Finding mum’s recipes led to a cookbook on how to make everything from curry puffs to laksa to scones

When Hong Kong-born Dominica Yang found her mum’s handwritten recipes, she decided to put together a cookbook in memory of her and of her late sister

Mum’s Kitchen – Back to Basics, features Southeast Asian recipes including curry puffs and laksa; others include char siu, Bakewell tart and classic scones

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Dominica Yang created Mum’s Kitchen – Back to Basics after she found her mum’s handwritten recipes while clearing out her childhood home. Photo: May Tse

Published: 4:15am, 14 Mar 2022

In the introduction to Mum’s Kitchen – Back to Basics (2021), Hong Kong-born Dominica Yang writes that she found a treasure when she was cleaning out her childhood family home. It wasn’t gold or jewels: it was her mother’s handwritten recipes. Her mother, she writes, was an excellent cook and hostess.

“My mum was the kindest mother and the most hospitable hostess, and as the Chinese would always say, we can always add a pair of chopsticks. She was known for always hosting the most delicious, wholesome and plentiful meals.

“And it goes without saying that my love of cooking stemmed from such a household – from helping in the kitchen at a young age to cooking with my mum or discussing recipes with her through different stages of my life.”

After Yang found the recipes, she says, “Friends and family requested that I must share with them [ …] I decided to put together a cookbook as my mum nurtured in me the love of cooking and the simple joy of sharing, and this book is created in loving memory of her and my late sister Priscilla.

The cover of Yang’s book. Photo: HK Arts Centre

“Priscilla lived for 10 short years – she was born mentally and physically disabled. In 1983, my father helped to set up Priscilla’s Home, part of the Fu Hong Society, to offer day training and residential services with hostel facilities to individuals with severe disabilities, in memory of Priscilla.”