Friday, July 9, 2010

Rainbow on my plate

Ever since I moved back to Singapore, it almost seems like I hardly eat any nonya kuehs anymore. Back when I was in KL, it seems so accessible to buy the kuehs and not to mention it's cheap too. And attempting to make this nonya kueh today made me remember the wonderful day I got to spend with a few of my dear friends last year. We got to make some nice kuehs together and it was such great fun! Best of all is eating those kuehs! But what inspired me to make today's kueh is my dear friend ReeseKitchen, whom too has made it before. Okay, frankly speaking I am a little confused about the name of this kueh, it's call Kueh Lapis, in Mandarin call "九层糕". It's actually the same name as the usual kueh lapis we know. :P Nevertheless, this kueh lapis is my daughters' favorite and so I decided to give it a try.
Yeah, I actually found 9 different food colorings to do this. ;D A little tedious I admit but when the kueh slowly steam up and seeing the vibrant colors when it is done was really rewarding.
I got my recipe from the book "Popular Kuih-Muih". Interested, just read on:

Ingredients for Kueh Lapis:
Set A:
350g rice flour

50g tapioca flour
300ml water
Set B:
280g sugar
800ml water
5 pcs of pandan leaves - knotted

400ml concentrated coconut milk
food colorings

Method:

  • Mix Set A in a mixing bowl, stir well.
  • Boil Set B until it bubbles, our into Set A mixture and combine well.
  • Add in coconut milk and stir well.
  • Ladle about 1 cup amount of the mixture and tint it with desired color. For me, I started off with copper, then ladle another for brown, then yellow, green, blue, purple, peach, pink and lastly red. But you can use any color you fancy. :)
  • Grease a 9" cake tin in a steamer, pour the first layer in (copper) and steam it for 5 minutes or until set.
  • When first layer is set, pour in the 2nd layer (brown) and steam away. Repeat till all the layers are added on and steam away!
  • Cool the kueh completely before slicing. Be sure to clean the knife every time you slice, else it won't yield a nice clean cut.

A BIG slice of rainbow don't you agree? Makes me happy just by staring at it, hahaha! That small dark spots on top are those coloring that didn't get mixed in properly. :P Taste wise however, I didn't find it that great...not bouncy enough and not sweet enough! Not sweet because I purposely reduce the amount by 30g...thought it will be way too sweet, turned out not. :P Bouncy texture...I suspect it's the sago flour that was not included in this recipe. :P
Hopefully my next attempt, I will be able to get the "Q Q" texture. :) If you guys have any suggestions on how to make this delicious kueh, do drop me an advice or note yah? Really appreciate that. Who doesn't want a piece of rainbow in their plate? Lol! Okie-dokie, signing off now, you all have a super-duper weekend ahead! Cheers all!


18 comments:

Quinn said...

HBS,my grandma calls this Kuih Genggang though many calls it Kuih Lapis so I'm not too sure which one is right...but they are traditionally white, pink and red in many different shades and are sliced into small diamonds. Did you try tinting them with beetroot juice and pandan juice? They look great and are natural colourings!

Small Small Baker said...

This is so so pretty! I doubt I have the patience to do this. Hope you can get the perfect recipe for this.

Bakericious said...

Bee Bee, the kuih is so colorful, I like this kuih too but I am same as small small baker, dun think ve patient to make it hee hee hee...

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I like to eat this but not my kids, so has no chance to try out, just buy only lor!

ReeseKitchen said...

You did it! Very nice color..:) I was thinking to make again and this time with pandan juice (green) and white..heehee! Yea it is the sago flour if you want it to be QQ. Maybe you can add the next time you make.

ICook4Fun said...

This is really pretty. I actually like eating this kueh layer by layer. To get the QQ texture some people like to add a bit of tapioca starch/corn starch or a few drop of alkaline water to it but for me I like the soft texture.

MaryMoh said...

This is really colourful...real rainbow kuih. My children like this kuih...including me of course :D Its fun peeling them...and so delicious too. I only know it as kuih lapis. I wish I can just buy it easily here!

WendyinKK said...

so pretty.. but I can't make kuih when my MIL is not around, nobody to eat that much kuih

Passionate About Baking said...

Hi HBS,
Wow! This is so pretty! The colours looked exactly like the ones selling outside! In fact, yours looked so much nicer and brighter and "cheerful"! I like to eat this layer by layer too! It gives so much satisfaction. And you know what, I eat from the bottom up, leaving the nicest colour, red, for the last! Hahaha...

Happy Homebaker said...

I eat this layer by layer too!! It is a fun kueh to eat ;) I really admire your patience making this...it takes so much time and effort to make it layer by layer, using different colours, even when my mum made this long time ago, she used only red and white.

pigpigscorner said...

So pretty! I tried making this once and it was so gooey. Can't wait to try this again.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Quinn. :) Yeah, you are right about the coloring, in the recipes I've seen, it almost only come in pink, read and white. But in Singapore here, it's always sold in this rainbow color. :) Oh no, I didn't use any juice for tinting...too much work me, hahaha! But thanks for the tip, will try it next time.

Thanks Small Small Baker for dropping by. :) Yeah, I too hope I can get the right recipe. :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Jess. ;) It's actually not that bad, just mixing, coloring and steaming, that's all. :) Do try it if you like this kueh.

Sonia, actually buying also not bad, it's cheap and guarantee nice, heehee. :D

Thanks Reese. :) But you made a much yummier one. Okay, noted, will add sago flour next time.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Hi Gert,
Hahaha, you are like my girls and I when I am young. Eating layer after layer, savoring every slice! Thanks for the tip, will try it out the next time. :)

Thanks MaryMoh,
If you can't buy it, try making it yourself! Check out the ingredients, not hard to locate I bet. Good luck and make your girls and yourself a treat today!

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks Wendy! No worries, just wait for your MIL to return.

Hey Jane, you are so cute when you describe how you eat the kueh! I guess everyone has a different way of savoring this yummy treat. :) Indeed, peeling a layer off and chewing it slowly each time can be quite fun and satisfying. :)

Honey Bee Sweets said...

Thanks HHB. :) No larr, not that hard, actually easier then the other baked kueh lapis. ;) I was actually having fun mixing the colors, lol! You know some times when I eat layer by layer, I would imagine each layer is an large slice of chewing gum (same rectangular shape) and pretend to chewing it, lol! Yeah, fun kueh to eat.

Thanks pigpigscorner! Good luck and hope you get it right this time! ;)

Angie's Recipes said...

These rainbow jelly look beautiful...a real labour of love.

dew said...

Hi Honey Bee Sweets,

You may try this recipe got it from my friend Dior.


Rainbow Kueh (Dior)

Ingredients..

500ml Thick coconut
800ml Thin coconut (From 2nd squeeze)
1/2tsp vanilla essence
800g Tapioca flour
450g sugar(original is 550g)
1tsp Salt

Method...
1) Boil thin coconut wih sugar and leave to cool.
2) Mix tapioca flour, thick coconut, vanilla essence and salt together.
3)Then mix (1) and (2) together till smooth.
4) Prepare a 8" square tin with sides all oiled then bring streamer to boil first.
5) Divide mixture into serveral portion (at least 5 colours) then add in desire colour...
6) steam one layer at a time and each colour 2 layers then followed by the next colour.


The texture is super QQ. But not everybody likes such texture as outside kueh is very soft.

I half the recipe can make 7 inch by 7 inch square, more than enough for family consumption. Makes abt 20 pcs of so.