Kim Choo Kueh Chang has been serving bite-sized treats called Nyonya kueh in Singapore since 1945. These colorful snacks are a staple for the Peranakan people — a cultural group prominent between the 15th and early 20th centuries that’s working to be remembered. But as the popularity of Nyonya kueh increases, some shopkeepers fear its Peranakan roots will be forgotten. We went to Singapore to see how Peranakan culture and the art of making Nyonya kueh is still standing.
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00:00Peeling this gelatinous kueh lapis, layer by layer, is the correct way to eat it.
00:07If you chew it without peeling, it means that you are actually shortening your lifespan.
00:12For almost 80 years, Edmond Wong's family has been making these bite-sized treats in Singapore.
00:19Crafting them is part of a culture that goes back about 500 years.
00:24Nonya kueh is historically significant to the Peranakan people.
00:29A cultural group prominent between the 15th and early 20th centuries that's working to be remembered today.
00:36Their varied and colorful snacks are a staple of Southeast Asian cuisine.
00:42But as the popularity of nonya kueh increases, some shopkeepers like Edmond fear its Peranakan roots will be forgotten.
00:51For our business, we see us being not just only a food business, but a heritage business.
00:57People may enjoy to eat them, but they may not know the meaning behind it, and they may lose touch with the heritage.
01:03We went to Singapore to see how Peranakan culture and the art of making nonya kueh is still standing.
01:13Kueh is a broad term for bite-sized snacks or desserts commonly found in Southeast Asia, including cakes, dumplings, and pastries.
01:22Kueh are prepared differently by multiple cultures in the region.
01:26The ones made by Singapore's Peranakan community are called nonya kueh.
01:33The neighborhood of Joo Chiat has long been a center of Peranakan culture.
01:38It's where the shop Kim Joo Kueh Cheong has been located since 1945.
01:43This business started off from my grandma.
01:45She started selling rice dumplings under a banyan tree, and that's how we started.
01:51Edmond still uses her recipes to make all the shop's kueh.
01:56Today, the team is making a batch of one of their most popular items, kueh lapis.
02:02It's a nine-layer steamed cake made with a base of tapioca flour, coconut milk, and sugar.
02:09In Chinese, we also call it jiu cheng gao, which means nine-layer kuehs.
02:14When our forefathers came here, they couldn't use ingredients from China,
02:19so they used local ingredients like coconut, coconut shred, palm sugar,
02:25and then we create something that looks Chinese, but it's not Chinese.
02:30Workers mix the ingredients into a paste and strain it.
02:39Kueh lapis is known for its colorful layers.
02:43In the past, makers would use plants for natural coloring,
02:46like butterfly pea flowers for blue shades or pandan leaves for green.
02:52But today, Edmond uses store-bought dyes to get each layer to the perfect shade of red or green.
03:06Each layer must be steamed one by one.
03:10Then, workers repeat the process of pouring and steaming eight times.
03:19With this step, timing is everything.
03:22Pour in a layer too early, and the colors could mix together, ruining the entire batch.
03:29So workers carefully steam each layer for exactly five minutes at 100 degrees Celsius.
03:35Because it's made without preservatives, the shop only makes about 320 kueh lapis a day.
03:41We try not to sell too much because all these items cannot be kept long.
03:46It's best eaten on the day when it's being produced and best eaten fresh.
03:54There's also a specific way to eat kueh lapis.
03:58You peel it layer by layer.
04:00I've been eating kueh since four years ago.
04:04At first, I would just take it manually and put it in my mouth.
04:09But after the staff here told me that I'm sick, I decided to eat it.
04:15I started eating it when I was 9 years old.
04:18I've been eating kueh since I was 5 years old, and I've eaten it since then.
04:22I would just take it manually and just put it in my mouth.
04:26But after the staff here told me
04:29that I'm supposed to peel one by one and taste the flavor,
04:34that's when I realized that I have eaten kueh lapis
04:38wrongly ever since four years ago.
04:42My grandma, before she passed on,
04:43she would say that live your life like the kueh lapis.
04:46You know, even if you're met with difficult times,
04:49continue to peel through that layer.
04:51You'll eventually see a bright color.
04:54Researchers believe kueh originated
04:56in southern Fujian, China,
04:58and were first introduced to Southeast Asia
05:01by Chinese traders who migrated to Malaysia
05:03during the 15th century.
05:06These traders married local Malay women,
05:08and their descendants, known as Straits Chinese
05:11or Peranakan, preserved their traditions,
05:14including making nonya kueh for celebrations
05:16like Chinese New Year.
05:18When the British established a port in Singapore
05:22in 1819, many Peranakans migrated there
05:24for trade opportunities.
05:26Their fluency in Chinese, Malay, and English
05:29helped them become middlemen between British
05:32and locals during the colonial era.
05:34By the early 20th century,
05:36they were among Southeast Asia's most influential people,
05:40contributing their own distinct art, fashion,
05:42architecture, and food throughout the region.
05:46But Japan's occupation of Singapore during World War II
05:50devastated the community.
05:53Many Peranakans, including Edmund's grandmother,
05:56lost their fortunes and had to sell
05:58their belongings to survive.
06:00During the time of war,
06:02she had to try and make a living for herself.
06:04And the only skill set she had back then
06:06were the culinary skills passed down to her
06:09from her maternal grandmother.
06:11It's not meant to be a business.
06:12It's a way of life.
06:14It's not meant to be a business.
06:16It's really for survival.
06:18The decades following World War II
06:20also marked a shift to modernization in Singapore.
06:24Many Peranakans left their traditions behind.
06:27By the 1970s, the community was on the verge of extinction.
06:33For Edmund's grandmother and other Peranakans,
06:35selling their nonye kueh was a way to make a living
06:38while keeping their culture alive.
06:41Edmund is working to do the same in her honor.
06:53These rice dumplings, or kueh cheong,
06:56have been prepared the same way since the shop opened.
06:59Workers start by filling pandan leaves with rice and meat
07:02and wrapping them into a pyramid shape.
07:07Then the dumplings are tied with a small rope
07:09and boiled for 1 1⁄2 hours.
07:12These days, kueh cheong is the shop's best seller.
07:15During non-festive season,
07:17we produce about 1,000 plus a day.
07:19During the festive season,
07:21you see us producing more than thousands,
07:24maybe 10, 20, 30,000 pieces a day.
07:30Over several decades, nonye kueh has gone
07:33from a Peranakan delicacy to a staple
07:36for all Southeast Asians throughout Singapore.
07:39We are a brand that's been around since 1945.
07:42So basically, you will see us
07:45as a brand that grew with Singapore.
07:47We are really fortunate that throughout the generations,
07:50we have a lot of Singaporeans and foreigners supporting us.
07:55But because kueh has become more popular,
07:57some see it as a Singaporean delicacy
08:00instead of a Peranakan one.
08:02And Edmund worries its Peranakan roots
08:04could be forgotten over time.
08:06All these Peranakan stories,
08:08it tells us how to live our lives.
08:10One of these days, if the stories are not being shared,
08:13then my fear is, yes, people may enjoy to eat them,
08:16but they may not know the meaning behind it,
08:18and they may lose touch with the heritage.
08:22That's why he believes it's so important
08:23to share Peranakan history with others while he can.
08:28Kim Chu Kueh Cheong partnered
08:29with the Singaporean government
08:30to convert a portion of its restaurant
08:32into a boutique shop and museum.
08:36Visitors can attend guided tours
08:38to learn about the different aspects of Peranakan heritage.
08:42The collection includes family heirlooms,
08:44art, and traditional clothing.
08:47A lot of these items were either from my grandmother,
08:49or of which late, you know,
08:51a lot of families who do not wish to keep them anymore,
08:55we actually do purchase directly from them
08:56if they no longer want to keep them.
08:59We share stories here.
09:00We teach people how to consume the food.
09:02We teach them about the history,
09:03about why we eat certain things a certain way,
09:06and it's really important.
09:07More than the food, you know, we want to be custodians.
09:10We want to promote the Peranakan heritage.
09:13Edmund isn't the only one working
09:15to preserve this unique culture.
09:17Since the 1980s, preservationists
09:20and the Singaporean government
09:21have worked to promote Peranakan culture.
09:25Today, Singapore is home
09:26to multiple government-backed Peranakan museums
09:28and exhibits like the one at Kim Chu Kueh Cheong,
09:32as well as programs meant
09:34to preserve Peranakan architecture.
09:37The Peranakan community, or the culture,
09:40is not about the marriage of races.
09:42It is largely about the marriage of cultures.
09:45And if we can embrace this concept
09:46and help more of us understand it,
09:48basically all of us in Singapore,
09:50even in Southeast Asia,
09:52can embrace and share this culture also.
09:54Ever since I found out much about my heritage,
09:58it gives me identity.
09:59I know my heritage.
10:01I know my culture.
10:02I will always remember that this is my home,
10:04and I always have to come back here.
10:07His hope is that the next generation
10:09will get to understand the history
10:10behind the kueh they know and love.
10:14Passing down his grandmother's legacy
10:16is the best way to do that.
10:18In the same way stories being passed down to her,
10:21she also passed down to us, to this generation,
10:23and we hope that we can continue to share this story
10:26with many more generations to come.
10:31I'm proud to be a Singaporean.
10:33I'm proud to be a Singaporean.
10:35I'm proud to be a Singaporean.
10:37I'm proud to be a Singaporean.
10:39I'm proud to be a Singaporean.