Debbie Teoh's Nyonya Universal Paste

We’ve previously shared about the people, culture, language, tradition, and even the origin story of the Peranakan people. We also know that food is the epicentre of all cultures, what more an exotic culture like the Peranakan. We’ve even shared this article on Peranakan Asam Seafood too. But nothing prepared me gastronomically, for when I met Peranakan culture royalty, Debbie Teoh, the celebrated queen of Nyonya cuisine. Gosh… I’m already salivating just thinking about it…

Debbie Teoh, wearing a traditional lavender Nyonya kebaya. She's holding a large book, titled "Debbie Teoh's Favourite Recipes". — Debbie Teoh, wearing a traditional Nyonya kebaya, holding one of her many cook books on Nyonya cuisine.
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A Very Short Introduction To Debbie Teoh

Debbie Teoh traces a pure lineage to the Straits-born heritage, the Babas (men) and Nyonyas (women) of the Peranakan Chinese. Her father is a Malacca Baba, whilst her mother is a Penang Nyonya. And both of these states just so happen to be the cultural epicentres of the Peranakan culture in Malaysia.

Six cook books, stacked on the table, displaying their covers. All of them are about Asian cuisines, mainly Nyonya cuisine. — Several books on Nyonya cuisine that Debbie arranged, authored and/or co-authored. Sadly, most of these books have run out of print, hence are no longer available for sale.
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She has published numerous books on Peranakan cuisine. She’s also a regular guest author in various publications too, in both print and online. A familiar name indeed, for those interested in Peranakan cuisine. She often conducts cooking demonstrations and cultural shows in high-end hotels, and international conventions, showcasing Peranakan culture and cuisine.

Cooking Demonstration With The Nyonya Paste

Disclaimer – This product, whilst is already available for sale, doesn’t have an official name yet. For the purpose of this article, I shall refer to it as the “Nyonya Universal Paste”

Like most Asian dishes, many contain a myriad of localised herbs, spices, and “special ingredients”. And cooking them individually requires you to repeatedly add in the necessary base ingredients for each dish. But since most Peranakan dishes revolve around the same base ingredients, why not create a universal base?… One that’s applicable for almost every Peranakan dish?… Well, that’s exactly what Debbie postulated. And after several rounds of cooking and testing, the Nyonya Universal Paste is born. A shortcut to cooking many different Peranakan dishes.

Close-up of a retort pouch, containing 150g of Nyonya Universal Paste. The pouch has a label identifying it as Nyonya Paste, and a QR code that leads to instructions to use it. — A retort pouch containing the Nyonya Universal Paste. The QR code (now expired) links to a detailed usage instructions, and quantity to use for the various dishes. A permanent QR code will be available soon.
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And in tonight’s cooking demonstration, Debbie shows how to use it as a shortcut to cook three popular Peranakan dishes :-

(1) Nyonya Chicken Rendang

Rendang is a rich meat dish, common in many Southeast Asian cultures. This dish specifically is based on the original Nyonya beef rendang. But because beef takes longer to cook, she substituted it with chicken. The rest of the cooking remains essentially the same.

Debbie squeezing the content of the Nyonya Universal Paste pouch into a shallow saucepan. — The Nyonya Universal Paste forms the foundation for the Nyonya Chicken Rendang.
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First, pour the Nyonya Universal Paste into a saucepan, then add in kerisik and coconut milk. Some prefer their rendang cooked dry with thick sauce, others prefer it soaking in gravy. Depending on your preference, adjust the amount of water according to your own taste. And finally, add in the chicken cuts into the saucepan to cook.

Debbie adding the chicken cuts into the saucepan containing the rendang stock. — Adding the chicken cuts into the saucepan, containing the rendang stock.
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Close-up of a plate of Nyonya Chicken Rendang. — The finished Nyonya Chicken Rendang, cooked slightly wet. This allows plenty of gravy to soak up the rice when serving.
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The aromatic Nyonya Chicken Rendang is a feast for both taste and smell. A delicious dish that go well with plain white rice, the staple Asian meal.

(2) Udang Masak Lemak Nenas

The name literally translates to Prawn Cooked In Fatty Pineapple, succulent prawns served in a curry-like, creamy, spicy-tangy gravy.

Close-up of the saucepan, showing prawn shells and heads being boiled in water to extract prawn stock. — Step-1: Boiling prawn shells and heads in water to extract the delicious prawn stock.
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The first step in any prawn dish is to extract the prawn stock. We don’t discard the peeled prawn shells and heads. They contain the intense prawn flavour. Hence, she boils the shells and heads in water to extract the delicious prawn flavour.

The prawn stock on one side, and a bowl of cubed pineapple core in a bowl. — Step-2: Add the pineapple core, cubed and blended, into the prawn stock. This gives it a zesty, tangy zing to the flavour.
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Just like the prawn shells and heads, Debbie doesn’t waste the pineapple core either. Instead, she blends it, and then adds it to the prawn stock. The pineapple adds a zesty, tangy element to the umami prawn stock and creamy coconut milk.

Debbie squeezing the Noynya Universal Paste from the retort pouch into the saucepan of prawn stock. — Step-3: Add in the all-important Nyonya Universal Paste to the strained prawn stock.
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The stock is finally all done. That’s the final step, before adding the succulent, jumbo-sized prawns into the stock.

Debbie scoops the raw, peeled prawns from a bowl into the saucepan containing the prawn stock. — Step 4: Add in the star of the dish, the succulent, jumbo-sized prawns.
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A bowl of finished Udang Masak Lemak Nenas, next to the now-empty saucepan used to cook it earlier. — Finally, a steaming hot bowl of *Udang Masak Lemak Nenas*, scraped clean from the saucepan.
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Another typical Nyonya dish, cooked using the same foundation of the Nyonya Universal Paste.

(3) Nyonya Laksa

Don’t confuse this with Penang Laksa (Asam Laksa), Johor Laksa, Sarawak Laksa, Singapore Laksa (Katong), or the generic curry laksa. Nyonya Laksa (aka Malacca Laksa or Laksa Lemak) is a unique interpretation of an already confusing group of noodle dish.

Close-up to the saucepan, of peeled and whole jumbo-prawn, boiled in water. — Boiling the same succulent, jumbo-sized prawn, some with the shells still intact, for later presentation purpose.
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Debbie starts with boiling the same succulent, jumbo-sized prawns in water. She keeps a few pieces of them with the shells intact, as the highlight when serving. Whilst waiting for it to cook, she prepares other supporting ingredients, like cutting the tofu puffs.

The saucepan of the prawn stock, boiling on one side, whilst Debbie cuts the tofu puffs with a pair of scissors into a bowl on the other side. — Debbie cuts the tofu puffs down to bite-size, before adding them to the boiling prawn stock.
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Next comes the all-important Nyonya Universal Paste, added straight into the saucepan.

Close-up to the saucepan, where Debbie adds another pouch of Nyonya universal paste to the boiling prawn stock. — Adding another pouch of Nyonya Universal Paste to the prawn stock.
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Debbie pouring a jar of freshly squeezed coconut milk, directly into the saucepan, completing the laksa base. — Of course, no laksa with “lemak” in its name is complete without coconut milk.
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The laksa base is now complete. All you have to do right now is blanch your choice of noodle, and pour the laksa base over it.

Close-up to a bowl of Nyonya Laksa, with a decorative, unshelled jumbo-prawn as the centre of attention. — Remember the decorative, unshelled prawn from earlier? Well, it’s the centre of attention in this bowl of Nyonya Laksa.
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So there you go, another mouth watering dish, the Nyonya Laksa.

Nyonya Universal Paste: A Universal Shortcut To Peranakan Cuisine?

Three characteristically Peranakan dishes demonstrated here, all made using the same Nyonya Universal Paste. Is it a worthwhile shortcut?… I don’t know about you, but I personally can’t tell any difference between these three, with ones made from scratch…

Okay, now for the nitty-gritty details. This Nyonya Universal Paste is already available for sale. But its label designs and distribution channels are still work-in-progress. You can place an order directly with Debbie, and she’ll have it sent out to you. But if you need high volume orders, or quick order turnarounds, then wait for the dust to settle first. In the meantime, the Nyonya Universal Paste is available at MYR15.00 a pack. You can reach out to Debbie’s Instagram profile for orders or enquiries. Please leave your comments, questions and critiques below.

Debbie Teoh’s Nyonya Universal Paste