LOVE LETTERS
Our family has been using these traditional patterned moulds for the past five decades. To us, they are priceless and have become more seasoned after each Chinese Lunar New Year comes to pass.
Garson Lim Sze Gan
their decision to purchase,” adds Lee.
He then jokes that love letters taste so good that they do not remain long enough in their containers to degrade in terms of crunchiness.
“To make, very time consuming; to eat, very fast,” he jests while shifting his gaze over to his uncle who’s still busy minding the stove.
Despite having to juggle several tasks at the same time, Garson considers himself lucky compared to love letter makers in the olden days.
“In the past, they only had charcoal burners and minding the fire was a real challenge. Today, gas powered stoves are heaven-sent. The easy-to-control heating element allows me to take my mind off the fire and concentrate on the other aspects of cooking,” he explains while lifting several moulds momentarily to reveal tiny blue coloured flames on the underside of the stove.
When quizzed on the origin of love letters, Garson reveals that this popular snack was believed to have originated from the Dutch, who assimilated their pastrymaking techniques into various Southeast Asian countries through exploration and conquests since the early 15th century.
“That is probably the reason love letters are also called kuih belanda,” he explains.
A popular lore has it that love letters were improvised in the late 19th century in Malaya to become an effective method for creative maidens who were forbidden to meet boys without chaperons to pass romantic messages to their heart throbs.
Furthermore, the love letters’ edible attribute made it easy for any evidence of a tryst to be quickly destroyed and the process of consuming the snack meant the message had been taken to heart.
While the love letters made by Garson and his nephews do not contain any secret notes, the men assure me that their product holds something equally exciting. They use freshly-laid free-range chicken eggs instead of ordinary ones.
“The superior quality eggs make all the difference. Our love letters are crispier and fragrant. That sets us apart from our competitors,” elaborates Garson.
After rattling off the list of five other types of ingredients, Garson cautions that knowing the recipe alone is no guarantee for success.
“Our family has been using these traditional patterned moulds for the past five decades. To us, they are priceless and have become more seasoned after each Chinese 1 kg all-purpose flour, sifted 150 g corn flour 150 g tapioca flour 40 large free-range chicken eggs (can be replaced with ordinary eggs) 1.5 kg granulated sugar
1.1 kg fresh unadulterated coconut milk
(equivalent to 3 grated coconuts) Lunar New Year comes to pass.
As a result, the love letters that we make also becomes better,” explains Garson before drawing parallels with the way Chinese chefs treasure their old woks and other cooking utensils.
It is this undying loyalty to their timetested tradition that has made Garson and his nephews resist the temptation to improvise and change the way they make love letters.
The trio are aware of recent innovators, who place things like meat floss and peanut butter into the love letters, but they prefer to stick to the original version passed down by their elders.
“Apart from affecting the texture and flavour, the inclusions take up space and make it more difficult to fold. As it is, there’s just enough time to fold the cooked batter properly before it hardens. Adding stuff like meat floss will surely slow me down and affect my work,” elaborates Lee.
While waiting for the last batch of my order to be cooked, Garson casts a glance at both his nephews who are hard at work.
Shifting his attention to me, he says: “This will probably be the last time I helm this operation. By the looks of it, these two boys are ready to take charge and I will make way for them next year. I have every confidence they will be able to continue our family tradition in the years to come.”
Garson’s words are music to my ears. He has done a great job in training his successors. With them waiting in the wings to play the starring role, I know I’m assured of a continuous supply of tantalising love letters for many, many more years to come.
pieces)
(enough for 1,000
of the mould with cooking oil before putting it back on the stove.
When sufficiently hot, pour a ladleful of batter onto one side of the mould. Close both sides tightly and bake for about half a minute on each side. Trim the batter run-off with a butter knife during the turn over process. Peel the cooked love letter carefully from the mould and immediately fold into halves twice to form the shape of a fan. The other option is to roll it into a cylindrical shape.
Set aside to cool for five minutes before storing in an air-tight plastic container or tin.