A Spicy Nonya Lady Dressed in Green

I bought this Nonya zhong zhi (glutinous rice dumpling) one day last week, with the intention of having it for lunch. Unfortunately, things got so busy that day, I didn’t even have time to stop to eat. And so the dumpling was left sitting in the refrigerator for almost a full week. I finally decided to rescue it before it descended into gastronomic oblivion and crossed over into the next realm. I steamed it for dinner the other night. Fortunately it was still within its natural lifespan, and still tasted very good.*

[*Here's how to tell whether a dumpling is still edible: there should be no cobweb-like glistening strands as the dumpling is cut open with a fork. Thin, transparent strands stretching out from the rice on the inside of the dumpling indicates the dumpling is ready to be dumped.]

To me, the Nonya zhong zhi encapsulates very succinctly in one compact food item the meaning of “Peranakan”.

The Peranakan social group is unique to South East Asia, and more specifically to Singapore and Malaysia. This community evolved some two to three hundred years ago when Chinese traders came South to conduct their trade through and around the geographically strategic Straits of Malacca, and established business ties with the locals in Peninsula Malaya, including Singapore. With time, these Chinese traders settled in the Straits Settlements of Malacca and Singapore and married local Malay women. Out of these cross-cultural relationships and marriages was born a unique culture that was a blend of Chinese and Malay customs, with a dash of the English way of life.

The descendants of these original Chinese-Malay cross-cultural unions, together with their unique culture, came to be called Peranakans. The word “peranakan” in the Malay language meant “locally born”. To the Westerners, they were more commonly known as “Straits-born Chinese” or simply “Straits Chinese”.

Male Peranakans were known as Baba and the females Nonya. The latter was also the term used to describe Peranakan cuisine and fashion.

Everything about the rich heritage of the Peranakans was unique – the way they dress, the language, the food and the cultural traditions and practices.

The traditional Nyonyas and Babas did not speak Chinese, or any other Chinese dialects. They spoke a language of their own, a form of patois Malay, sometimes also called “Baba Malay” – a melodious version of Malay mixed with a good smattering of the Chinese Hokkien dialect and colloquial Malay words.

When the British colonized Malaysia and Singapore, the Peranakans were among the first group of locals to adopt the English language. They began to view themselves as superior to the other Chinese, who couldn't speak English. During the colonial era, many Straits Born Chinese regarded themselves as "Queen's subjects". And it was during this period, that certain elements of English culture and practices were assimilated into the Peranakan culture.

Yet, despite the adoption of various elements from different cultures into their daily life, the Peranakans, at the same time, clung fiercely to their Chinese identity in some aspects. They celebrated festivals like the Chinese New Year and Mooncake Festival on a large scale. The older generations continued to observe Chinese religious beliefs and rituals.

The flow of history also led to a change in the cultural emphasis of the Peranakans. At the turn of the century, as more Chinese immigrants flooded in and rooted themselves in the Malayan Peninsula, the Peranakans began to assimilate into the Chinese culture and thus diluted the rich heritage established by the early Peranakans. Among which were the language and beliefs. Baba Malay rapidly lost out to the Chinese dialects. The Hokkien dialect quickly became the adopted language of the new generations. The Malay component was diluted to such an extent that modern day Peranakans are chiefly Chinese in look and identity.

However, having said this, despite a more dilute Nonya culture in day-to-day living, the modern Peranakans still observe their traditional heritage on special occasions such as Chinese New Year, weddings and birthdays, with many of their practices quite different from traditional Chinese customs.

But perhaps the most profound Peranakan legacy and contribution to South East Asian culture is their food. Nonya cuisine is arguably the original “fusion food”. It is an exotic art of fusing the distinctive traditions, herbs and spices, and culinary skills of the Chinese and Malay. An amalgamation of the best of these two rich and colorful epicurean cultures. Nonya food is a synthesis of all four tastes - a tantalizing blend of spicy, tangy, salty and sweet flavors.

I think South East Asia’s culinary landscape would be decidedly poorer if not for Nonya food. In fact, the culinary culture of the Peranakans has become so accepted and assimilated into mainstream Singaporean and Malaysian food culture, many young Singaporeans and Malaysians do not regard, or even realize that many of their most popular foods are “Nonya” or “Peranakan” in origin. Instead, these beloved dishes are seen simply as being “Malaysian” or “Singaporean” foods. Some examples would be dishes like laksa, mee siam, popiah, otak-otak, sambal hae bee, and the list goes on.

In fact, each time I have written about or described a dish as being Peranakan or Nonya in origin, I would receive emails and comments querying the description. The roots of many of the most well-known South East Asian dishes did originate from Peranakan kitchens, but through the years Chinese, Indian and/or Malay influences have been added to them. Indeed, the cross-influencing has not been one-way. Similarly, some Peranakan recipes have evolved to take on broader South East Asian characteristics, reflecting the wider social fabric of Chinese, Indian, Malay and Eurasian elements. These “evolved” versions exists side-by-side with the original authentic versions, and all are beloved by food-loving Singaporeans and Malaysians, thus sometimes making it rather difficult to distinguish “authentic” from “interpreted” versions of any particular dish.

Which brings me back (after a rather lengthy detour – I do apologize, I get carried away sometimes) to my Nonya zhong zhi. In my humble opinion, I think this food item showcases very simply and eloquently the meaning of Peranakan or Nonya cuisine, which in essence is the fusion of Chinese and Malay culinary traditions.

Here we have the combining of the traditional Chinese glutinous rice dumpling with the Malay sambal hae bee (dried shrimps fried with sambal chilli). It’s simple, it’s tasty, it’s Peranakan.

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The Chinese rice dumpling (zhong zhi) is another one of those Chinese food items that is designed to be eaten efficiently and conveniently, without the need for plates or cutlery. The rice and meat are wrapped and cooked together in special bamboo leaves (juk yip in Cantonese).

Once ready, the dumpling is simply unwrapped…

And it is ready to be eaten. It is interesting that the unique wrapping procedure of the dumpling, when done right, always ensures that when the dumpling is unwrapped, the rice pyramid sits conveniently and strategically in the middle, with the long strips of bamboo leaves stretching out almost equally on either side. This is important for the eating of the dumpling.

To eat the dumpling, simply hold onto the bamboo leaves on either side of the rice. It is prudent to position your hands on the leaves as close as possible to the rice. This helps the pyramid of rice maintain its balance on the rather narrow leaves, and not topple over onto the floor as you try to bite into it!

Lift the dumpling to your mouth, and take a nice big mouthful of the dumpling. Slowly savor the beautiful marriage of the soft, smooth glutinous rice with the spicy, slightly sweet sambal hae bee and its nicely contrasting meaty bite and texture. Bliss.

This particular dumpling was chock-full of minced sambal hae bee (dried shrimps in sambal chilli). There was also some finely diced pork in the mixture, for added sweetness and richness of flavor.

When the dumpling has been eaten, simply throw the bamboo leaves away, and you are done. No washing up to do.

Traditionally, rice dumplings were only eaten on Duan Wu Jie (the Dumpling Festival). But nowadays, dumplings are sold and eaten year round. This suits me just fine, especially as this year the Dumpling Festival will be happening rather later in the year than normal – towards the end of June (in fact, just 2 days before my birthday ). Why? Because we have a “double spring” this year. We are currently in the second “second lunar month” of the year. Yes, the lunar calendar has two “second month” this year. And thus the various festivals that happen from the third lunar month onwards have been pushed back this year.

Just a little bit of interesting trivial there for you.

Happy rice dumpling-ing!

[note: being a non-Peranakan myself, the above information on the Peranakans and the Nonya culture was written based on my outsider’s understanding and appreciation of the people and their culture. If there have been any inadvertent errors, I apologize in advance. Please do drop me a line and let me know.]

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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