I’m rehashing an old post that many might find interesting, particularly those who still own or remember this book.

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I was reading Tze Ming’s blog, Yellow Peril, recently and was surprised to find a mention on Mrs Lee’s Cookbook.

If you are a food lover who lives (or had lived) in Singapore, you might have heard of this cookbook. In recent years, Mrs Lee’s legacy received a new lease of life when Mrs Lee’s granddaughter, a href=”http://www.shermay.com/about_shermay.htm” target=”_blank”>Shermay Lee decided to republished the book, calling it The New Mrs Lee’s cookbook.

According to Tze Ming, a New Zealander,

Five hundred years later, they produced Lee Kuan Yew - go figure. His mother has a famous Peranakan cookbook, seemingly owned by all Singaporeans. Maybe it was a compulsory national purchase, I’m not quite sure. Ma got rid of her citizenship, but kept the cookbook, which says something. Here it is: ‘Mrs Lee’s Cookbook’, 1974.

What’s fascinating is the fact that a 1974 book survives and ended up in another part of the world. Okay, it’s not too far away but still. So I begged Tze Ming for some photos and she was more than happy to snap a few (as in, lots!) extra shots for Makan Singapore.

[more photos on Flickr]

I wonder how many original copies of the 1974 “Mrs Lee Cookbook” still exist, in Singapore and around the world, today? Do you still have a copy? Tell us.

[originally posted on 3 February 2006]

Lotus: Asian Flavours by Teage Ezard
Hardie Grant Books, 2006
ISBN 1740662687

We all know that Asian food is not just Asian food. It’s not only categorized by ethnicity and country of origin but also the variety of food. There is never just one type of noodle or one type of beef dish. Also, your taste buds are constantly challenged; hot and spicy, sweet and sour, cool and warm food, weird and wonderful. The food textures are as important too. However, there is one thing for sure; Asian food is created to excite your taste palette.

Australian chef Teage Ezard published a gorgeous food book, Lotus: Asian Flavours, containing a collection of recipes based on food from Thailand, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong and some Asian fusion. With 147 recipes (or thereabout along with some addtional information on basic and special ingredients. Yes, I counted) to choose from, it’s not a book that has an intention to keep your kitchen activity in idle.

The problem with squeezing in an enormous amount of recipes in a publication is that something’s gotta give. The compromise comes in the lack of mouth-watering photos to accompany each recipe. This doesn’t make the quality of the book or recipe any lesser. Compensated by a fair amount of photo images and graphics, the book contains some classic recipes like red duck curry with lychees,spicy tom yum with prawns, fried spring onion cakes, and steamed lotus leaf parcels with sticky rice, chicken and lup cheong. There’s also one with a quirky name, the Son-in-law eggs with chilli caramel dish. Don’t forget the all-time favourite like peppered mud crab stir-fry with lemon, and a few for the slightly upmarket including this wagyu beef with caramelised pumpkin and snake beans, young coconut salad and red curry sauce.

If you have a little bit more room for all things mid-autumn and mooncakes, here are a few blogs you should visit:

Reminisce with laokokok of his younger days when the mid-autumn celebration was simpler and happier. [via Pinang Nyonya]

A close-up shots of mooncakes at Singapore Daily Makan Photo.

Here’s a look at the atmosphere of Chinatown during this festive season at TravelerFolio.

The nostalgia for an old brand of mooncakes in Chinatown at Entertainer.

Erique tells of his obsession for mooncakes.

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