Pandan Huat Kueh

These babies are worth a mention because the look so pretty and are so aromatic. How are you guys doing? It's been so long that I've updated anything here. I guess I truly made this into my own recipe library.  

SO... This time I am here because many things deserve a record. Let it go down the record that today is Day 16 of the Malaysian Movement Control Order (MCO). The whole world is almost at a standstill because of the COVID-19 virus pandemic. Because schools are closed, and business activities are all fully online now, most households chef are cooking up a storm 3x a day (for some) and are becoming master chefs by the time MCO is lifted. 

I have not cooked and washed so much in the past 42 years of my life as I had in the past 16 days. OMG... Some days I am very motivated to cook fancier meals, some days I am stressed about buying groceries online, some days I just want to eat instant noodles and watch dramas or just sleep.

It is an unprecedented time... affecting the world. This "Super Storm" has taken everyone, every nation (almost) by an ugly surprise. It has shaken many beliefs of how things work and function. Anyway, I won't need to say so much as historians would have many to say and it is all on Google. :P

Getting back to these Green gems... Now, my mom gave me quite a bit of pandan leaves and I really do not want it to go to waste, so, I made pandan juice with it. 

Such a pretty green. ALL natural. This is love...

The next question would be what should I do with it? I want to attempt something with minimal  utensils and hence minimal washing. LOL! Plus, with the limited ingredients that I have at home, I decided to try these traditional chinese 'cakes'. These "smiling" cakes are usually used as offerings during prayers. You will see these at almost all chinese festivities.

Huat Kueh literally means "Prosperity Cakes". "Huat" means to prosper. "Kueh" is cake. Usually made from rice flour, it is eaten during Chinese New Year for a prosperous year ahead.

My Huat Kueh was inspired by one of my favorite blogger, Nasi Lemak Lover. Here is the quick recap of making these happy cakes. Prepping time is really short (I Like!) and I used a cup, a bowl, a spoon and a fork. Perfect!

Pour the batter to almost reach the brim of the cupcake liner. Just ensure you get sufficient water into the steamer and bring it to boil so that you can immediately steam the batter. 

Tada! After 25 minutes, you get these "smiling" (cracked open effect) cakes. Witnessing the rising of the cake and finally breaking into a "smile" is so fulfilling. <3<3<3

Recipe:

125g Superfine flour ( I used Blue Key brand)

1.25 tsp baking powder

60g caster sugar 

1 kampung egg (Grade A)

100ml pandan juice

23g oil

Method

1. Mix flour and baking powder, set aside.

2. Whisk sugar and pandan water till sugar dissolved.

3. Add in egg and corn oil, stir to mix well.

4. Add in flour and stir to combine.

5. Pour into prepared cupcake liners.

6. Steam over high heat for 25 minutes. 

Tips: 

1. Make sure water is boiling when you mix in the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients so that you can immediately steam the kueh.

2. Do NOT open the steamer cover until the time is over. Hence, make sure you have sufficient water in the steamer. 

Happy trying and let me know how it turns out. I would love to hear from you. Find me on Instagram @atouchofally. Till the next post... Ally signing off :)