Kuih / Kueh

[Phish]

I'm assuming kueh / kuih is probably in a different dilect or perhaps a nyonya language??

[Pan]

Kuih and kueh are just two different spellings, and the word is Malay and Indonesian. Whether it may be a word in any other languages, I don't know.

[hzrt8w]

The word "Kuih or Kueh" (Malay?) sounds very similar to the Chinese word 糕 (Gao [Mandarin] and Go [Cantonese]).  It generally refers to these cakes, sweets and such.  That makes me wonder if the word Keuh has a Chinese origin.

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Not used to quoting my own words. But I happened to meet someone who knows both Malay and Mandarin Chinese. I asked her this same question. The answer:

..... Kuih originated from Hokkien, as in Hokkien, we pronounce it as Kuih too.

So Gao (糕) [Mandarin] ==> Kuih [Hokkien (Fujianese)] ==> Kuih [Malay]

[Dejah]

So many kuih/goh to eat. . . so little time!

[spaghetttti]

So many kuih/goh to eat. . .  so little time!    

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I'm in NYC now and got these steamed rice cakes, we call them apam -- oh so yummy! Going back to Chinatown tomorrow, it's such an awesome place!

[hzrt8w]

I'm in NYC now and got these steamed rice cakes, we call them apam -- oh so yummy! Going back to Chinatown tomorrow, it's such an awesome place!

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In Chinese, this is called 白糖糕, Bak Tong Go[Cantonese]. The literal translation is white sugar cake, which is pretty close to what it is.

[GaijinGirl]

Egulleteers *might* get a kick out of this - in order to understand Keuh better, I went through this thread, and listed everything that got mentioned (an interesting experiment, since I don't know the language *at all*). Let me know if anyone finds this useful, or wants to add/correct anything!

1. Abuk-Abuk - sago pearls mixed with coconut and put into cones made from banana leaves

2. Angku - the name means "red turtle" in Hokkien (Angkoo)

3. Bubur Asyura - like a rice porridge but cooked in coconut milk

4. Bugis - more commonly known as Keuh Koci

5. Cokkeria

6. Cucur Badak - sweet potato dough with a savory coconut filling

7. Dodo - (Mayang)

8. Gandasturi - fried mung bean cakes

9. Gemblong

10. Goreng pisang

11. Hunkwe pisang

12. Jemput-jemput Pisang - Jemput in Malay can mean an invitation

13. Kaya – coconut jam

14. Kerak telor - made from layers of sticky rice, duck eggs, shrimp floss and golden fried shallots

15. Keropok lekor

16. Ketayap.

17. Keuh ape

18. Keuh Buah Melaka

19. Keuh Gegendang Kasturi - cooked green beans, mixed with grated coconut, sugar and formed into discs, dipped in batter and fried)

20. Keuh Gelang

21. Keuh Keria - sweet potato donut with a sugar glaze

22. Keuh ku

23. Keuh Lapis - (beras)

24. Keuh Lepat

25. Keuh Sago

26. Keuh Tepung Gomak

27. Keuh Tokyo

28. Koleh Kacang - green bean flour cooked in coconut milk, topped with 'taik minyak' ('fried' coconut cream)

29. Kueh apom

30. Kueh bakar

31. Kueh bengkas

32. Kueh cocorot

33. Kueh dadar

34. Kueh Kasui

35. Kueh Serikaya - green pandan custard over glutinous coconut milk rice

36. Lempeng Pisang - Banana Pancake

37. Lempur Udang – a.k.a. Pulut Udang or Pulut Panggang

38. Manisan - candied fruit

39. Naked nagasari cupcakes

40. Odading - fluffy pillows of deep fried dough

41. Onde-onde - green pandan balls covered in coconut with a burst of liquefied Gula Melaka in the centre ak.a.- 'Keuh Bom' , Keuh Buah , Keuh Buah Melaka.

42. Pisang molen - pastry wrapped banana

43. Pulut tai-tai

44. Putri Salju - Snow Princess (a.k.a. apam pandan kelapa)

45. Putu Bambu

46. Putu Mayang – a.ka. Putu Mayong

47. Putu Piring

48. Sagu pancawarna - multicoloured sago rolled in grated coconut

49. Serimuka

50. Su lin – a.k.a. Keuh Kodok/Cekodok/Jemput Pisang

51. Sura – a.k.a. Bubur Asyura

52. Talam

53. Talam Berlauk - rice flour 'cakes' with savoury toppings

54. Tapai Pulut

55. Tapai ubi

56. Teh o

57. Wajik

[spaghetttti]

Wow, Pitchblack70 that's a marvelous list, what an undertaking that must've been!

Everytime I come to NYC, I seek out these kueh in Chinatown. I've loved them since I was a teenager but never knew their names other than rice cupcakes. The ones with the little red beans are new to me. Does anyone know what they're properly called? Then we can add them to Pitchblack70's list.

[Shiewie]

Hi Yetty

The name for the rice cupcakes in Cantonese is woon jai go, which translates to little bowl cakes.

I haven't tried any with red beans in them before. The sweet ones that we normally get in Malaysia are either green (pandan) or brown (gula melaka) in colour.

There are also savoury ones - these are white in colour and served with a minced preserved radish that's been lightly stir-fried and topped with minced garlic oil, teem jeung (bean sauce) and chilli sauce.

[Pan]

Impressive list there, Pitchblack! A few comments:

Sura (bubur asyura) as I know it is much more viscous than a rice porridge as you'd probably know it (congee). Pisang goreng/goreng pisang are simply fried bananas and, though sweet, are not a kueh. Keropok lekor wouldn't be called a kueh in my experience but is a savory foodstuff made from batter with fish in it, so it has some things in common with kueh.

[hzrt8w]

The name for the rice cupcakes in Cantonese is woon jai go, which translates to little bowl cakes.

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Yetty: Beautiful picture! And you still deny that you are a professional photographer?

There is also another Cantonese name for the rice cupcakes: Boot jai go. Same meaning. Cakes that are molded from a small bowl or dish.

The red bean cake is just... red bean cake. (Hung dao go[Cantonese])

Edited December 30, 2004 by hzrt8w (log)

[Dejah]

The name for the rice cupcakes in Cantonese is woon jai go, which translates to little bowl cakes.

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Yetty: Beautiful picture! And you still deny that you are a professional photographer?

There is also another Cantonese name for the rice cupcakes: Boot jai go. Same meaning. Cakes that are molded from a small bowl or dish.

The red bean cake is just... red bean cake. (Hung dao go[Cantonese])

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And I love them both because of the chewy texture of these cakes.

Yetti, you should be called "mistress of food porn"....with sadistic tendencies towards people like me on the kuih-deprived prairies!

I get to granny-sit for a couple weeks in Feb, so I will have to get my mom to show me how to make these.

[Shiewie]

The name for the rice cupcakes in Cantonese is woon jai go, which translates to little bowl cakes.

←

Yetty: Beautiful picture! And you still deny that you are a professional photographer?

There is also another Cantonese name for the rice cupcakes: Boot jai go. Same meaning. Cakes that are molded from a small bowl or dish.

The red bean cake is just... red bean cake. (Hung dao go[Cantonese])

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And I love them both because of the chewy texture of these cakes.

Yetti, you should be called "mistress of food porn"....with sadistic tendencies towards people like me on the kuih-deprived prairies!

I get to granny-sit for a couple weeks in Feb, so I will have to get my mom to show me how to make these.

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While we all wait for Dejah's mum's recipes for woon jai go, hung dao go and boot jai go (it's also called chwee kueh in Hokkien for the savoury ones and kueh kosui for the sweet ones), here are links to some recipes for anyone who would like to try making them in the meantime:

- hung dao go

- woon / boot jai go / chwee kueh(savoury 1)

- woon / boot jai go / chwee kueh(savoury 2)

- woon / boot jai go / chwee kueh(savoury 3)

- woon / boot jai go / kueh kosui (sweet 1)

- woon / boot jai go / kueh kosui (sweet 2).

There's also a Vietnamese savoury rice cake, banh beo hue, a Hue specialty, that's similar to woon jai go - it's a less chewy version though.

[Transparent]

Boot jai goh is great. 3 for $1 at any shop that sells tofu. Here is another recipe site(Chinese) : http://www.leisure-cat.com/frm_1198.htm

[GaijinGirl]

Need help identifying a Keuh type snack that I just found in Flushing, Queens (at Curry Leaves)

Okay, it was a large white gelatinous mound - no filling, and salty. They served it with a little side container that kind of tasted like a cross between soy sauce and barbeque sauce.

Anyone have any idea? (By itself, it wasn't very tasty, but the sauce really helped it along.) TIA,

Pitchblack (Janet)

[mudbug]

(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)

Is this it?

[JustKay]

(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)

Is this it?

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LOL! Good thing it was answered in the other thread.

I'm sorry I haven't been visiting eGullet for quite a while. Are you trying to make tapai?

[JustKay]

4. Bugis - more commonly known as Keuh Koci

I think I mentioned my Grandfather being a Bugis from Indonesia.

Not sure if it's a name of a kue too.

[JustKay]

Need help identifying a Keuh type snack that I just found in Flushing, Queens (at Curry Leaves)

Okay, it was a large white gelatinous mound - no filling, and salty.  They served it with a little side container that kind of tasted like a cross between soy sauce and barbeque sauce. 

Anyone have any idea?  (By itself, it wasn't very tasty, but the sauce really helped it along.)  TIA,

Pitchblack (Janet)

Sounds like some kind of plain talam - if they do inded make plain talam.

But gelatinous huh?

Need more info or picture, I guess. Sorry.

[GaijinGirl]

Ummmm.. Saw pics of Talam on the web - doesn't look like it. Darn. Would be nice to know the name, but as I wasn't overly fond of it, not a *big* loss.

Now, if ONLY I could find Onde Onde in NYC, I would be EXTREMELY happy! :)

[spaghetttti]

I've been wracking my brain over Janet's kueh, still can't imagine what it is. Oh, the mystery of it all! Anyway, here's what my husband brought home for dessert tonight. Plain & pandan egg surabi.

[JustKay]

I found this.

I see the Apam Balik (as we Malays know it) is called Murtabak Manis.

And looks like your kue cucur is Jemput Manis as I know it. But usually it is rounder as it is dropped by the tablespoon into hot oil. And some bicarbonate soda is added to the batter to make it more fluffy.

Lemper sounds like Pulut Panggang although Pulut Panggang's filling is made from coconut and shrimp.

Edited March 18, 2005 by kew (log)

[GaijinGirl]

Hey spaghetti - thanks for trying...! I only wish the staff at Curry Leaves and I could communicate better - then I could have gotten the name.

On a different topic, that last pic looked delish!

[Suburbanpeasant]

Is the gemblong hollow in the centre and sundried after it is fried and then glazed?

My mother recently hosted a little tea party for about 100 guests.  Here are some of the kueh she served. 

The banana leaf lined bamboo nampan holds  an array of mini cakes - kueh ku shaped in pastel fruits, dadar gulung stuffed with sweet grated coconut.  The top right is kueh cocorot,  palm sugar & rice flour cornets.  And below that are  some gemblong, deep fried & glazed sweet sticky rice & shredded coconut cakes.

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[Tepee]

Oh joy!! My pilot neighbor just came back from an Indonesian flight and gave us this specot (layer cake)...my fav of favs...just in time for tea! I was all set to make either this or a baumkuchen next week. Now I don't have to be toasted by standing in front of the grill for 2 hours.

Edited April 2, 2005 by Tepee (log)