Nyonya Kueh Sago (Tapioca Pearl Cake)

Tapioca sago pearls are one of the common Southeast Asia ingredients and are used in all manner of desserts. This kuih sago is naturally vegan, and a very easy entry-level kueh to make at home!

Kuih sago is a common nyonya kuih (snack/dessert) found all over Malaysia & Singapore. This kuih uses only a few ingredients. The main ingredients is sago and another important ingredients is pandan. Ideally, you would use fresh pandan leaves, but you can use pandan paste if you can't find the fresh leaf.

The top layer is infused with gula melaka (palm sugar) to give it's brownish colour. Supremely soft and bouncy with chewy goodness of lightly salted grated coconut in every bite. 

Ingredients:

• 350g sago/tapioca pearls
• some banana leaves
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 7" square baking pan

Pandan layer:

• 50g fresh grated coconut
• 40ml pandan juice
• 35ml thick coconut milk
• 75g sugar
• ½ tsp salt

Gula Melaka layer:

• 50g fresh grated coconut
• 40ml gula melaka syrup
• ½ tsp salt

• 150g fresh grated coconut
• 2 knotted pandan leaves
• ¼ tsp salt

Method:

Clean and grease banana leaf with cooking oil. Use it to line the baking pan. 

Rinse sago pearls to remove starch, drain and soak in water for 30 minutes. Then drain the soaking water and divide into 2 equal portions.

For the pandan sago layer: Mix together the soaked sago pearls, grated coconut, pandan juice, coconut milk, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Spread the mixture evenly in the baking pan. Steam over medium-high heat for 15-18minutes.

In the meantime, prepare gula melaka sago layer. Mix together the soaked sago pearls, grated coconut, gula melaka syrup, coconut milk and salt in a mixing bowl. Then pour the gula melaka mixture on top of the steamed pandan sago layer. Spread with spatula evenly. Steam over medium-high heat for another 15-18 minutes.

Leave the kuih to cool completely before cutting.

Mix the additional fresh grated coconut with salt. Steam with knotted pandan leaves for 10 minutes and let it cool completely.

Grease a knife with cooking oil to cut the kuih into bite-sized pieces. Coat the kuih evenly with steamed grated coconut and serve.

Pak Tong Gou (White Sugar Cake)

Making this like renewing childhood memories as it is a favourite childhood cake for many people. It is a traditional Chinese snack that is white in colour, sweet and light as it is steamed. The cake is not too sweet, slightly chewy and it wonderfully spongy from the honeycomb-like appearance on the inside of the cake.

It's easy to recreate this traditional kuih at home. This kuih is only using just a few ingredients. 

 

 Ingredients:

• 1 tsp instant yeast
• 1 tbsp lukewarm water
• 300g rice flour, sifted
• 280g water
• ½ tsp cooking oil

ingredients for the sugar syrup:

• 200g sugar
• 340g water
• 3 pieces pandan leaves, knotted

Method:

Start by dissolving 1 tsp instant yeast with 1 tbsp lukewarm water. Set aside the mixture for 10 minutes or until the mixture turns foamy.

Place the rice flour in a medium size bowl and add in the water. Whisk and combine until you get a smooth and thick batter. Set aside.

In a saucepan, heat up the sugar with water and pandan leaves until sugar dissolves. Then slowly pour the hot sugar syrup into the tice flour mixture, stirring it constantly to prevent limps forming.

Leave aside the rice flour batter to cool until warm. When cooled, add in the foamy instant yeast mixture and stir well to combine everything together.

Then cover with cling film and leave the mixture to proof in a warm area for 2 hours or until large bubbles form on the surface.

When ready, add in ½ tsp of cooking oil. Stir the batter again, mixing well. 

Prepare the steamer by bringing the water in the steamer to a rapid boil. Brush a 10 inch round cake pan with cooking oil. Pour the batter into the oiled cake pan. Rest 20 minutes until small bubbles appear.

Place in steamer and steam for 30 minutes on high heat. Remove the cake pan from the steamer and let the kuih cool on the counter before cutting the kuih.

Once it is cool enough to handle, gently run a spatula along the edges to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Then remove the rice cake from pan.

Simply cut the kuih into slices and served as snacks.

 Enjoy!!!

Kuih Lopes

Kuih Lopes has many versions but the Northern Malaysia version is pandan flavoured glutinous rice cakes, rolled in coconut and served with gula melaka syrup. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cup glutinous rice
• 2 cup coconut milk
• ½ cup pandan juice
• ½ tsp lye water
• ½ tsp salt
• few drop of green colouring
• grated fresh coconut add with a pinch of salt

Method:

Wash the glutinous rice and soak the rice in the water with a few drop of green colouring and the lye water for at least 30 minutes. 

Pour the soaked rice into a pan. Add in the coconut milk and pandan juice. Mix well. Steam the rice in a steamer until cook or ¾ cook. 

When the coconut milk is nearly dry up, stir the rice to mix well. Set aside to cool slightly.

While waiting the rice to cool slightly, clean and prepare the banana leaves. Cut to 10" x 6" pieces. Run over flames to soften the leaves.

Take the amount of about a cup cooked glutinous  rice (or to the amount you think is enough for the banana leaf) and roll it in the banana leaf. Roll it tightly and snugly into a cylinder shape . Tie firmly with strings on both ends like a giant sweet.

Arrange the rolls in the steamer and steam for 15-20 minutes. Let the rolls cool completely before unwrapping the lopes. 

Cut slices with a thread to about ½ inch width.  Roll the lopes with grated coconut. Serve with drizzle of gula melaka syrup.

Pandan Angku (Gula Melaka Coconut Filling)

Traditionally this kuih is red colour and the filling is made of mung beans, known as Angku. However along the way lots of adaptation comes along and this green one is made from pandan juice with coconut filling. 
This kuih taste the best just when they have been freshly steamed. Because the skin will have the desired chewiness and the texture when is still lukewarm. Because such kuih entail a large portion of glutinous rice flour, they generally turn hard if left uncovered or overnight. To overcome this problem, do try and steam them up for a couple of minutes before consumption again.  Enjoy!!! 

Ingredients:
For the gula melaka filling:

• 110g gula melaka, grated
• 50g dark brown sugar
• 80g hot water 
• 2 pandan leaves, knoted
• 150g fresh shredded coconut, I use desiccated coconut
• 100g coconut milk if using desiccated coconut
• 1 tsp cornflour +1 tbsp water

For the Pandan skin:

• 80g yellow sweet potatoes, diced
• 100g pandan juice, I used  ½ tsp pandan paste mixed with 100g water
• 200g glutinous rice flour
• 60g hot water 
• 10g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Preparing gula melaka coconut filling: Combine coconut (or desiccated coconut , gula melaka, dark brown sugar, hot water, (coconut milk if using desiccated coconut) and pandan leaves in a non-stick cooking pan, cook over lowheat until sugar fully dissolved and the liquid has nearly dried up. Add in the cornflour mixture and cooked until the liquid dried up.

Divide the coconut filling into 20 portions and roll into a ball

Preparing pandan dough skin:  Steam the diced yellow potatoes over medium heat until very soft. Blend the pandan juice with the steamed sweet potatoes until smooth, set aside to cool.

Mix together hot water and 100g glutinous flour, then add in the pandan sweet potato paste, mix well. Combine icing sugar and another 100g glutinous flour , add to mixture. Mix into a dough. If too dry add a little pandan juice or water at a time until a smooth dough is formed. Add in cooking oil, knead until well blended.

Divide the dough into 20 portions, cover with cling wrap to prevent from drying.

Prepare 20 round banana leaves, coat with oil.

Lightly coat angku mould with glutinous flour, tap off excess flour. Shape the dough into a bowl, fill with coconut filling. Wrap filling fully with dough. Press until firm and shape into a ball. Put into the angku mould, press lightly with palm to fill the mould. Tap the mould gently on work top to un-mould the filled dough. Put onto an oiled banana leaf, then arrange in steamer rack.

Steam over medium heat for 8 minutes. Once taken out from steamer, lightly oiled the angku surface. Set aside to cool

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.

Kuih Kosui

Penang has a very strong Nyonya presence and being a Penangite, Nyonya kuih always have a special place in my heart. One of my favourite  is kuih kosui. 

A good kuih kosui is rich in pandan aroma and have a springy and soft texture. Best eaten with freshly grated coconut. 

Ingredients :

Syrup

• 454ml water
• 285g sugar

Pandan juice

• 12-15 pandan leaves
• 620ml water

• 1 tbsp alkaline water (lye water)

Batter 

• 150g rice flour
• 50g tapioca flour

Method:

To make the syrup: melt the sugar in water over low fire until sugar dissolves. Set aside to cool. 

Cut pandan leaves into small pieces. Combine pandan leaves and water in an electric blender. Blend 1-2 minutes. Strain the pandan juice through a fine sieve. Add alkaline water into pandan juice. Set aside. 

In another bowl, add rice flour and tapioca flour. Slowly pour in the pandan juice mixture while stirring it consistently till well blended. Add in syrup.

Cook the flour mixture on low fire till slightly thickened. Remove from heat and pour into little teacups. Steam on oh high fire for 15 minutes. Take the kuih out immediately. Leave it cool for at least 6 hours before removing the kuih from the little teacups.

Serve with fresh grated coconut. 

Tee Nya Kuih

Famous Penang food can be found all over the states in Malaysia but not this Tee Nya Kuih. It can only be found in Penang 😄

This kuih is soft and bouncy felt soft. Not sticky at all and with an alkaline aroma. The syrup was the best part ! But my fav part was still the bounce, almost like eating  jelly. 

Do not eat Tee Nya Kuih on its own. It is yucky! Must be served with the syurp. Then it become heavenly.

Ingredients:

• 25g rice flour
• 25g tapioca flour
• 25g mung bean flour
• 300g water + 1/4 alkaline water
• Drop of yellow food colouring

Method:

Mix all the flours together. Add in water and alkaline water and cook in a small pot until it starts to thicken. Remove from heat.

Mix in the food colouring. 

Very lightly oil a rice bowl and put the batter in. Level the surface. 

Steam on medium heat for 20 minutes.

Leave it to cool down for 4-8 hours at room temperature before serving. 

Cut into cube with a plastic knife and serve with  palm sugar coconut cream syrup 

Palm Sugar Coconut Cream Syrup

Ingredients :

• 200g palm sugar
• Few pandan leaves
• 100ml water
• 100ml thick coconut milk
• Pinch of salt

Method:

Cook palm sugar with water and pandan leaves on medium low heat until melted. 

Let the sugar syrup continue to cook until the whole surface is very bubbly. It may takes about 5 to 7 minutes for the syrup to slowly reduce. 

Pout in coconut milk and salt, stirring all the while. 

Then bring the sauce back to a boil, and let it simmer for 1 minute.

Strain the sauce and serve with the tee nya kuih . 

Malaysian Honeycomb Cake

This cake texture is similar to Ma Lai Ko. 

It's best to have it with a teh tarik or a kopi o.

Ingredients:

• 210g sugar
• 250ml water
• 80g butter
• 6 eggs
• 160g condensed milk
• 180g plain flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:

In a small pot, caramelize the sugar until it turns intois a dark brown. Keep a very close eye so as not to burn it around the edges. Don't rush it as it will slowly melt and turn into a dark golden liquid caramel.

Slowly and carefully pour the water into the caramel. This will spatter and boil and seize up for the first minute or so and not to worry, it will return to a liquid syrup. Remove from heat.

Add the butter and set a side to cool.

Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease a 9 inch round cake tin.

Mix the eggs and condensed milk in a bowl. Sift the flour and baking soda together and add to the egg/milk mixture. Mix well. 

Pour the caramel butter sauce into the batter and mix well. 

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Let it sit for 5 minutes for the bubbles to begin developing.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the skewer inserted comes out clean. Do not use the convection. 

When the cake is cool, turn it out into a serving plate.

Kuih Kemboja/Kuih Bakar

This is the Malay kuih that we found at pasar malam in Malaysia.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 1/4 cups of coconut milk
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 tsp pandan paste + 1 cup of water (mixed together)
• sesame seeds

Method:
Preheat oven to 170C/C fan oven and greased a baking pan.

Beat eggs and sugar until dissolves but not fluffy.

Mix pandan paste, water into coconut milk and stir until mix well.

Add in the flour and the coconut milk mixture alternately into the egg and sugar mixture. Combine well.

Pour batterv  into the greased baking pan and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

Bake for about  45 minutes until golden brown or skewer comes out clean.

Cool it down before cutting.

Two-tone sago tapioca

Ingredients Bottom layer

• 550g grated tapioca
• 100ml thick coconut milk
• 1 small egg
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 100g castor sugar

Top layer

• 300g sago
• 170g castor sugar
• 3 screwpine leaves (pandan leaves)
• 1-2 drop green colouring

Method:

Line a base of a 20cm tray with banana leaf. Lightly grease with oil.

Rinse sago and soak for at least 3 hours. Add 1-2 drop of green colouring. Drain and combine with sugar and set aside.

Combine grated tapioca, sugar, salt, egg and coconut milk to mix. Spread mixture onto the prepared baking tray. Steam for 40 minutes until set.

Pour sago mixture over the tapioca layer. Place pandan leaves over it and steam for 20 minutes. Remove the pandan leaves.

Remove the kuih from the steamer and leave aside to cool completely.

Cut the kuih into slices and serve.

Curry Puff 2

This version of curry puff reminds me of my school days where I use to buy them from the Malay stall in the school canteen for only 10sen. This curry puff pastry is different from the spiral curry puff Ingredients for the pastry:

• 11/2 cup of plain flour
• 5o g shortening
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 4 tsbp water

Ingredients for the filling:

• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp dried prawns, soaked and pounded finely
• 2 tbsp meat curry powder
• 3 large potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 springs onion, sliced finely
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 5 tbsp oil

To make the filling:

Heat oil and fry chopped onion until sweat through. Add in the dried prawns, curry powder and 3 tbsp water and saute until fragrant. Add potaties and 1 cup water and cooked until potatoes are tender. Add salt and sugar to taste. Cook until the filling is dry. Leave to cool before use.

To make the pastry:

Using food processor, add in the flour, baking powder and salt, pulse to mix. Add in the shortening and pulse until it looked like breadcrumbs. Add in water and pulse until the dough is combined into a ball. Let the dough rest for 1/2 hour.

Roll dough out into a long sausage and cut into small portions size of a ping pong ball. Roll each portion into a thin circle and put the filling in the centre. Fold the pastry over to make a 1/2 circle and crimp the edge.

Deep fry until golden brown.

Kuih Puteri Ayu

Don't ask me why this was called kuih puteri ayu. You need to have the special mould as the above picture to make this kuih.

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• 100g castor sugar
• 125g self raising flour, sieved
• 150ml coconut milk
• 1 tsp ovallette
• a drop of pandan paste
• 50ml water
• some fresh grated coconut
• 1 tsp tapioca flour
• a pinch of salt
• some oil for greasing the mould

Method:

Mix salt, tapioca flour and grated coconut together. Add about 1 tsp of the grated coconut into a greased mould and press hard on it. Set aside

In a mixer beat eggs and sugar until white and fluffy. Then add in ovallette and continue beating until creamy.

Add the pandan paste in the water and mixed with the coconut milk.

Stir in flour and alternate it with the coconut milk mixture. Fill the mould until almost full of 3/4 full. Steam over high heat for about 15-20 minutes.

Kuih Rose/Kuih Loyang

Ingredients:

• 200ml tin coconut milk and add 175ml water
• 100g castor sugar
• 1 egg, beaten lightly
• oil for deep frying

Sift:

• 125g rice flour
• 125g plain flour

Method:

You need the kuih rose brass mould as show above picture.

Combine sugar and coconut milk. Use a handheld wire whisk to mix both ingredients until sugar has disolved. Add in the egg and whisk until well blended. Stir in sifted flours and mix to form a smooth batter. Strain the mixture through a wire mesh sieve to prevent any lumps. If the batter is thick, just add a little more water until the consistency is just right.

Heat oil in a wok. Put in the brass mould to heat up. When it becomes hot enough, remove the mould and dip into the batter. Make sure that the sides are coated with batter.

Return the mould to the hot oil and deep-fry the batter till its turn golden brown and crispy. Shake a little to remove the pastry from the mould. Remove the kuih rose from the oil , then drain and leave to cool on absorbent kitchen paper. Store in airtight container.

Kuih Lapis (Layer Cake)

Ingredients:

• 160g rice flour
• 20g lek tau hoon (green beans flour)
• 150ml water

For the syrup

• 150g castor sugar
• 300ml water
• 2-3 daun pandan (screwpine leaves), knotted
• 250ml coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• a few drops red colouring

Method:

Combine sugar, screwpine leaves and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Strain and set aside to cool.

Put rice flour and green bean flour into a large mixing bowl. Pour in water gradually and leave aside to soak for 45 minutes. Add coconut milk and salt to the rice flour mixture and mix well. Stir in syrup. Strain the batter to ensure it is free from lumps.

Divide the batter into two. Leave half a portions white and add the red colouring to the other half.

Places a greased 20cm tray in the steamer and heat up for 5 minutes. Pour half cup of the white batter on to the heated tray. Cover and steam over medium heat for 5 minutes or until set.

Pour half cup of the pink batter over the white layer and steam covered for 5 minutes or until set. Repeat the procedure, alternating white and pink batter until all the batter is used up.

To the very last layer, add a little more red colour to make it a deeper shade of pink.

After the final layer is set, steam the kuih for a further 15 minutes. Halfway through open the lid to release the stem, then cover again until the end of the steaming process.

Cool the kuih throughly before cutting into small diamond-shaped pieces.

Cucur Badak

This is one of my favourite malay kuih.

Ingredients :

For the dough

• 600g sweet potatoes (steamed and mashed)
• 10 tablespoons plain flor
• small shrimps for garnishing (with shells and heads on-optional)
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• a pinch of salt

For the filling:

• 1 grated coconut (I used whole coconut as coconut that I get here is real small size)
• 1/2 cup of dried shrimps

Pound together:

• 1 garlic
• 3 shallots
• 6 fresh red chillies (or dried red chilies)
• 1 lemon grass (use only the white part)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 5 slices of peeled fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 cumin powder
• 1/4 fennel powder

• Salt to taste
• Sugar to taste
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Method: For the dough
Mix the mashed sweet potatoes with flour, sugar, and salt till a soft dough is formed. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky. If too sticky, add more flour to the mixture.
For the filling Soak the dried shrimps in hot water for 15 minutes and then pound them. Set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and add in the pounded ingredients plus the pounded dried shrimps. Fry till fragrant.
Add in the grated coconut and mix well. Add in salt and sugar to taste. Set aside and let it cool.
For the wrapping
Dust your hands with some flour and take a bit of dough (about the size of a small ball), flatten it and put the filling in the middle.
Cover the filling and press one small shrimp on top of the dough. Heat oil and fry till golden brown.

Kuih Bengka Beras (Fei Chee Yoke)

Ingredients:

• 100g green bean flour soaked for 25–30 minutes with 200ml water
• 2 can of 400ml coconut and mixed with enough water to obtain 1050ml coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 150g rice flour }
• 1 tbsp corn flour }sifted

For the syrup

• 300g castor sugar
• 300ml water
• 2 pandan (screwpine) leaves, knotted

For Glazing

• 2 tbsp of thick coconut cream

Method:

To prepare the syrup, combine sugar, water and pandan leaves in a pot. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Cool the syrup and discard the pandan leaves.

Put sifted flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in coconut milk and soaked green bean flour mixture. Add the cooled syrup and salt and mix into a batter.

Strain batter into a large microwable bowl and cook on high 2 minutes at a time until it thickens and bubbles. Stir with a whisk after every 2 minutes. Pour cooked custard into a 8 inch square tin which was lighty greased. Spread and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake in preheated oven at 170°C for 30–35 minutes until dark brown and aromatic. Glaze with coconut cream and grill until top is brown. Cool thoroughly before cutting

Kuih Bahulu

Kueh bahulu is a perennial favourite among Malaysians of all ages. It's soft and slightly dry texture goes very well with black coffee. Kueh bahulu comes in different shapes, but the popular ones are the goldfish and the button (see picture right).


Ingredients:

• 3 large eggs
• 100gm sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 100gm plain flour
• 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  

Method:

Sieve wheat and tapioca flour together with baking powder. Whisk the eggs and sugar until stiff and pale in colour. Add the vanilla essence. Fold in sifted flour in 3 batches with the egg batter.

Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Lightly grease the mould (to prevent the bahulu from sticking) and spoon in batter. Do not fill to the top. Bake bahulu for about 10 minutes.

Alternatively, you can bake bahulu the traditional way – using charcoal fire. You have to place the hot coals on top of and under the mould.

Steamed Sago with coconut

Ingredients:

• 250g sago, washed and soaked in water for an hour and drained
• 200g grated young coconut
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 120g sugar
• 1/2 tsp pandan paste or 1 tbsp pandan juice
• few drops of red colouring
• banana leaf, cut into 9" round and lighty greased

Method:

Boil water in steamer over a high heat.

Combine sago, sugar, salt and coconut. Divide into 3 equal portions. Mix one portion with pandan paste or juice, the other with red colouring, leaving one portion plain.

Line the base of a 9" round cake tin with the greased banana leaf. Spread the red sago mixture evenly in the tin and press lightly with a spatula. Place the cake tin in the steamer and steam for 15 minutes until sago is transparent. Add the layer of plain sago to the steamed sago and steam again for nother 15 minutes until the sago is tranparent. Repeat the process with the green portion.

When cooked, remove the tin from the steamer and cool cake completely before cutting into diamond shapes.

Lor Pak Koh (White carrot cake)

This is one of the tim sum dish. It can be eaten just like this or even fry it like the kuih kak style. I like to "goreng" the kuih.

Ingredients:

• 225g rice flour
• 700g turnip, finely shredded
• 70g dried prawns, finely chopped
• 1 dried chinese sausage, chopped finely (optional)
• 2 tbsp oil
• 650–700ml water

Seasoning:

• 1½ tbsp salt
• 50g sugar
• 1 tbsp pepper
• 2 tbsp sesame oil

Method:

Blanch shredded turnip for 2–3 minutes. Drain and squeeze off excess water. Put aside. Combine rice flour with seasoning. Pour in 500ml water and mix into a batter. Heat oil in a wok and fry dried prawns and sausage until fragrant. Add remaining water and bring to the boil. Stir in the prepared batter to mix until well blended. Turn out the mixture into a well-greased baking tin. Steam for 80–90 minutes until the kuih is firm. Leave to cool completely before cutting into slices.

Pan-fry the slices until golden and crispy, then drain oil. Serve with chilli sauce dip.

Seri muka

Ingredients:
For bottom layer:

• 300g glutinous rice, wash & soaked for 4-5 hours and drained
• 200ml thin coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 to 3 pandan leaves

Green topping (top layer):

• 2 eggs
• 100g castor sugar
• 180ml thick coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp pandan paste or 4-5 pandan leaves,cut into pieces and blends with 100ml water
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 40g plain flour

Method:
For the bottom layer:- Combine glutinous rice, salt and coconut milk in a 18cm round cake pan. Place the pandan leaves on top of the mixture and steam over rapidly boiling water for about 30-35 minutes or until the rice cooked through. Discard the pandan leaves. Fluff up the rice, then press rice firmly down.
For the bottom later:- Stir eggs, sugar, thick santan, 1/2 tsp pandan paste (or 1 tbsp pandan juice and add a drop of green colouring) and flour until sugar is dissolved. Add in the salt to mix then strain the batter.
Just before pouring the green batter scratch the lightly surface of the steamed ricw with a fork. Gradually pour the green batter over the rice. Steam over a medium to low heat for 12-15 minutes or until set.
Remove the kuih and leave a side to cool completely before cutting into pieces.