Food has always been a big part of STFood Online Editor Hedy Khoo’s life. She grew up with daily home-cooked meals by her grandmothers and foodie father and often watched them prepping in the kitchen for extended family gatherings.

As a photojournalist at The New Paper in 2008, Khoo proposed writing a cooking column and was given the opportunity to start Hed Chef, a weekly recipe column. Her first dish? Arroz moros, a Cuban rice dish with beans. With her father specialising in her favourite Asian dishes, such as chicken curry and braised pork trotters, she wanted to carve out her own space in cooking, thus delving more into non-Asian recipes. However, his death in 2010 prompted her to shift her focus onto Asian dishes in an attempt to relive memories of his cooking.

“It was a journey to discover the things that my father never said out aloud. Cooking is truly a language of love. There is no way you would put yourself through so much trouble if you do not love cooking and if you do not care for those you are cooking for,” she shares.

For Khoo, cooking connects her to her family, past and heritage, and is one way to learn about other cultures and connect with more people. She shares more about her cooking adventures during the circuit breaker and handy tips beginner cooks should know about.

Many people discovered hidden talents for cooking or tried new recipes during the circuit breaker. What are some new dishes you learnt recently?

During the circuit breaker, I revisited old recipes I had written. My favourites include Korean fried chicken, kimchi, chicken dum biryani and chicken curry.

During the circuit breaker, Khoo stepped out of her comfort zone to try new recipes, such as making bubble tea with tapioca pearls from scratch. PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

I have a soft spot for cooking heritage dishes, but thanks to my boss, Life Editor Susan Long, she pushed me to try out new recipes, such as bubble tea. When bubble tea shops were closed during the circuit breaker, she suggested I make the well-loved beverage. So I did, from scratch — because it was impossible to even buy ready-to-use tapioca pearls due to the demand then. With the leftover tapioca starch, I also tried my hand at making Hakka abacus seeds.

Hakka abacus seeds handmade one by one using yam and tapioca starch. PHOTO: HEDY KHOO

What are three cooking tips every beginner should know?

The three tips are:
1. Trust your own taste buds. Do not over rely on recipes. Use your own judgment to taste and adjust the seasoning ingredients to suit your own taste.
2. It is more important to understand the nature of ingredients and basic cooking techniques, rather than to memorise a whole bunch of recipes.
3. The most practical kind of cooking is to open your fridge and kitchen cupboards, see what is available and think up dishes to cook.

What have you learnt about yourself over the years of cooking and trying recipes?

I learnt that I have a love-hate relationship with cooking. While I love the idea of cooking, the process is physically and mentally demanding. But it is so rewarding when I manage to pull off a dish. I also discovered that I am a perfectionist when it comes to taste, which matters more to me than aesthetics.

In the beginning, I enjoyed experimenting with varieties of ingredients. But, I came to a point where I learnt that less is more. If you can make a tasty dish out of easily available ingredients, rather than fancy ones, that makes you a real winner.

Cooking is also about learning the art of compromise. Make do with what you have and learn to make the best of it. This is truly a lesson that I have had to learn during this pandemic.

What dishes are you planning to try soon?

I recently bought a stash of buah keluak and I intend to make ayam buah keluak — one of my favourite dishes. I also feel a craving for Vietnamese spring rolls which I learnt to make from a Vietnamese friend long ago. I will also probably make zhuk bee png (savoury glutinous rice) and lo mai gai (steamed glutinous rice with chicken) soon.

For more recipes by Khoo, click here or follow @hedchefhedykhoo on Instagram.