Babi Pongteh: One of the Best Peranakan Food
The wonderful, hearty, and flavorful dish would be one of the best representative dishes of Peranakan food from the Malacca Peranakan community. Among many other pork dishes popular in Peranakan cuisine, pork belly is paired with delicately sweet bamboo shoots, boiled in fermented bean sauce, with a hint of peppercorn that adds a scrumptious balance to the palette.
“Long Table” Feast
Babi Pongteh was de rigueur on Tok Panjang Feast; a formal dining experience adopted by the Peranakan for any grand celebratory occasions such as weddings or birthdays. Friends and family will be invited to experience the gracious host’s culinary skills by sampling the delicious feast laid out immaculately on a long table. It is also an occasion for the household to showcase their fortune and family upbringing.
Interestingly, Tok Panjang is literally translated to mean “long table”. “Tok” is derived from the Hokkien word for “table” and “Panjang” means long in Malay. Hence, we can see how the Peranakan culture is a hybrid of the Chinese and Malays’.
Babi Pongteh: The Deal Breaker
Nonya girls were taught to prepare this dish by their mothers as part of their culture.
This is because it was believed that cooking skill was a good indicator of a woman’s upbringing. Furthermore, people viewed her ability to cook as a testament to her prowess in the kitchen. Therefore, she would be deemed useful to the family she would be marrying into.
As a result, a young Peranakan lady of marrying age in the early days was customarily required to demonstrate her cooking skills to her future in-laws and Babi Pongteh is a commonly requested dish to ascertain if the young lady would make a good daughter in law. best Peranakan food
In the event that the young nonya fails to impress her in-laws, her marriage will be rejected. Hence, a Nonya must master this dish in order to be able to marry well.
Is There a Best Version of Babi Pongteh, a Classic Peranakan Food?
We believe not.
Recipes of Nyonya cuisine are handed down to the next generation that upholds and inherits traditional recipes from the previous generations. The similarities of ingredients, food preparation and cooking of Nyonya cuisine to Chinese and Malay or Indo cuisine are clear evidence that Nyonya cuisine is a product of cultural exchange.