When it comes to dishing out comfort food to fill our tummies and warm our souls, mum still does it best. Four Singapore women in the F& B industry share their favourite hand-me-down recipes from their mothers. 

1. GRILLED LAMB CUTLETS WITH BOILED POTATOES AND SALSA VERDE
by Pansy Foo, 66

Lynette Foo, 40, owner of Palate Sensations, shares how her working-mother mum used to buy groceries in bulk, cook all her meals for Monday to Friday, freeze them in portions, and defrost them for their weekday meals.

For this recipe for four, Lynette recommends using a grill pan instead of a frying pan as the ridges concentrate the heat on the meat and give it a quintessential smoky flavour. 

INGREDIENTS
1/3 handful Italian parsley leaves
1/3 handful mint
2 green chillies, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
3 anchovies
Juice of 1 lime
10 small potatoes
4 lamb cutlets, at room temperature
2 tbsp olive oil
30g butter 

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the salsa verde, puree the parsley leaves, mint, green chillies, crushed garlic, anchovies and lime juice in a food processor until thick and smooth. You can add a little water, if necessary. Set aside.
2. Place the potatoes in a pot of salted water and bring it to a boil. Simmer for 10min until the potatoes are tender.
3. Brush both sides of the lamb cutlets with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat a grill pan until it’s very hot and grill the lamb cutlets for about 2min on one side. Rotate the cutlets 90 degrees (to make a criss-cross pattern on the meat) and cook for another 2min. Flip the cutlets over and repeat.
5. Halve the cooked potatoes and butter the insides.
6. Serve the lamb with the buttered potatoes and salsa verde.

2. PRAWN PASTE CHICKEN (HAR CHEONG KAI)
by Tan Meng Choo, 64

Irene Ang, 42, artist and owner of Qafe by Night, said that her mum’s Har Cheong Kai was the first fried chicken dish that she'd ever eaten, even before Kentucky Fried Chicken. It’s now the bestselling dish at Qafe by Night.

Irene describes herself as being “very ‘auntie’, like my mum – she taught me to pack meats and organise my tupperware.” After moving out from the family home, Irene would call her mother “to ask her how to cook this and that”; her mum cooked everything when Irene was living with her.

This recipe makes 12 chicken wings. Tip: look at the juices running out of the cutlets to check the doneness: red means it’s rare; clear, medium; and brown, well-done. 

INGREDIENTS
175g (½ bottle) red fermented beancurd
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Chinese rice wine
12 chicken wings, washed and patted dry
1 bowl plain flour
Vegetable oil, for deep frying 

For the chilli belacan
1 tbsp oil block
1/5 belacan
200g chilli padi, chopped
Juice from 4 limes 

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix the fermented beancurd, sesame oil and rice wine to make the marinade for the chicken. Season the chicken wings with the marinade and set aside for at least 30min.
2. To make the chilli belacan, heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Fry the belacan over low heat until fragrant, for about 20min.
3. In a blender, puree the cooked belacan, chilli padi and lime juice. Set aside.
4. Cut each chicken wing along the joint to separate the drumlet from the rest of the wing.
5. Coat the wings evenly in plain flour before deep-frying in hot oil until golden brown. Serve with the chilli belacan on the side.

3. MASALA PRAWNS
by Vasanthal Vasudevan, 62

Veshali Visvanaath, 34, director of marketing at Muthu’s Curry, said her mum's recipes were simple so she could be in and out of the kitchen quickly – she was a teacher in Chennai.

Veshali says that when she cooks for her kids, she remembers how her mother had cooked for her. She appreciates how her mother managed to cook, run the house efficiently and bring up her and her siblings so well – in between work and everything else.

This recipe – and the following recipe for masala prawns – serves four and is best eaten with roti prata or chapati – visit Mustafa for the best frozen made-in-India ones, says Veshali. 

INGREDIENTS
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp fenugreek
200g shallots, chopped
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
2 sprigs curry leaves
3 tsp grated garlic
3 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp fennel powder
2 tbsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp chilli powder
½ cup water
1kg prawns, peeled, deveined and patted dry 

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the cumin and fennel seeds, and fenugreek over low heat until fragrant, about 2min.
2. Add the shallots and fry until browned.
3. Add the tomatoes and curry leaves and cook until the tomatoes are soft.
4. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about 2min.
5. Add the cumin, fennel, coriander, turmeric and chilli powders, and water. Cook over low heat until the oil surfaces, about 5-7min.
6. Add the prawns and cook for 5min. Remove and set aside.
7. Let the sauce simmer until it thickens. Mix in the cooked prawns and serve.

4. DRY BLACK PEPPER CHICKEN
by Vasanthal Vasudevan, 62

This recipe serves four.

INGREDIENTS
3 tsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp cumin
4 cardamom
½ cup dried chillies
1 cinnamon stick
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 sprigs curry leaves
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp grated ginger
1 chicken, skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces 1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
½ tbsp cumin powder
½ tbsp fennel powder
3 tbsp black pepper powder
½ glass water 

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the fennel seeds, cumin, cardamom, dried chillies and cinnamon stick until fragrant, about 2min.
2. Add the onions, garlic and curry leaves, and fry until the garlic is golden brown.
3. Add the tomatoes and cook until soft. Add the ginger and cook for 5min.
4. Add the chicken and turmeric powder and cook for 7min.
5. Add the chilli, coriander, cumin and fennel powders. Cook for 4min, until the oil surfaces.
6. Add the black pepper and water. Cover and simmer over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 8min.

5. ACHAR AWAK (SPICY VEGETABLE PICKLE)
by Sew Ah Yang, 83

Cheng Yeap Guat, 49, owner of Cedele by Bakery Depot, says that her mum was really strict when it came to cooking. Once when she was out, Yeap Guat tried to slice turnips for her. When she came home and saw how uneven they were, she screamed at her and made her re-cut the thicker strips.

But she would also make bottled achar for me to sell to raise funds for her girl scout patrol. Her mother was always worried that she would work in a kitchen – she wanted Yeap Guan “to have a white-collar job”. So when she started Bakery Depot, her mother told Yeap Guat's dad that she had gone mad. Cooking the dishes for this story brought back many fond memories.”

This recipe serves 10. 

INGREDIENTS
5 litres water
1 cup rice vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
3 cucumber, deseeded and cut into 5cm-long strips and seasoned with 1 tsp salt
2 carrots, cut into 5cm-long strips
230g long beans, cut into 5cm-long strips
200g cabbage, cut into 5cm squares
1 pineapple, core removed and cut into 5cm-long strips 

For The Rempah
50g dried chillies
5 stalks lemongrass
250g shallots
1 tsp turmeric powder
7 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
40g tamarind pulp
½ cup water
250g peanuts, chopped
60g sesame seeds 

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the water, rice vinegar, salt and sugar to a pot and bring to a boil. Rinse the cucumber and squeeze dry.
2. In the rice vinegar mixture, cook the carrots for 8sec. Add the cucumber, long beans and cabbage, and boil for another 5sec. Remove the vegetables and set aside the rice vinegar mixture.
3. To make the rempah, blend the dried chillies, lemongrass and shallots into a fi ne paste in a food processor. Add the turmeric powder and mix well.
4. Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the rempah for 3min. Add the sugar and salt. Continue frying until the mixture is fragrant and the oil has surfaced, about 5min.
5. Mix the tamarind pulp with the water and strain the juice.
6. Mix the tamarind juice into the cooked rempah. Mix in the peanuts and sesame seeds.
7. Add about 2 tbsp of the reserved vinegar mixture into the paste until it’s thick, like satay sauce.
8. Add the pineapples and bring it to a boil. Turn it down to low heat and add the blanched carrots, cucumber, long beans and cabbage. Mix well and transfer to a big plate to cool.

6. STEWED PORK RIBS WITH SALTED PLUMS
by Sew Ah Yang, 83

This recipe serves four. 

INGREDIENTS
80g garlic
60g red chillies
60ml soya bean paste (tau cheo)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 kg pork ribs, cut into 6cm pieces
4 large tomatoes, quartered
6 Woh Hup salted plums
350ml water
2 potatoes, cut into chunks
Salt, to taste 

DIRECTIONS

1. In a food processor, blend the garlic, red chillies and soya bean paste into a fine paste.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the soya bean paste mixture and sugar, and fry over low heat until the mixture is thick and fragrant.
3. Add the pork ribs and fry over high heat until the pork turns pale, about 5min.
4. Add the tomatoes, salted plums and water. Bring to a boil, and let it simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
5. Add the potatoes and simmer for another 20min. Add salt to taste. Let the dish sit for another 30min before serving to let the pork absorb the flavours of the stew.

This article was originally published in SimplyHer May 2011.