What is it about chicken soup that mellows and mends us? Christi Nortier asked three local cooks how they make this universal soother and what it has meant in their life, kitchen and community. 

Chicken pho for breakfast, lunch & dinner  

Anytime you go into Yen’s Vietnamese Street Food, you’ll find a huge pot of beef bone broth puttering away on the stove. It could be just starting its 24-hour simmer, or about to be ladled into white porcelain bowls perfect for warming your hands. This is just one of the special ingredients which makes their chicken pho something Cape Townians will happily eat twice a day, five days a week.  

“In Vietnam, you can’t go far without coming across a bowl of chicken pho [pronounced fuh]. Many people have chicken pho for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s Vietnam’s main food,” says Yen Nguyen, the force behind the restaurant, Oranjezicht City Farm Market stall and now Vietnamese mini mart.  

Her love for this aromatic soup goes way back, right to childhood. “Food is massive in Vietnam —you don’t need to eat the same thing every day. In the village where I grew up, chicken pho was everywhere,” she says. “But there was one place, close to my house, that made it just the way I like it and it’s still open. Everyone makes pho differently. That’s where my pho’s flavour started and I made it my own from there.”  

And she’s been perfecting it for a while. As a teenager, she cooked all three meals for herself, her mother and brother before her school day started at 12pm. The factory next to their house employed about 30 people, all of which went out each day to buy lunch. Soon, the factory owner approached Yen’s mom and asked that she make food for the staff — they could smell the incredible meals being made. So, at 16 years old, Yen started her first food business with a new daily menu made with fresh ingredients sourced from the local market. And of course, chicken pho featured.  

Now, Yen adds her own flourishes. It starts with clean beef marrow bones simmering for 24 hours, topped up with water as needed. Meanwhile, whole chickens are roasted —not boiled, as per tradition, which Yen believes delivers less flavour. The bowl is warmed with boiling water before the cooked rice noodles and bean sprouts are added. Then the roasted chicken is plated along with coriander, basil, mint and spring onion with lemon on the side. Only then is the hot aromatic broth ladled over, arriving at the table piping hot.  

Customers often say her pho is “fancy” compared to what they taste in Vietnam, and she says it probably is. “I like to add more texture to mine as well as lemongrass, which is very unusual. I think it gives the pho a special flavour,” she explains. 

“Pho is something that can be eaten three times a day because it has all the flavour in one bowl: sour, chilli, salty, not too sweet,” explains Yen. “It’s got noodles, veggies and protein. You just see the steam, smell it and then you want a warm bowl of it to hold and eat,” she laughs. She adds that it’s also a comfort food that satiates when you’re very hungry, just peckish, feeling unwell or on top of the world. 

But more than anything, you feel refreshed afterwards: “You don’t feel heavy. It’s like you can breathe more easily.” 

“Food is massive in Vietnam — you don’t need to eat the same thing every day. In the village where I grew up, chicken pho was everywhere.” 

Chicken & matzo balls, a joy any day of the year 

Adam Klein knew he had his recipe right when the smell whipped him back two decades to his grandmother’s Sea Point apartment. “My father’s mother was a real matriarchal homemaker type of person. She was like a true Jewish mother and cook. We would often go for Friday night dinner at her place, and there was always this very familiar smell,” he recalls. “When I first started making the chicken soup, I was cooking the chicken schmaltz [rendered chicken fat and onions] and the smell literally transported me back to being eight or nine years old. It was like magic.” 

Fast forward ten years and you can taste Adam’s version of his grandmother’s chicken and noodle or matzo ball soup at Kleinsky‘s Deli, started with his brother Joel in 2013. At the time, running his nightclub in Cape Town left Adam with time during the day to tinker with various hobbies: carpentry, smoking meats and making chicken schmaltz, one of the cornerstones of traditional Jewish cooking.  

With all the homemade pastrami around, he needed something to put it on. So, he went down the bagel rabbit hole, too. Plus, the neighbourhood bagel shop had moved out of the suburb, so he and Joel decided to replace it with their own. And Adam still isn’t done tweaking his soup recipe…  

“People have a lot of ideas about how to make it properly, but I experimented a lot and learnt a few things. Firstly, cooking the bone broth for a few hours isn’t enough. The whole chickens need to cook for at least an hour. Then we remove the cooked meat and continue to cook the bones and skin for at least another four hours so all that richness come out,” he explains. Unlike his gran, he adds garlic and thyme. But beyond that, the carrots, leeks, turnips, onions and celery are as she would have done. 

But then there’s the question of matzo balls. “Growing up, the matzo balls were the thing I looked forward to most about Passover [a week-long Jewish celebration]. I would try to have as many as possible. When I started making them for the deli, I was so happy that I could have them anytime. So that’s why they’re available here all year round. I take full advantage of it — I had it for lunch yesterday,” he laughs.  

“When I was planning to do this deli, I wanted to make it possible for people that have never tried traditional Jewish food like matzo balls or Rugelach to have the opportunity to taste them,” he explains. That’s why you can have chicken soup with matzo balls, noodles or even both, if you like. It’s all about sharing the pleasures of what he grew up eating. Hearing that someone tried something new, and now loves it, is a huge source of joy for him.  

So, what’s in these matzo balls? Schmaltz, crushed matzo crackers, some chicken broth and egg are combined and rolled to resemble a golf ball. Then, they’re cooked in the chicken soup and swell up to almost triple the size. “They’re something that I’m quite proud of. Growing up, you would go to other people’s houses for Passover dinners and the matzo balls would be judged — there are good and bad matzo balls in this world,” he adds. “A spoon should be able to go through a good matzo ball smoothly, but a bad one either crumbles or needs too much force. A good matzo ball is a source of pride.” 

 Beyond being delicious, chicken soup is good for you — hence the nickname “Jewish penicillin”, Adam says. “It’s high in sodium and protein, both of which your body needs when you’re sick. It is also easy to digest and absorb nutrients from. It’s just science. I’m not a doctor, but if you’re sick then I’m sending you chicken soup. It just feels like a hug.” 

The comfort of chicken & creamy corn soup  

It was only a few years ago that cookbook author and presenter Gadija Sydow Noordien learnt to make the “posh soup” from her twin sister, Fatima. “We grew up eating vegetable soup, because it stretched more easily to feed six children and we grew up poor. This chicken and creamy corn soup only became popular more recently and was always seen as a treat. It’s a bit pricier because you need fresh cream, butter and chicken breasts,” she explains.  

Now, she makes it as a special treat for her family come the middle of Ramadan. It’s also become popular in the wider Cape Malay community as a wedding starter — “When people see the chicken and creamy corn soup coming, it’s just smiles all round,” she laughs.  

Fatima’s chicken and creamy corn soup recipe can be found in her cookbook, Cape Malay Cooking. The twins started out cooking together on social media, where loyal followers lapped up their style and cooking. Soon, a production team came knocking and their six-season cooking show Kaap, kerrie en koesisters and cookbook of the same name followed. In 2020, Fatima was diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcoma cancer. “She fought tooth and nail, but to no avail and passed on 19th December 2023. I miss her every day. She asked me before she passed to keep her legacy going,” says Gadija. And she has kept her word. She is a Spekko Rice ambassador and host of a new cooking show, Plain en Simple.  

She vividly recalls the day Fatima taught her to make this soup. “I still remember we made it in her kitchen and she did everything with so much love. She sent her partner to find the purest butter, because she wanted the best texture and flavour for the corn soup,” she recalls. “He had to go out and get it, otherwise there wouldn’t be supper for that night. We had to wait for that butter! We laughed at her, but she insisted that this soup deserves the best of ingredients.”  

She reminisces tasting the soup before a small sprig of thyme was thrown in and afterwards. “It made all the difference and that’s now how I make it,” she smiles. The soup has a little bit of everything, she says: creaminess, the crunch and pop of the corn, the softness of the chicken and the essential herbiness. “I just love it, especially with a crispy slice of sourdough toast. Oh jinne, ek wil dit sommer nou maak!” she laughs. 

“Fatima loved that soup, especially because it is quick and easy. She loved having people at her house, and this is something hearty you can make in a flash,” she says. Like Fatima, go for the best ingredients you can afford, recommends Gadija. Explore, experiment and find the best flavour for your palate: no recipe needs to stay the same. Make it your own and pass it on to the next generation — that’s how recipes are created, after all.  

“As I’m speaking about this soup, it’s raining outside,” she muses. “I think I must get my husband to fetch some ingredients!” 

Also read: Gadija Sydow Noordien’s quick and easy chicken & creamy corn soup 

By: Christi Nortier
Photography by: Supplied

The post Chicken soup for the soul  appeared first on MyKitchen.

We pay tribute to one of South Africa’s beloved personalities, a culinary visionary and the queen of Cape Malay cooking, heritage, and culture. Her infectious enthusiasm and warm and loving personality will live long in every recipe she has left behind. 

Fatima Sydow was born in the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa. Her culinary journey began early in her childhood: “I remember like it was yesterday, the very first time mom called me to come and help her in the kitchen. I was only 9 years old with scruffy, wavy hair and big brown eyes. I would stop whatever I was doing at that moment and run barefoot in a sprint and in the kitchen I will be,” – and so a culinary luminary was born.  

Fatima’s journey started alongside her mother, the late Waseela (née Davids) Sydow, where she would often help her with peeling potatoes and chopping onions – marvelling at the art of how her mother was able to perform culinary miracles with the simplest of ingredients. The food that came out of her mother’s kitchen would feed many, not only filling tummies but filling the soul. 

Fast forward to 2011, Fatima started her Facebook page Cape Malay Cooking with Fatima Sydow where she’d share her rich heritage through comforting culinary creations that embraced the roots of her origins. As Fatima continued to share herself with the public, her social media prominence began to rise since it became clear that her journey was not just one of cooking; but a love story, a deep and heartfelt narrative of unity, sharing and the universal language that is food.

“On a chilly autumn morning in 2015, I took a deep breath and tightened my apron. There was something special and very different about that day… I could feel it in the air. I was excited, scared, nervous, thinking about what was about to take flight – not knowing that it would change my life and the course of my food journey and adventures forever.” – Fatima Sydow

Eggs, flour, sugar and blobs of silky soft butter were transformed into a rich, buttery biscuit dough ready to be shaped and baked. What was baking in that oven that day was the first recipe for her self-published cookbook The Journey of Cape Malay Cooking with Fatima Sydow, a book she managed to publish with little resources. Filled with the lessons and memories passed down by her late mother, this cook book resonated with so many readers both old and young thanks to its easy-to-follow steps and humble ingredients. 

The doors to the culinary kingdom continued to open, welcoming all that Fatima had to offer. From her television show Kaap, Kerrie en Koesisters on ViaTV, co-hosted with her twin sister, Gadija Sydow Noordien. The TV show was originally scheduled to only run for one season, but became so popular that it led to a unprecedented six-season run, with the finale airing in 2019. This paved the way for Fatima’s second cookbook Cape, Curry, and Koesisters, published in 2019 and translated to Afrikaans. The pages are filled with a rich compilation of Cape Malay recipes from both Fatima and Gadija. From homemade masala mixes to make the most memorable curries and a killer dhaltjie recipe, to comforting potato pudding with stewed fruit (yes it’s a thing, a very delicious thing indeed!) and, of course, koesisters. 

The use of everyday ingredients, simple methods as well as Fatima’s boundless energy and enthusiasm to keep sharing her culinary knowledge and heritage paved the way for her third cookbook: Fatima Sydow Cooks. In this book, tradition gets a modern twist, with some flavourful surprises in tow. The ability to add a modern twist to traditional cuisine is something only Fatima could do – from roti and curry pies to prawn chaat and so much more. 

“Remember me through this cookbook, feel me on every page, in every story, word and picture. I love you all, and I hope I have made you proud and encouraged you to create your own beautiful pockets of memories with your loved ones. I will forever be in your hearts.” Fatima Sydow’s legacy will live on through every spice blend and every vibrant dish that graces our tables as a testament to her profound influence and enduring spirit. So let’s raise our forks and continue the culinary journey that she so beautifully began.

Fatima was extremely generous and compassionate. Loved her family and her dog, Sunny Boy, fiercely. Whenever I visited her, I never left empty-handed. She would even pack in barakat for my mom. Food was her love language. – Donna Lewis, photographer

Three-egg milk tart 

Serves 8 

The craving for milk tart happens quite often in my house. But sometimes you only have three eggs. What to do? Ask mom of course. This is my late mother’s recipe. She was a lady who always made a plan and, before we knew it we would all have a piece of delicious milk tart in our hands.

Ingredients

¾ Cup (180g) butter
½ cup (125ml) sugar
1 egg, extra large
1 tsp (5ml) vanilla essence
2 ½ cups (625ml) cake flour
1 tsp (5ml) baking powder  

For the custard filling 

1 cup + 7 Tbsp (355ml) milk
1 Tbsp (15ml) custard powder
¼ cup (60ml) sugar
3 extra-large eggs
Pinch of ground cardamom
½ tsp (2.5ml) vanilla essence
½ tsp (2.5ml) ground cinnamon, for dusting 

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar for about 2 minutes. Whisk in the egg and vanilla essence until combined.
3. Gently fold in the flour and baking powder. By hand, mix the dough until smooth and the sides of the bowl are clean. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the fridge for 20 minutes.
4. Grease a round 20-cm baking dish. Roll out the dough to about half a centimetre thick and line the dish with the dough. Ensure there are no holes in the base.
5. Whisk together the custard ingredients, excluding the cinnamon, until smooth. Pour the mixture through a sieve and into a jug. Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the cinnamon over just before baking dish. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the custard is almost set. Cool completely before serving. 

Bollas 

This delicious treat is basically a deep-fried thick vanilla cake batter that’s then dunked in sugar syrup and sprinkled with a light snowfall of desiccated coconut. Traditionally served during Ramadan, but they can be made throughout the year for a lovely Sunday afternoon treat. 

Ingredients

½ cup (125ml) castor sugar
2 large eggs
5 Tbsp (75ml) oil
1 Tbsp (15ml) vanilla essence
2¾ Cup (700ml) cake flour
1 Tbsp (15ml) baking powder
1 ¼ cup (300ml) buttermilk
Oil for deep-frying  

For the syrup 

2 cups (500ml) water
2 cups (500ml) sugar
1 cup (250ml) desiccated coconut 

Method 

1. In a large bowl, beat the castor sugar and eggs together until light and creamy. Next, add the oil and vanilla essence and whisk until fluffy. Sift in the dry ingredients, then add the buttermilk and mix until well combined. Cover the bowl of batter with plastic wrap or a tea towel and allow to rest for 30 minutes. 
2. Once ready, use a tablespoon to scoop up the batter. On medium to high heat, deep-fry the bollas in the oil until golden brown on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on pieces of paper towel.
3. In a separate pot, boil the water and sugar together for 15 minutes to make sugar syrup. Dunk the bollas into the warm syrup just once and remove with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut and serve.

Words by: Gail Damon
Photographs: Donna Lewis 

The post Fatima Sydow – A Culinary Legend  appeared first on MyKitchen.

To some, she’s the mastermind behind the delicious recipes on her various social media platforms, while others might recognise her as one of the Sydow twins on the TV show Kaap, Kerrie en Koesisters. We sat down with Fatima Sydow to learn what made her fall in love with food

Just shy of doing her interview with MyKitchen and in true foodie spirit, Fatima tells us that she’s prepared a chicken
with a small knob of butter, black pepper, oil, a touch of salt and thin slivers of garlic – which we learned is her favourite ingredient to use when cooking. And on that mouth-watering note, here’s what we found out about Fatima’s love
for cooking and sharing recipes with her followers.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

Fatima grew up in Manenberg and was raised in Mitchells Plain’s Strandfontein Village. She now resides in the Lansdowne area, where she lives out her passion of cooking and sharing her talent with the public. But where did this flair for making food come from? From her roots, of course.‘I discovered my love and passion for food at a very young age – I was about nine years old. My late mother was a very good cook and she used to cook for big functions and weddings where there were always a lot of people,’ Fatima shares.

‘She was very good at sorting [things] out and putting a menu together for gatherings and then making everything herself, with the help of her children. I loved that!’. When Fatima reminisces about those days, she remembers the very first thing she made in the kitchen – pumpkin fritters. ‘I helped my mommy. She would ask me to go chop the onions, grate the potatoes or peel the potatoes for the pot. Then eventually, as it continued, she would tell me to throw in the potatoes, or throw in the onions and go stir the pot. That’s how you end up knowing how to make the food after a little while,’ she says with laughter.

Home is where the food is

Fatima started her Facebook page about a decade ago and named it Cape Malay Cooking with Fatima Sydow. ‘I later realised that I cook more than just Cape Malay food, and I changed my Facebook-, Instagram- and YouTube handles to Fatima Sydow Cooks,’ she explains. But her cooking journey began well before that. At the age of 15 or 16, she cooked her very first 100-litre pot of food – something she absolutely loved. ‘I loved how food brought people together.

I would feed people and sustain them.’ She later started her own little catering company and did all kinds of events. She tells us that she’s learnt a lot of lessons along the way. ‘With cooking and baking, you’re always learning and your food always evolves. Some stay the same – the classics. Then there’s always time to create or add something else to your dishes,’ she shares. ‘Over the years, it’s been my passion. I did other things along the way, but food just brought me back every time.’

We asked Fatima what she looks for when she makes a dish, and her answer is proof that heart not only lies with food, but with people, too. ‘When I make a dish, I tell a story. I’m telling a story and my circumstances before I’m making the recipe. What I’m going to throw in the pot is what’s available to me and what I can afford. That is the basis of my recipe,’ she says. She continues: ‘I also always keep my viewers and followers in mind – what can they afford?

Is it some-thing that is readily available at their corner store or nearby super-market, or in their pantry cupboards? I’m always thinking of that.’ One thing about Fatima’s recipes is that they’re not only easy to make, but economical and tasty, too. ‘Secondly, when I make a dish, it has to taste like home. My style of cooking is “huiskos” – home-cooked food. Food we grew up with, survival food, food that can go far.’

Fatima’s list of career highlights includes self-publishing her first cookbook, The Journey of Cape Malay Cooking. This paved the
way for two more cookbooks, including Cape, Curry and Koesisters, which she released with her twin sister Gadija Sydow-Noordien, and her most recent cookbook, Fatima Sydow Cooks, which reached number one in the country. ‘Then, to be on six seasons of a TV show was amazing and it will always be special to me. And now I’ve recently been nominated for an award for the Gourmand World Food Award.’

All this and Fatima still singles out her biggest highlight as her connection with her followers. ‘I would not have a career without my followers and the people who love my work. That’s why I treasure my social media in such a way that
I stay connected to them.’

Quick Questions

Who do you look up to in the food industry?

I have many people that I simply adore, but the first person I met that’s in the food industry was Jenny Morris and she is such a supportive lady. She’s so friendly and always so kind and concerned – always reaching out to see if you’re okay. She is one amazing lady and so inspiring. She’s a great motivation for me.

What do you love most about the food industry?

What I love most about the industry is that everyone I’ve met  has the same goal and purpose, and that is to make people happy with food – that our love language is food and that’s how we communicate.

Your favourite dishes to make:

I love doing sweet and savoury dishes, cooking and baking. I’m crazy about making bread, I love working with dough and roti.
My favourite thing is to make a dish from whatever I see in the fridge and just put things together.

Do you have any tips for our readers who have limited time, but would love to make filling and delicious food?

I cook my rice, let it cool off and pack it in freezer bags, then put it in my freezer. When I come home or I want to make supper, I know my rice is done. I just take it out and put it in the microwave for a few minutes and my rice is ready, so I just have to focus on my food.

Words by Bianca Muller
Photography: Courtesy Images

After being crowned as the winner of MasterChef SA Season 4, Shawn Godfrey, or the ‘Roasted Dad’, has been hard at work to make an even bigger name for himself in the industry.

The post The Delightful Fatima Sydow appeared first on MyKitchen.

‘If you want a rich and decadent prawn dish, look no further. The creamy, tangy and mildly spicy sauce is filled with the flavours of the ocean. Serve the chaat on special occasions or as a starter when you have guests over for dinner – it is sure to impress!’ Fatima Sydow

SERVES 4 •  TOTAL TIME  15 min

Ingredients
Olive oil 1 tbsp
Butter 40 g
Onion, small, finely chopped, 1
Garlic clove, grated 1
Ground cumin 1 tsp
Paprika 2 tsp
Turmeric 1 tsp
Seafood masala 1 tbsp
Leaf masala 1 tbsp
Salt 1 tsp
Tomato paste 1 tbsp
Prawns, shelled and deveined 800 g
Fresh cream 500 ml
Fresh coriander, chopped, as garnish
Lemon juice, to serve

Method
1. In a pan, heat the butter and olive oil on medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2–3 minutes or until the onions are soft. Next, add all the spices, salt and tomato paste and cook for 3–5 minutes or until the spices separate from the oil.
2. Next, add the prawns and stir. Add the fresh cream and cook uncovered for 3–5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for a few minutes to allow the sauce to thicken.
3. Sprinkle over the coriander and add a squeeze of lemon. Serve with roti or basmati rice.

Recipe: Fatima Sydow 
Photography : Courtesy Images

Once you’ve tried a piece of roast salmon smothered in our red-wine butter, you won’t want to go back to the the typical white-wine sauce.

The post Fatima Sydow’s Mouth-Watering Prawn Chaat appeared first on MyKitchen.