Steamed Layered Cake/Kueh Lapis

This steamed layered rice cake is a favorite hawker food in Malaysia and it's one of my favorite. I remembered fondly how I would gingerly peel each layer off and eating it with small bites. I've tried several attempts making this over the years and the cake ended up in the trash. My friends told me that it requires some skills in adjusting the batter mixture and steaming each layers. I am not going to give up without another try at it. I stumbled upon Madam Kwong's recipe and it seems to work. I made some adjustment to the recipe and it turns out quite beautiful--but not quite as perfect to the ones back home.

Ingredients: (adapted from Mdm. Kwong's)
450 gm rice flour

150 gm tapioca flour
3 cups sugar
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
½ tsp. salt
2½ cups water
2 screwpine leaves (pandan)
A 9-inch round pan (greased thinly with cooking oil)
Steamer with rack and lid
food coloring (red, green)
¼ tsp. pandan paste
Method:
1.Combine water, pandan leaves and sugar in a saucepan and bring to boil over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolved completely. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Discard the pandan leaves.
2. Mix the the 2 types of flours, salt and coconut together. Beat or mix until the mixture is free from lumps. Then stir in the sugar mixture whisk well to mix. The mixture should not be too thick and runny, but just enough to coat the back of the ladle or spoon. Add and adjust water if necessary to make a total of mixture to measure about 4 cups. Strain through a sieve and allow mixture to sit for about 15 minutes.

3. Divide the mixture into 3 portions: ½ cup for red coloring; 1½ cups for green coloring and a tsp. of pandan paste; 2¼ cups, no coloring
4. Add enough water to the bottom tray of the steamer and bring to a boil. Put the baking pan in the top layer and allow to heat up the pan.
5. Measure ½ cup of the white mixture and pour into the pan and cover lid to steam for 3 minutes. When the first layer begins to thicken and set on top, remove lid and pour in ½ cup of the green layer. Cover lid and steam for 3 minutes. When the third layer begins to thicken and set on top, add ½ cup of mixture with no coloring. Repeat the steps and procedure, alternating green and white mixture until all the batter is used up. The final and the last layer is red.
6. After the final layer is set, steam further for another 15 minutes. Remove the lid and wipe excess moisture and cover again to finish steaming.
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before cutting into squares or diamond-shaped pieces.
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White HoneyComb Cake/Pak Tong Gou

"Pak Tong Gou" is basically White Sugar Cake in Cantonese. It is a popular and classic street food in Malaysia. It is a steamed white spongy cake that is springy and the texture resembles a honeycomb when sliced. This is one of the many simple joys of my favorite childhood snack.
Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2¼ cups rice flour
2 cups water
2 stalks of pandan leaves, knotted
1 tsp. pandan essense (if pandan leaves not available)
1½ tsp. instant yeast
2 Tbsp. lukewarm water
1 Tbsp. oil
A greased pan
Method:
1. Add rice flour into a mixing bowl, stir in half of the water and mix well.
2. Add sugar, pandan leaves or pandan essense and rest of water. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Remove from stove and let it sit to cool down slightly. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with well until a thick, gooey texture is achieved. Strain through a sieve and set aside.
3. Prepare yeast by adding water into a small bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. Let it sit undisturbed for about two minutes, then stir to dissolve the yeast. Set aside until the mixture becomes frothy. Note: If it does not bubble after five minutes, the yeast is no good as the water is either too hot or too cold. Discard and do it again.
4. Add the yeast mixture into the flour mixture and stir well to mix. Cover with a clean towel and keep in a warm place to allow the mixture to ferment between 5-8 hours. The mixture should be double in volumne and bubbly on the surface.
5. Add oil to the mixture and stir well. Pour into prepared tray and steam over high heat for 20-25 minutes. Allow cake to cook before slicing.
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Tapioca Cake/Kuih Bengka Ubi Kayu

Tapioca or cassava is a tuberous root vegetable that is widely grown in the tropical and subtropical countries. The root has a thick skin and it is peeled and cooked before eating. I used to just steamed them and eat with sugar. This is another simple to prepare Malaysian snack that I love to share.
Ingredients:
2 lbs tapioca, shredded
250 gm. thick coconut milk
50 gm. grated coconut
2 ¼ cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
2 tsp. sago flour (optional)
pinch of salt
baking pan
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly greased baking pan.
2. Put tapioca in a muslin bag and sqeezed out most of the water. Add this into a large bowl and mix in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Pour mixture in prepared pan and bake in oven for about half and hour until most of the liquid has evaporate. Reduce temperature to 300°F and bake for another hour until cooked. Test doneness by inserting a toothpick at the center of the cake. If it comes out clen, it is cooked.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before unmolding the cake. Allow the cake to cool before cutting. (I let mine cool in the refrigerator)
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Sweet Potato Balls with Palm Sugar/Ondeh-Ondeh

  

Onde-Onde is a colorful and delicious Malaysian dessert. Onde-Onde in Javanese, literally means a round or small food in the shape of a sphere. It is a small sweetened dumpling of sweet potato dough filled with Gula Melaka, a rich brown sugar from the palm tree. The cooked dough is coated with freshly grated white coconut. Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to get fresh grated coconut, the only alternative is to use the frozen ones imported from the Philippines. It goes by the brand name of "Masagana". The palm sugar, Gula Melaka is wrapped in dried palm leaves and you can find them in Asian supermarket.

Ingredients: (about 24-30 balls)
200 gms. sweet potato, peeled and cubed
200 gms. glutinous rice flour
1 Tbsp. tapioca flour
100 ml. water
25 ml. pandan flavoring essence
6 drops of green coloring
pinch of salt
125 gm. gula melaka, grated
3 tsp. white sugar
150 gm. grated coconut, thawed at room temperature
Method:
1. Steam sweet potatoes until soft and mash finely. Set aside. Mix a pinch of salt with the grated coconut and steam for about 5 minutes and set aside to cool.
2. Combine sugar and grated gula melaka in a bowl. Add glutionious rice flour into a large mixing bowl.
3. In a measuring cup, add in pandan essence, green coloring and water to mix. Pour this into a small saucepan and add in salt and tapioca flour and bring to a boil over low heat. Keep stirring until the mixture is slightly thickens. Remove from heat.
4. Pour this warm mixture into the bowl with the flour, mix well to combine. Add the mashed potato and mix to form a dough. Add a little more glutinous rice flour if the dough gets too soft and if it is too dry, simply wet your hands and knead the dough till it is smooth and pliable. Roll into a long rope, cut into 1" cubes and flatten the dough with the palm of your hand. Spoon about ¼ teaspoon of sugar in the middle of dough. Pinch the edges to seal and roll again into a smooth sphere. Do the same with the rest of the dough in the same manner.

5. Fill a deep saucepan with water halfway and bring to a boil. Drop the balls into the boiling water in small batches and cook until they float to the surface about 3 minutes. Remove the cooked balls with a slotted spoon and roll in grated coconut to coat. Serve with tea.

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Steamed Turnip Dumplings/Soon Kueh/Loh Pat Pan

This is a classic snack that is sold in the wet markets in Malaysia. It goes by many names like "loh pat pan" in hakka dialect or "soon kueh" in hokkien. The only difference is the latter has bamboo shoots, or "soon" in Peranakan as an added ingredient. This is one of my favorite food growing up in Malaysia, it brings back sweet childhood memories.
Ingredients: (inspired and adapted by rose kitchen)
Dough recipe: 300 gms rice flour; 100 gm tapioca starch, extra for dusting, 1 tsp. salt; 600 ml. boiling water; 2 Tbsp. oil
Stuffing recipe: 50 gm dried shrimps (rinse and soak in little water to soften); 50 gm dried mushroom (soaked to soften, cut into thin strips); 1-2 lbs of jicama (sliced and cut into thin strips); 1 Tbsp. sugar; 3-4 Tbsp. light soy sauce; 1 tsp. oyster sauce; 2-3 cloves garlic; ground white pepper to taste; 2-3 bamboo shoots (cut into strips if used) enough oil for frying
Presentation: banana or pandan leaves if available
Method:
1. Add a pinch of salt to the jicama, and let it sit for about 15 minutes. Squeezed out excess water. Pound dried shrimps finely in a mortar and pestle (or use food processor). If using banana leaves, cut into 4 x 3 inch shapes. Brush leaves lightly with some oil.

2. Heat some oil in pan and fry shallots and dried shrimps till fragrant. Add jicama and the rest of the vegetables, stir to mix well, then add the seasonings. Continue to fry until ingredients are well mixed and cooked through. Add some water if mixture gets dry. Season to taste. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. To make the dough: In a large bowl add the 2 types of flours, salt and mix well. Drizzle with the boiled water, and stir to mix quickly, let it sit for a few minutes to cool. Next, add in oil and knead to mix thoroughly. and add boiling water. Continue to knead until there is no more lump and texture is smooth, dust with some tapioca starch if it gets too sticky. Cover the dough and let it sit for 10-15 minutes.
4. To make dumplings: roll out dough, and dust with tapioca starch if sticky. Continue to roll on a floured board until smooth. Cut into log and cut into equal portions. Roll a portion into a ball, flatten and dust a bit tapioca starch on top and gently roll the middle part gently and move the edges with less pressure.
5. Fill the dumpling skin with a spoonful of mixture, press to seal and flute the edges if you like. Do the same with the rest of the dough. Heat a steamer with water. Place dumplings on banana/pandan leaves if used and space them an inch apart on the steaming tray. Brush top of dumplings with some cooking oil. Steam over fast boiling water until cooked for 10 minutes. Remove carefully on to serving dish.

6. Serve piping hot with chili sauce.
Tips: you can also pan fried the dumplings with some oil until crispy brown for a different taste and texture.
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Steamed Salty Rice Cakes with Radish/Wun Chai Go

This is another one of my favorite snacks whenever I visit Malaysia. I remembered fondly how we used to wait for this hawker to come by our house with these delicious cakes in his basket. He would turn the hot steamed cakes on a plate with a bamboo stick and serve savory sauce on top. It is so good that we often went back for seconds.
Ingredients:
1¼ cups rice flour
3 cups water
¼ tsp. salt
1 cup salted radish, rinsed well and cut in small chunks
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
½ cup lean pork, thinly sliced
salt and pepper to taste
6-8 shallow bowls
Method:
1. Mix rice flour, water, and salt in a bowl. Stir well to mix. Pour into a saucepan and cook over low heat till mixture get thick, but not lumpy. Remove from heat.

2. In a food processor blend radish and pork in small pieces. Heat pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, fry shallots till soft and add radish/pork mixture until they become fragrant. Season to taste.
3. Brush bowls with some oil. Pour some batter into each bowls and spoon some turnip mixture on top. Place the bowls in a pre-heated steamer tray and steam over high heat for about 30-35 minutes (until the skewer comes out clean when poke in the middle).

4. Serve it in the same bowl or wait for it to cool and invert it over a plate. Top with soy sauce mixed with some oil, and leftover toppings.
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Turtle-shaped Rice Cakes/Ang Ku Kuih

Ang Ku Kuih is a Malay word for small bite-sized sweet tea cakes or snacks. They are usually made by hand using molds of intricate designs or roll and wrapped with banana leaves. Ang Ku Kuih (红龟糕) is a small red oval shaped Chinese steamed cake with soft mung bean fillings in the center. The oval shaped Ang ku kuih, (红龟糕) is designed to resemble a tortoise shell which signifies longevity to the Chinese tradition. They are usually served during religious events, birthdays, and the birth of a child. You can easily buy these molds in Malaysia, or simply roll it into an oval or round shape and create your own design. This is a tribute to my late mother who had made this and other kuih everyday for years to sell in the market as another source of income to feed her large family.
Skin ingredients: (makes about 1/ 1/2 dozens)
300 gms glutinous rice flour
200 gms potato flour/starch (or same amount of sweet potato, steamed and mashed)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
¾ cup warm water
2 tsp. pandan essense
2 tsp. red coloring
1 tsp. sugar
1 sheet banana leaf, cut into several oval shapes
Ang Ku mold
Steamer
Fillings ingredients:
1 packet (14 oz) split mung beans (without skin)
150 gm sugar
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Method:
1. Wash and soak mung beans overnight to soften. Drain well and steam mung beans with pandan leaf for about 20-30 minutes or until soft. Mash finely and set aside.
2. In a pot, mix mashed beans, sugar and oil and cook over medium heat. Stir continuously until mixture is thick and almost dry. Set aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, rub some oil in your palm and roll them into small golf sized balls. (You can also use a teaspoon to spoon the filling into the dough).

3. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients, mashed potato (if used), and sugar together. Mix the pandan essense, oil, red coloring and 1/2 of the water together in a small bowl. Add this to the flour mixture. Mix and knead the mixture to form pliable dough, by adding little water at a time if necessary. Cover with cloth and set aside.

4. Brush the mold with some oil and dust with some rice flour. Shake off excess flour. Take a small amount of dough and flatten to a round, put a ball of the filing in the center. Wrap skin over and close back to a ball making sure the filling is concealed. Press it into the mold and lightly tap it on the table to remove. Place it on a banana leaf. Do the same with the rest of the dough and fillings. Trim around the raw dough before steaming.

5. Fill a steamer with water and steam the kuih on the top rack for 10-15 minutes. Set aside and brush lightly with some oil on top.

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