Kueh Pie Tee: A Detective Story

Kueh pie tee is not a pie that goes with tea. So where did the name (and dish) come from? Award-winning cookbook author Christopher Tan combs through old newspapers and cookbooks, in search of the origins of the dish.
PS: Dates back to 1570!

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What Christopher Talked About

02:11 – The origins of the dish kueh pie tee
11:43 – Why make kueh pie tee shells when they can be bought
13:29 – Christopher's tips for deep-frying
13:54 – What's special about Susie Hing's 1956 cookbook In a Malayan Kitchen
16:39 – How Christopher connected with Hing's family
18:03 – Hing's background
18:55 – Different influences in Hing's recipes
21:36 – Why Christopher shares old recipes and cookbooks on his Instagram account
23:48 – The value of local vintage cookbooks
25:20 – Christopher's latest cookbook, Nerdbaker 2: Tales from the Yeast Indies
29:07 – Why toddy (fermented palm sap) is used in baking
35:50 – Christopher's dream filling for kueh pie tee
36:57 – The dish Christopher wishes he can master
38:21 – How Christopher tests his recipes
38:58 – What Christopher would rather buy than make on his own
40:23 – Food is...

About the Guest

Christopher Tan is an award-winning writer, cooking instructor and photographer. His articles, columns, recipes and photographs have appeared in many publications, including Singapore's Sunday Times and Straits Times, The Peak magazine, and America's Saveur magazine. He has authored and co-authored many cookbooks, most recently Nerdbaker 2: Tales from the Yeast Indies (Epigram Books, 2024). He loves making meaning with words, images and food.

Resources

Susie Hing, In a Malayan Kitchen (Singapore: Mun Seong Press, 1956). (Call no. RSING 641.59595 HIN-[RFL])

Janice Loo, “‘Mrs Beeton’” in Malaya: Women, Cookbooks and the Makings of the Housewife,” BiblioAsia 9, no. 3 (October–December 2013).

Christopher Tan, “Love Is a Many-Layered Thing,” BiblioAsia 16, no. 4 (January–March 2021).

Christopher Tan, Nerdbaker 2: Tales from the Yeast Indies (Singapore: Epigram, 2023). (Call no. RSING 641.815 TAN)

“The Pantry Shelf,” Morning Tribune, 20 March 1936, 15. (From NewspaperSG)

Credits

This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by One Dash. The background music "Di Tanjong Katong" was composed by Osman Ahmad and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Christopher for coming on the show.

BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library of Singapore.