I was invited by Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionary to try my hand at kueh-making two weeks ago and I am happy to report that it was a success!
I had agreed to do it because I've always felt like some of our local foods had fell out of favour nowadays due to Western snacks. The newest sensation to hit our shores? Laduree macarons. That is following the heels of cupcakes, donuts, apple strudels... Well, I'm all for local delights so it's time to give these old favorites a taste/look/feel!
So on a very warm Saturday afternoon I made my trip down to the Bedok shop where it all happens. The staff was making fresh "bng kueh" just behind the counter! They work tirelessly, starting as early as 4am to prepare the ingredients and then making and steaming the items the whole day. You have to give it to them -- everything is handmade. Can this count as artisanal?
The plethora of kuehs available's amazing. I might have eaten some of them before when my mum buys it back or during Chinese festivals, but some were completely foreign to me. They were really colourful, comes in a variety of fillings, textures and some were fried! I had a selection of the kuehs given to be to eat after, and they were really tasty. Perfect for night time snack :P
Well for the kuehs, what I made was the Red Tortoise Kueh, or what you call colloquially the Ang Ku Kueh. At first I was worried I might not be good at making the kueh since it all seemed so complicated, but the ingredients were already prepared for me. All I had to do is to take the correct amount of red dough, press it flat on my palm, put the filling in (peanut or green bean) and close it up.
Here's the red ball, which then gets sprinkled with some flour and pressed into the mould. Then you knock it out and tadah!
They then go into the steamer for 20 minutes.
And here are some of the kuehs! From top left - soon kueh, top right - bng kueh, ang ku kueh and green ku kueh. Soon Kueh has radish and other types of veggies in them, while bng kueh has glutinous rice inside!
I had a fun time over all. Thanks to Lek Lim Nonya Cake Confectionary for the crash course in kueh-making, and spending time to explain all the kuehs to me.
wah lau you are so gifted....can blog,can cook and can do everything hor?
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