Jinyen recalled a pivotal moment when one of their first customers came to their house to thank them.
“He said he wanted to replicate a dish for his family but no one knew how to make red rice wine anymore. He also said our red rice wine reminded him of his grandmother,” said Jinyen. “My mother had goosebumps and I saw her tearing up.”
This resonated with Jinyen and her mother because red rice wine also reminds the latter of her late mother-in-law.
The first generation Yaps came to Singapore from Fuzhou, China, where red rice wine is a staple and a celebratory food. In 1983, when her grandfather passed away, her grandmother, who was doing odd jobs then, relied on bartering her homemade rice wine for rice, oil and other essentials to support her teenage children, Jinyen told CNA Women.
Joo Eng recalled how she was first introduced to red rice wine during her first meal with her mother-in-law. “I had never had red rice wine chicken before, and I was blown away. The chicken was so fragrant and tasted fantastic,” she said.