Shu Han Lee’s ‘Agak Agak – Everyday Recipes from Singapore’ – Reviewed by Mex Ibrahim

Agak Agak – Everyday Recipes from Singapore – is the second cookbook by Shu Han Lee. Shu is a food developer whose spice company, Rempapa, is stocked throughout the UK, including in Selfridges and Whole Foods. Our co-founder Mex Ibrahim knew Shu from the times when Mex commissioned recipes for Great British Chefs, so it was with great pleasure to attend a launch of Shu’s book which included a demo of recipes at Divertimenti cookery school. Discover her Agak Agak book review.

My last long haul holiday was to visit my old friend from university in Singapore. It was a treat to visit the bustling street markets and try a huge variety of Singaporean food. But even more of a treat to enjoy my friend’s home cooked meals eaten with her family. I have a feeling my friend would appreciate Shu’s latest cookbook. “Easy recipes that can be re-created in your home kitchen.” is how Shu’s publishers describe Agak Agak. We certainly got to put this in the test. After watching Shu make Leek and Tofu Wontons with ease we were invited to have a go at making them ourselves. It was surprisingly easy and calming – mindful even. The sort of thing you can do while watching TV.

Shu explained that ‘Agak agak’ is a colloquial term rooted in the Malay word for ‘somewhat’. It’s a term that makes perfect sense in the home kitchen, where we often rely on our senses and experience, rather than tools or exact formulas. Shu gave us a potted background of Singaporean cuisine has come from a long history of adjusting and adapting and doing things ‘to taste’. It the kind of cooking we can all relate to and it was comforting to see Shu adjusting the amounts of ingredients like soy sauce while she was cooking as she says the levels of saltiness and flavour depend on the brand used.

Agak Agak is “knowing to wet your hands if your mee hoon kueh dough feels a tad dry. It’s choosing to hold back on the chillies, depending on how spicy or sweet they are this time. It’s the way my mum, aunties and uncle cook – and it’s the way I’ve come to cook, especially here in the UK where I don’t always have the same ingredients to work with; nor the long hours to potter away.” says Shu.

Even when using her own sauce, Shu decided to take the “half-half” approach and add some tomato ketchup to bring down the heat in her Red Hot Sambal Tumis which formed the basis of a quick and easy sauce which she served with the leek wontons.

Agak Agak is not just a cookbook and is interwoven with Shu’s Singaporean stories and based around childhood memories such as adding tomato ketchup to dishes. Shu said “This book is filled with Singaporean recipes from my home kitchen – everyday recipes that I love and cook time and time again. You will find Singaporean hawker favourites, made a little bit simpler and quicker for home cooking. You will find the lesser-seen dishes served only at home among friends and family. You will find new ideas that combine the incredible fresh produce here with the flavours I’ve grown up with. You will also find tips, twists and tricks on many of the recipes, to help you adjust, adapt and make it your own.”

Beyond the vibrant cover, there are fabulous illustrations opening each chapter by Evi-O.Studio, beautiful photography of the dishes by Ola O. Smit, all mouth-wateringly styled by Sam Dixon. There are also a range of lovely personal snaps from Shu gathered from Singapore to London. Her family helped me by locating precious films from her childhood in ‘90s.

Agak Agak includes modern recipes amongst the classics including Kaya Toast with Half-Boiled Eggs, Nasi Goreng, 8-hour Ox Cheek Rendang, Green Beans with Turmeric and Toasted Coconut, Chilli Crab Spaghetti, Mum’s Steamed Pumpkin Rice, Pandan Swiss Roll and Black Sticky Rice Pudding with Rhubarb, amongst others.

Asma Khan sums up her Agak Agak book review and says it’s “A vibrant joyous book! Shu has captured not just the richness and diversity of Singaporean food – through this book she is inviting you into her kitchen to share all the happiness that food brings to her life.” 

Nigella Lawson is also full of praise in her Agak Agak book review in Cookbook Corner,  saying “this book is an enthusiastic friend, ready to take you into the kitchen so that you can learn about this rich, multi-faceted culinary culture — at once so sophisticated and yet so boisterously earthy — for yourself.”

Anyone interested in the diversity and richness of Southeast Asian cuisines should seek out Agak Agak and will feel a sense of achievement in bringing recipes from Singapore into their kitchens.

Agak Agak – Everyday Recipes from Singapore was published by Quadrille on July 4th 2024.

You may also like to read Antonia Lloyd’s cookbook reviews of A Woman’s Place is in the Kitchen by Sally Abe, Elly Wentworth at The Angel of Dartmouth, Cooking with Anna by Anna Haugh,  Easy Wins by Anna Jones, The Taste of Belgium by Ruth Van Waerebeek and her review of Plant Feasts by Frankie Paz, Plus Mex Ibrahim’s cookbook reviews of The Asian Pantry by Dominique Woolf,   our review of Recipes for a Better Menopause by Jane Baxter & Dr Federica Amati and our book review of Modern South Asian Kitchen by Sabrina Gidda.