A British start-up has launched six ‘show-stopping’ cooking sauces inspired by Nonya cuisine from Southeast Asia.
Nonya’s Secret was founded by Maureen Suan Neo, who spent her childhood in Singapore, and delivers all the ‘intense, complex flavours’ of the region’s culinary tradition with the minimum amount of effort.
It draws upon Nonya cuisine, which was forged by a combination of the indigenous Malay population and an influx of Chinese immigrants during the days when the Malay archipelago was an important trading route between east and west.
The convenient range covers everything from a fragrant sambal curry mix to a rich rendang or spicy peanut sauce. Each jar contains 170g and includes a straightforward recipe suggestion to produce a fresh-tasting meal. In short, it is six centuries of fusion food concentrated into a little jar, the brand claimed.
Suan Neo said: “Nonya cooking blends Chinese ingredients with various distinct spices and cooking techniques used by the Malay and Indonesian communities. There are a vast number of herbs, spices and rhizomes such as galangal, turmeric, and ginger. Every ingredient needs to be carefully measured, sliced and ground to a fine texture to produce the sambals and smooth curry pastes, which are then cooked so that the onions caramelise and the ingredients come together in a melange of hot and sweet and spicy.
“The intricate preparation of the raw ingredients is the key to each recipe’s success and Nonya Secrets takes away all of that effort.”
Suan Neo is a veteran of the UK’s Southeast Asian food scene: during the 1980s and 1990s, she and husband John opened five successful restaurants in London known as Singapura, which served classic Nonya cuisine to a loyal and adventurous audience.
She now intends to bring that experience and passion to UK retail shelves.
The full range includes a ‘fragrant, citrusy’ sambal sauce, which is a typically fiery hot sauce made using chilli peppers; a chilli and ginger sauce that pairs well with shellfish and seafood; and a spicy peanut sauce, ideal for dipping, with flavours of lemongrass and the spice galangal.
There is also a red curry mix, ‘authentic’ rendang curry mix inspired by the spicy Indonesian dish, plus a ‘classic’ panang curry mix that can be mixed with coconut milk and diced beef for a mild and hassle-free curry.
The 170g jars are each topped with a decorative floral print lid, and have a recommended retail price of £5.95.
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