#ChineseFoodiesofIG: Yi Jun Loh of Jun and Tonic

Yi Jun Loh of Jun and Tonic

This is part of an ongoing series of interviews I’m doing with my favourite Chinese foodies that I follow on Instagram. Come and follow the #ChineseFoodiesofIG hashtag on Instagram and leave a comment showing your support for these talented folk!

Where are you from? Where are you really from?

I'm from Malaysia, born and raised. My parents are both Malaysians too, though my dad's side of the family came from Hainan Island generations prior, and my mom's side is of Teochew/Chaozhou descent.

Share a food memory:

My mom's classic ABC soup, which she's made since I was a kid. Onions, potatoes, a tomato or two simmered in chicken broth, cooked till mush. It's my version of the universal 'chicken soup for the soul'. But also, my mom recently made an accidental vegan discovery by swapping up the chicken broth with coconut water. And it works surprisingly well! It's an apt reminder than food and food culture is forever in flux.

What does home taste like?

Oh man. Sweet. Salty. Sour. Spicy, both in terms of capsaicin levels and spice-forwardness. Salaciously so.

What’s a Chinese recipe everyone should learn?

Any sort of dumplings—the calm, camaraderie, and the whole process of it—has a special quality attached that is hard to come by in other dishes. (I'm terrible at folding dumplings btw, but am ever improving!)

Top three cookbooks:

The Art of Escapism Cooking. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, for gifting to non-cook friends. My auntie's tattered notebook with handwritten recipes that she's kept with her for decades.

The secret Chinese ingredient is:

Sugar, in various forms. Rock sugar, red dates, candied winter melon, goji berries, and different palm sugars. All are underrated, under-appreciated sources of sweetness and complexity in so many Chinese dishes. 

Who's your Chinese food legend?

A straightforward answer would be my mom, of course. But also (and this might be an off-script answer) Mandy Lee. I just love her style of infusing different flavours from disparate cultures together into dishes than surprise and comfort in equal measure. She's an inspiration!

Dream dinner party guests:

Mandy Lee. Guy Raz. Angela Duckworth. Michael Pollan. Maangchi.

Ultimate comfort food: 

Mee sua (mian xian), cooked in a light chicken/pork broth. It's something my mom always cooked me and my siblings whenever we were sick. But also currently (and probably forever), just a real good chocolate chip cookie.

What does Chinese food mean to you?

A treasure trove of flavours and knowledge to be explored!