replicated at low heat.
wong nga bak
Cantonese for napa cabbage — the long pale-green Chinese cabbage with crinkled leaves. Sweet when cooked, common in soups and braises.
xiang gu
Dried Chinese shiitake mushrooms (香菇) — soaked in warm water for 30 minutes before use; the soaking water is reserved as a heritage umami-rich braise liquid.
Yan Guk Gai
Hakka-Cantonese romanisation of 盐焗鸡 — literally "salt-baked chicken," the heritage Hakka mountain technique of cooking a whole wrapped chicken buried inside a wok of pre-toasted hot rock salt.
you tiao
Chinese fried dough fritters — long, golden, slightly puffed. Eaten torn into pieces and dipped in soup or congee.
yu jiao
Mandarin/Teochew for 'fish dumplings' — fish-paste skinned dumplings filled with minced pork or fish, often served in clear soup or noodles.
yu tou
Taro yam (芋头) — a starchy purple-flecked tuber, the textural foundation of Hakka abacus seeds and many heritage Chinese banquet dishes.
zhúchēng
Mandarin for razor clam (竹蛏, "bamboo clam") — the long slender pale-cream-and-brown striped bivalve harvested from Fujian's intertidal mudflats. The Foochow tongue calls it cheng.
zi char
Hokkien-Teochew for 'cooked-to-order' — a hawker stall or restaurant format that prepares dishes from scratch on demand.