Mak Cik Fatimah’s Malay Recipes

This series, which we import from Singapore, consists of individual books (seven to date, hopefully more to come) highlighting the traditional home cooking of  various ethnic groups in the busy, prosperous city state.

Every book includes an affectionate tribute to one person whose cooking represents the cuisine featured there, and charming, highly personal commentary on many of the dishes reflects the interchange among Singapore’s different cultures. Those looking for definitive, systematic studies of ethnic traditions will be disappointed, but these handsomely designed slender books offer a fascinating window into everyday fare.

Anuar bin Abu's presentation of his mother's uncompromising home cooking reveals a cook who is resourceful and focused on making the best possible food out of humble ingredients of good quality. In more than 120 recipes, we see an abundant use of vegetables and seafood, and complexly flavored dishes with many aromatics, such as chiles, lemongrass, ginger, and shallots:  red fried rice with fresh anchovies; rice vermicelli with dried shrimp, tamarind, and fermented soy beans; vegetable and pineapple salad in coconut cream.

Flexibind.