Kuih / Kueh

[JustKay]

One thing I do remember might not qualify as a kueh: Sweet agar-agar.

Pan! Are you talking about the agar-agar which has been sun-dried until the sugar crystallized on the outside?

Nobody makes this anymore. At least, I never see it in any homes I visit during Raya. This was such fun to make and every home back then makes this during Raya.

[Pan]

One thing I do remember might not qualify as a kueh: Sweet agar-agar.

Pan! Are you talking about the agar-agar which has been sun-dried until the sugar crystallized on the outside?

I don't remember seeing them drying outside and don't know how they were made; I just ate 'em.

Why don't people make it anymore?

[JustKay]

LOL!

People nowadays prefer to make 'modern' kueh raya/cookies than old-fashioned ones. (modern = western )

And this sweet agar-agar has been replaced by commercial sugar-coated jellies.

[Pan]

LOL!

People nowadays prefer to make 'modern' kueh raya/cookies than old-fashioned ones. (modern = western )

Gee, that's a shame! But I'm sure traditional Malay sweets will be revived some time.

I have to say, though, that there are plenty of traditional kueh to be had in the Pasar Malam in Kota Bharu, so maybe they still make those agar-agar sweets on the East Coast.

I don't think anyone's mentioned tapai in this thread. I love tapai!

[JustKay]

I don't think anyone's mentioned tapai in this thread. I love tapai!

Yes! Tapai. Which do you like? Tapai ubi (tapioca) or Tapai Pulut (glutinous rice)?

We even have Tapai Ice-cream now.

[Pan]

I like both types of tapai, though tapai in Terengganu was usually made with ubi kayu.

Tapai ice cream, eh? Is that common, or just a specialty item somewhere? I wonder whether if Haagen Dazs made one as a "Limited Edition," anyone in the U.S. other than me would buy it.

[JustKay]

I like both types of tapai, though tapai in Terengganu was usually made with ubi kayu.

Tapai ice cream, eh? Is that common, or just a specialty item somewhere? I wonder whether if Haagen Dazs made one as a "Limited Edition," anyone in the U.S. other than me would buy it.

I prefer the Tapai Ubi Kayu myself. Never tried to make it though.

Heh heh .... yeah, Durian Ice-cream, Yam Ice-cream ... or do they already have these?

Tapai ice-cream is specialty. I've only had it once at a friend's house. Umm ... methinks it's kinda weird.

[Pan]

Heh heh .... yeah, Durian Ice-cream, Yam Ice-cream ... or do they already have these?

Haagen Dazs? Certainly not in the US! I can get taro ice cream at the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, though.

As far as the tapai ice cream goes, maybe it's weird, but I'd give it a try. Durian ice cream I'm not sure about. Oddly enough, my folks love durian but don't like it in sweets. I find I feel the same way about mint: I like it a lot in leaf form (which includes tea), but strongly dislike it in any other form. Go figure!

[Pan]

Oh, also, I got the feeling that it was easy to make tapai. I've never tried, but it looked to little Michael like all they did was to put some ubi kayu slices in a tightly tied-up bag (with some yeast, I suppose) and leave it outside overnight (better: 24 hours). Is it actually much harder than that?

[pandangirl]

Shiewie, the recipe that I am looking for contains no sweet potato although I am curious now as to how the addition of sweet potato changes the end result. Thanks for the tip about the hot water - in my attempts to cook onde-onde, it was after the water boiling step that I got the mess. As though the outside casing was overcooked while the palm sugar inside remained unmelted. Adjusting the water temperature sounds like a good place to start. By the way, are you learning to make other kinds of kuih in your cooking class?

kew and lannie, thank you so much for sharing your recipes! I think I will try kew's first - the recipe sounds so simple... I'm sure I'll find a way to mess it up. lannie's recipe is intruiging with the sweet potato - I will try it after mastering the other recipe.

trillium, perhaps such an aunty could be convinced to partake in the eGCI .

[JustKay]

Oh, also, I got the feeling that it was easy to make tapai. I've never tried, but it looked to little Michael like all they did was to put some ubi kayu slices in a tightly tied-up bag (with some yeast, I suppose) and leave it outside overnight (better: 24 hours). Is it actually much harder than that?

Yes, but you have to cook (boil or steam till cook but not too soft) the tapioca first, drain and let cool. Mix with yeast (I'm not sure if instant yeast works as the yeast used to make tapai comes in dried cake form and it is further dried in the sun and pounded before using) ...... put in banana leaves (no need to make it airtight) and let it ferment for 2 to 3 days. Same thing for tapai pulut - steam the glutionous rice and let it cool. The important thing when making tapai is to make sure everything is very clean. My grandma would also add a little sugar if making tapai pulut. And make sure the ubi/pulut is cooled beforr making tapai or the tapai will not be a nice white, but has reddish tint/spots.

Tapai when ready is sweet with a slight sourish taste but over-fermented tapai will be very sourish with the tapai being too mushy. Some indigenous tribes actually make tapai for it's 'tapai drink' which is alcoholic.

Tapai is most likely an Indonesian thing.

Also, check out this recipe:

Tapai Mousse

Edited June 13, 2004 by kew (log)

[spaghetttti]

Yes, Shiewie, let's discuss other Southeast Asian treats!

On a trip to Bangkok some years ago, I fell in love with the Thai khanom. The combination of sweet with a shot of savory is such a taste treat.

Oh by the way, Kew , here are the names of some of the cakes that I got the other day.

These pandan flavored,steamed rice flour cakes topped with shredded coconut are called "Putri Salju" or Snow Princess.

I don't like these too much : naked nagasari cupcakes. Basically your nagasari without the banana wrapping.

Jewel colored kue lapis made with tapioca flour. These were quite slippery to eat.

Kue ku. Shiewie, I'd never had them pan-fried until yesterday, they are absolutely delicious!

[JustKay]

Thank you Yetty. I saw this Putri Salju at the night market last nite and the makcik selling it calls it 'apam pandan kelapa'

I thot that looked like a nekkid nagasari. LOL! What about 'Kuih Lepat' - I think this is probably Indonesian in origin too?

Kueh Lapis here is usually made with rice flour and by alternating the red and white layers.

I bought some cute looking Kuih Tokyo'. At first they looked like miniature Apam Balik but upon eating them they are somewhat like Japanese Pancakes but with sweetened shredded coconut, peanut & sugar or kaya in the center of the fold.

I also had Putu Bambu which I haven't had for a long time.

Unfortunately, it only occured to me that I should take pictures AFTER we ate them all up.

Edited June 13, 2004 by kew (log)

[Pan]

Yetty, those kue ku are so red they look like some kind of sashimi! What are they made of?

[JustKay]

pandangirl, here's a recipe for Kuih Buah Melaka that you may want to try. It's from Betty Yew's book.

Kuih Buah Melaka

8oz glutinous rice flour

3/4C hot water (suggestion : use warm diluted coconut milk instead)

1T pandan juice (from about 5 pandan leaves - strain)

4oz palm sugar (cubed/chopped)

grated coconut (suggestion: add some salt and steam to keep it fresh longer)

* I prefer Thai glutinous rice flour.

Edited June 13, 2004 by kew (log)

[JustKay]

What's the name of that kuih made of bananas and batter? Not goreng pisang but the bananas are mashed up and mixed in the batter and formed into balls and deep fried? I like those too!

su-lin, here's a recipe for Jemput-jemput Pisang.

Jemput-jemput Pisang

2 eggs (beaten)

1oz sugar

1/4t salt

40z self-raising flour

1oz cornflour

1t baking soda

1/2 coconut (obtain 1/2C coconut milk from this)

5 bananas (about 1 1/2C mashed)

However, I usually make the easy 'kampung' version at home which is to simply mix mashed bananas (I prefer them not to mash them too fine but with still bits of bananas) with self-raising flour and some salt. I add some sugar too if the bananas aren't sweet enough. Sometimes, I add not coconut milk but a little grated coconut into the batter. And if mixed with a little more flour, you can make Lempeng Pisang which is Banana Pancake.

Fry over medium heat. Low heat = too greasy. High heat = burnt outside, uncooked inside.

Jemput in Malay can either mean an invitation, or a (big) pinch of something (that uses all 5 fingers as opposed to just 2)

Edited June 13, 2004 by kew (log)

[su-lin]

su-lin, here's a recipe for Jemput-jemput Pisang.

Thanks so much! I'm definitely going to make it as soon as the weather cools down a little. I think the kampung version is the one I'm more familiar with!

pandangirl, sorry that I missed your call for recipes. I cannot recall what recipe I used to make the onde-onde but I think it was similar to Amy Beh's recipe....glutinous rice flour, yup. It didn't turn out rubbery though...very soft. Sorry, that's probably no help to you!

[spaghetttti]

Hello all,

On my way home from work today, I pulled the car over when I saw this guy crossing the street.

He's a kue ape maker, one of a very precious few that can be found in and around Bandung.

Fragrant with pandan, the not-too-sweet rice flour kue have fragile, crispy paper thin and brittle edges, while the centers are nicely plump and moist.

Ok, now I'm on a mission to find more obscure traditional kue!

Edited June 23, 2004 by spaghetttti (log)

[JustKay]

Thanks for sharing that. I don't think I've seen it here in Malaysia.

[JustKay]

My other favorite Malaysian sweet was Sura, an East Coast specialty that my mother has a recipe for somewhere.

About Sura :

I've asked my Terengganu friend about Sura (she pronounced it as soo-rer like surer).

It is a variation of the Bubur Asyura I mentioned BUT in Terengganu is not prepared during the Ramadhan but rather in welcoming the month of Muharram (which is really tradiditonal custom)

Bubur Asyura serves as a reminder of how our Prophet Muhammad and its people had to make do with whatever bits of food they had during wartime but could still prepare a delicious and hearty meal. Therefore, Bubur Asyura has lots of ingredients. And is usually prepared in quantity so it can be shared by many. Bubur Asyura is also made by the Indonesian Muslims. It is however not a required Islamic rite.

According to my friend, the Sura in Terengganu is not like the porridge type that I know of. It is like what Pan said, more solid (like Talam - basic savory talam is simply rice flour and coconut milk & salt mixed and steamed, and then topped with pounded dried prawns and chopped celery). Sura is cooked until it is very thick so that it solidifies when cooled. Bubur Asyura is more watery like rice porridge.

There are 2 types of Sura in Terengganu. One savory and the more traditional one, sweet.

The savoury kind (according to her) does not contain chicken but rather is served/eaten with a kind of 'sambal' that has coconut and chicken or fish. It also has fine sliced omelette as topping.

She said the younger generation does not how to prepare Sura from scratch now and rely on the 'rempah Sura' that is sold during the season of making Sura. Just like people do not make curry powder but rely on the prepared curry mix.

This is one variation of the sweet Sura/Bubur Asyura recipe:

Bubur Asyura

ingredients:

1/2 kg rice, soaked overnight and finely grounded

1 kg sugar, melted and strained

1 kg brown sugar, melted and strained

2 kg thick coconut milk

600 gm small sago pearls, soaked

10 'pisang emas' or 'pisang raja' (bananas), chopped

1 kg mung beans, boiled till soft

1 bowl of corn nibblets

1 kg sweet potato, cubed

600 gm peanut, toasted and skinned

10 pcs jackfruit, cubed

method:

1. add thick coconut milk into a ig pot. gradually add rice flour and mix in until all rice flour is incorporated and the mixture is smooth.

2. add the sugar syrups (i think the sugars are cooked with a little water)

3. add corn nibblets, sweet potato. cook until semi-soft.

4. add in the rest of the ingredients

5. stir over low heat until mixture thickens. the mixture will start tu pull away from the pot when cooked.

6. cool in a pan and cut into cubes to serve.

* you may also add raisins, candied fruits, etc .....

I have surfed the Net and posted on Malaysian forums to get a recipe for the savoury Bubur Asyura but no luck yet. A good recipe is secretly guarded. I will have to ask my MIL for her recipe.

But amongst the ingredients for the savory Sura would be ginger, lemongrass, galangal, fenugreek and other spices.

[Shiewie]

There's a kueh apom that's sold in stalls in markets in Malaysia that's similar to the kuih ape that spaghetttti posted ... only it's not green in colour and they fold it. It's one of my favourite kuehs as I used to eat it quite often when I was little. Think it may be based on the Indian apom... which we get here too.

[Pan]

Thanks for the info on sura, Kew.

The sura I had that had chicken as an ingredient was sweet! It also tasted strongly of cardamom, which I don't see as an ingredient in the recipe you posted. I never had sura that had any topping; it was eaten by itself and was a rich sweet.

Somewhere, my mother has a recipe on an index card (I remember seeing it), but we don't know where it is. If it turns up some time, I'll try to remember to post it.

[JustKay]

You're welcome, Pan.

I'm sure the recipe your Mom has is an authentic one and most likely a family secret... my friend did say Sura has evolved over the years (she is going to ask her Mom for a recipe though when she remembers .. lol!). So, it'll be great if you find the recipe.

However, the thought of anything chicken tasting sweet ... err, isn't very appealing to me. For the same reason I find Ayam Masak Madu = 'honey chicken' weird.

But I'd like to find out all about Sura anyways!

[helenjp]

I loved those photos! Straaaange as it may seem, my sons love Malaysian/Singaporean sweets.

Why? Because they used Sony's Postpet e-mail program which has various characters who deliver your mail and go and "play" on your friend's screen. The pets need to be fed with downloadable snacks -- most of the Japanese ones weren't free, but the English home page was based in Singapore, and had a gorgeous array of traditional sweets!

When we actually went to Singapore, we just had to try out one of everything we had been feeding our "virtual" pets.

[Pan]

Kew, the sura I had in Kg. Merchang in the 70s did not taste of chicken at all, though chicken was one of a large number of ingredients in it.