What dish or ingredient speaks of love to you and why?

Number one is my mother’s roast chicken. She was working for the British during the colonial period in Malaysia. She added soy sauce to something that is quintessentially English, and it became a household dish that we loved very much.

It combines soy sauce, mustard and Worcestershire sauce together to create something very unique. She would rub it both on the inside, the cavity, and outside, and then it was roasted beautifully. It creates a very savoury taste with a little bit of the mustard kick.

Every time we make that dish, we remember her. It’s one of those dishes that speaks of love, that speaks of remembrance, that speaks of celebration, that speaks of family togetherness.

When you think of tradition or ritual, what dish or ingredient comes to mind?

There’s one you probably would have heard of before that’s now called a prosperity toss [or yusheng]. During Chinese New Year, you eat raw fish. You toss it in the air and you chant little ditties.

In Cantonese or Mandarin, [yusheng] means things that are really beneficial to our lives. Yu is fish but if you change the tone, it also means beneficial.

Some restaurant or chef started this tradition in Malaysia and then it went to Singapore, and then from Singapore to Hong Kong, and then from Hong Kong to the rest of the world. Nowadays, you get all kinds of fish that go in it. As long as the fish is raw, that’s all that really matters.

When you think of tradition or ritual, what dish or ingredient comes to mind?

There’s one you probably would have heard of before that’s now called a prosperity toss [or yusheng]. During Chinese New Year, you eat raw fish. You toss it in the air and you chant little ditties.

In Cantonese or Mandarin, [yusheng] means things that are really beneficial to our lives. Yu is fish but if you change the tone, it also means beneficial.

Some restaurant or chef started this tradition in Malaysia and then it went to Singapore, and then from Singapore to Hong Kong, and then from Hong Kong to the rest of the world. Nowadays, you get all kinds of fish that go in it. As long as the fish is raw, that’s all that really matters.

How did your formative culinary experiences inform the recipes featured in Tony Tan’s Asian Cooking Class?

My father used to own a Chinese restaurant. Obviously there are a lot of Chinese dishes in there that mean a lot to me, but at the same time, because I grew up with Indian and Malay neighbours, one of the dishes that sticks out for me is beef rendang. That’s something you ate when there was a celebration in my neighbourhood. There were some Muslim families around, so we’d go to their house and enjoy their beef rendang.

And because I had Indian neighbours as well, I’d eat roti canai with dhal. I remember going to school and stopping off at Auntie Joseph’s, who was a Tamil Catholic, and she would say ‘have some roti, have some dahl’ because it was cheap and nutritious.

That’s what makes the book so interesting because it’s not a mono-culture or a mono-cuisine, it’s a multi-cuisine. It’s wonderful because when one grows up in that condition, you become a little bit more exposed. You get to eat all different kinds of things and so you get really informed when you are a child, and you don’t really have prejudices.

Which dish from the book would you turn to first if you’re expecting company?

It all depends on how adventurous they are and how simple they like to eat.

For people who want to eat something very nice, simple and quick, I always make them fried rice. It’s also easy to learn and nutritious because it’s got all the elements from protein to greens to carbohydrates. If, let’s say, if I’ve got vegetarians that are coming over, I would make them a lemongrass tofu version.

And then there’s my biryani with fresh rose petals. That’s something a little bit more elaborate. It’s very fragrant and has the most heady aroma. It’s actually a dish that came from Iran years and years ago, then they went to India and the Indians adopted it. Then because the Indians came to Malaysia, we adopted it. It’s a celebration dish but at the same time, it’s one of those dishes that’s actually quite easy to make.