In February this year, Mediacorp actress Hong Ling announced that her Thai mother, Kaewsoda Kesorn, died at the age of 52.

The 30-year-old actress' mum, who was from Nong Khai in northeast Thailand, was diagnosed with advanced stomach cancer in May 2024.

It's been four months since her passing, and now Hong Ling is hoping to recreate her mother's lost Thai Laksa in memory of her. 

In the recent episode of CNA's On The Red Dot: Finding Lost Recipes, Hong Ling received help from MasterChef Singapore alumnusJonathan Ng to bring her mother's speciality back to life. "I really miss her a lot. My mum actually cooked a lot for the family, and one of my favourite dishes is this Thai Laksa. Even in her last days, she cooked this dish for me as well, so it's a memory of her," recalled the actress. 

This is why Hong Ling would visit any Thai restaurant she sees these days, hoping to find the dish similar to what her mum made. Unfortunately, none of their Thai Laksas tasted quite the same. 

The actress also didn't learn to cook the dish as her mother always prepared it for them.

"I took it for granted," she said, adding that her mum didn't leave behind any recipes as she wasn't the type who would "cook by reading the recipe". 

"My future children won't get the chance to meet her. So I'd like to preserve this recipe for my future children," added Hong Ling.

The actress has been married to Mediacorp actor Nick Teo since December 2023. She unfortunately suffered a miscarriage 11 weeks into her pregnancy in February this year.

After having a taste test at a restaurant and speaking to a chef from Chiang Mai, chef Jonathan and Hong Ling finally learnt that the Thai Laksa she'd been eating is actually a dish called Kanom Jeen Nam Ya, a spicy fish curry served over rice noodles. 

The two visited Hong Ling's maiden home, where her mother's kitchen was still left intact.

Looking at photos of her mum, the actress confessed that she "feels very different" in her old house. 

"When I used to come back home, it was very noisy. My mum would be in the kitchen cooking for us and we would talk. Normally I'd smell Thai food around the house because it's very strong. But now, it just feels like [an empty] house," she elaborated. 

Despite her illness, Hong Ling's mum continued to cook for the family every single day until she could no longer do so in January this year. 

One of the last few dishes she made, was the Kanom Jeen Nam Ya. 

The duo also took this time to speak to Hong Ling's dad, Hong Yishu, to get more clues about her dish. 

Recalling their love story, Yishu revealed that he met his late wife in the Sai Yok camp when he went to Bangkok, Thailand, for reservist training for three weeks in 1990.

Madam Kaewsoda was working as a dishwasher in a tze char stall in the military camp at that time, and Yishu fell in love at first sight.

"Just to take a photo with her, I had to wait at the back for her to throw out the rubbish so that I could see her. They were quite strict about not meeting boys in private," he reminisced. 

After getting to know Madam Kaewsoda, who was still living in a village at that time, Yishu then asked her dad for permission to bring her to Singapore, where they eventually got married. 

Yishu also shared that his wife was a great cook, and was able to recreate any dish as long as she'd tasted it. 

Going back to the Thai Laksa, Yishu said that his wife had cooked that dish for a really long time, and had made a few tweaks to the recipe ever since. 

After more intel from Hong Ling's dad and a relative, as well as a few attempts at making the dish, chef Jonathan was finally able to recreate a dish highly similar to what Hong Ling's mum made.  

After trying it, Yishu was overcome with emotion, and gushed that "the smell is the same" and that it tastes similar to what his late wife used to make. Hong Ling agreed as well. 

Yishu then confessed: "I miss her very much" before smiling and nodding at chef Jonathan in appreciation.

Meanwhile, Hong Ling acknowledged that the noodles "wouldn't be 100 per cent the same, for sure" but being able to create something similar was "good enough".

"I'm very happy and touched about it. Thank you so much," beamed Hong Ling. 

At the end, chef Jonathan also gifted the father-and-daughter duo with a recipe for the Kanom Jeen Nam Ya they had that day, so that they could recreate it in the future.

What a sweet gesture.

Kanom Jeen Nam Ya

Kanom Jeen Nam Ya

Catch the full episode of On The Red Dot: Finding Lost Recipes below:

Photos: Hong Ling/Instagram, On The Red Dot: Finding Lost Recipes/Youtube