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.
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