Ang Ku Kueh (Kuih Angkoo)
This Nyonya recipe is from "Cooking for the President". Nyonyas make ang ku kueh skin with coconut milk and pandan. You wouldn't find these tropical ingredients in original Chinese recipes. "Ang ku kueh" means red tortoise cakes but they come in various colours. Red ones are for birthdays. Funerals prefer black. This recipe makes green ang ku kueh.
- Prep time
- 1 hr
- Cook time
- 35 min
- Yield
- 21 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
- 150 g glutinous rice flour
- 125 g water
- 160 g skinless split mung beans
- 480 g water
- 180 g water
- 115 g sugar
- 80 ml peanut oil
- banana leaf
- 60 g young light green pandan leaves
- 60 g undiluted fresh coconut milk
- 21/4 tsp rice flour
- 1 tbsp peanut oil
- 2 tsp castor sugar
- 1 medium-sized yellow sweet potato
- rice flour (for dusting)
- peanut oil (for glazing)
Instructions
- 1
Mix glutinous rice flour evenly with 125 g water. Refrigerate overnight, covered.
- 2
Soak mung beans in 480 g water till expanded, about 1 hour. Drain, rinse and drain again. Cook in 180 g water, uncovered, till soft and dry, about 20 minutes. Mash beans roughly with spatula. Add sugar. Mash till dissolved and evenly mixed. Add peanut oil. Mix till combined. Blend mixture till silky smooth.
- 3
Fry bean mixture in a wok over maximum heat possible, stirring constantly, till thick enough to hold its shape. Leave till cool. Divide and roll into balls weighing 20 g each (adjust to suit size of your mould if necessary; mine is 6 x 5 x 2 cm).
- 4
Scald banana leaf in hot water. Drain, blot and dry. Cut into 21 pieces each slightly bigger than AKK.
- 5
Wash pandan leaves. Chop roughly. Blend with coconut milk till finely minced. Squeeze to yield 60 g liquid. Place liquid in a small pot. Add rice flour, peanut oil and sugar. Mix till smooth. Cook over low heat, stirring, to make a smooth green paste. Leave till cool.
- 6
Wash and peel sweet potato to yield 110 g. Slice ½ cm thick. Cook in 120 ml water till soft and dry, about 15 minutes. You should have around 100 g. Mash roughly. Add green rice flour paste made earlier. Continue mashing till paste is smooth. Add wet glutinous rice flour made on day 1. Knead thoroughly till evenly mixed. Divide and roll into balls weighing 20 g each (adjust if necessary to equal weight of filling).
- 7
Lightly dust AKK mould with rice flour. Flatten ball of dough, to about 6 cm wide. Place 1 piece of filling in the middle. Cupping top of kueh with corner of right thumb and forefinger (for right-handers), nudge and press dough to seal filling. Roll gently between palms till round, dusting lightly with rice flour if too damp.
- 8
Place AKK ball in mould. Press to flatten and level top. Turn over mould and whack hard against worktop so that kueh falls out, onto shiny side of banana leaf.
- 9
Shape AKKs with remaining dough and filling.
- 10
To steam, bring steamer to a rolling boil. Place kueh in steamer, on a perforated tray. Cover and reduce heat to very low so that water barely simmers. Steam till kueh expands slightly, about 6 minutes. Remove kueh to a plate. Brush lightly with peanut oil. Leave till cool. Trim excess leaf around kueh. Serve.