Preserving the Recipes of Penang's Home Kitchens

“WHAT ARE THOSE sweet bean curd sticks called again?”

“Te-ga-kee. You can get it from the market. Please also get me some kim chiam.”

“What? A golden needle?!”

“They’re lily buds. The dried kind. PoPo always adds it.”

“And how much orh bok nee do you want?”

“Just a handful.”

“But how big is a handful? 10g? 20g?”

“Aiya, you know Mama lah! Everything I cook also agak kaki.”

I watched as my mother surveyed the ingredients I had just gathered. Then, she gets to work, chopping and slicing a myriad of vegetables swiftly with a confident hand. I juggle between weighing the ingredients, taking notes, photos and videos as Mom makes her vegetarian bee hoon, or “jiak chye bee hoon” as she calls it in Hokkien.