My Singaporean friend who now lives in California constantly talks about the food in his country, and his home is Singapore. She loves her food and, having lived there for over five years, he discovers that there is little precious food that cannot be found anywhere in California or the United States.
One of the things that he misses and hopes many Americans discover is this exotic traditional group of sweet and savory desserts called Malay Kuih. Originating in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, Malaysian kuih recipes were exported from the deep villages and brought to life and now popularized in big cities, hotels and restaurants.
However, the art of making these kuihs remains elusive for many people, which also applies to Asians. These gooey and delicious desserts are not yet known to people in the US or Europe and it is a shame that these glorious foods are hidden from a population that loves desserts.
Most of us in Southeast Asia are familiar with western cakes, puddings and brownies and often have a wide selection of eastern/western desserts to choose from to satisfy our sweet tooth. If only our desserts are known in the west, more people will learn how to make them and impress their family and friends. This also makes for a great new potluck idea.
It is totally different from western desserts and yet it achieves a similar gratification. The creative use of colors and the fragrance of banana or pandan leaves make these kuihs distinctive and stand out from the buffet crowd.
Unlike western desserts that use basic ingredients like butter, eggs, plain flour, and castor sugar, Malaysian kuihs use basic ingredients like tapioca flour, green beans, yams, sago, and palm sugar and coconut milk. These are mostly steamed, sometimes wrapped in a banana leaf. Steaming isn’t the only way to go these days, as these kuihs emerge from deep villages, new recipes have been created and baked instead of steamed.
Also, western desserts are mostly sweet, while these kuih recipes include savory as well. This can be created using tapioca flour and coconut milk and then topped with spiced stir-fried minced meat and garnished with fried onions. These tasty ones are still called kuihs, and yet many Asians eat them for breakfast or a light lunch or snack. Basically, there are no rules when it comes to eating traditional Malay kuihs.
These ingredients and the method of baking were the result of circumstances where modern conveniences were not available to them. So, they ingeniously used materials like yams, tapioca, or beans and turned them into flour. Steam cooking was done on a stove using coals. Coconut milk was used to achieve rich, gooey results, just like Westerners use butter or cheese. It is quite amazing what palm sugar can achieve in terms of flavor and colour. And yet the result is just as comforting, if not more.
There are over 100 kuih recipes that are basically made with all these basic ingredients. Through the creative use of colors and different combinations of flours and the use of coconut, these traditional Malay kuihs have certainly left some hearts broken when they leave the house.