Pulut Tai Tai

Commonly served as dessert or delicacy during the Straits Chinese weddings, this kuih is made of glutinous rice steamed in coconut milk, compacted into a wooden frame and then, cut into desire shapes. The vibrant blue in certain parts of the kuih enhances the beauty of this kuih. It always served with kaya, a rich coconut milk & egg jam.

One of the important steps in making the Pulut Tai Tai is to apply weigh onto the steamed cooked glutinous rice to make it firm. The firmer the kuih, the better the texture.

Ingredients:

• 400g glutinous rice
• 15 blue pea flowers (bunga telang)
• 1½ tbsp white vinegar or lemon juice
• 200ml coconut milk
• ¾ tsp salt
• 3-5 pandan leaves (screw-pine leaves)

Method:

Wash and soaked the flowers in hot water for 30 minutes to an hour. Squeeze the flowers to extract most of the colour from the flowers. Strain the indigo blue colouring. set aside.

Wash the glutinous rice  Soak 1/3 of the glutinous rice with the blue colouring extract and balance of the rice with water. Add ½ tbsp of vinegar to the blue colouring rice and stir well. Then add 1 tbsp of vinegar to the balance of the rice and stir well. Soak for at least 4 hours or overnight.

The next day or 4 hours later, the rice should be stained with blue colour. Drain both the glutinous rice.

Prepare the steamer. Line the steaming tray with banana leave and lightly grease with oil. Place pandan leave in the tray.

Place both the glutinous rice into the lined steaming tray. Mix coconut milk with salt. Pour ½ the coconut mixture over the rice and mix well. steam over high hat for 20 minutes.

Remove from steamer and fluff the rice with a pair of chopstick and discard the pandan leaves.

Then add the balance of the coconut milk mixture. Return to steamer and steam for another 10-15 minutes.

Line a 7x7 inch square pan or wooden box with banana leave and lightly grease with oil. Transfer the cooked rice to the pan alternating the blue portion with white. Mix well. Level the surface and press down the rice with a  banana leaf. Cover the top of the rice with a banana leaf and place a heavy object on it to compress the rice. 

Leave to cool before cutting into pieces to serve with Kaya.