Ang Ku Kueh!

Ang Ku Kueh is a small red round oval shaped Chinese cake with soft sticky skin wrapped with sweet filling in the center.The oval shaped of the cake is designed to resemble tortoise or turtle.It's literally translate to Hokkien as Red Tortoise or Turtle Cake. It's creates a high symbolic and ritual value. Usually Chinese used Ang Ku Kueh for ritual offering during religious event,child birth and birthday. Well,to be more specific Ang Ku Kueh is a steamed glutinous rice flour cake mix with mashed sweet potato and fill with mung bean paste filling,red bean paste or crushed roasted peanut filling which original from Malaysia by Chinese and Nyonya.

Hennie's comment: It's something that i've never tried before! And even though it is sticky, but i do love the taste of the filling! 


Priced at $0.90 per piece.
Never seen anything like it? Head down to Bengawan Solo now!!!! 
Do drop by the website to find out the branches: http://www.bengawansolo.com.sg/Default.aspx

You can always try doing it yourself!


RECIPE
ANG KU KUEH (14 pieces)
10.5 oz (300 g) glutinous rice flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp red coloring
7 fl oz (200 ml) water
Pinch of salt

COOKING METHOD FOR SKIN:
Mix the glutinous rice with all the ingredients above and knead until it is not sticky and pliable. Set aside for wrapping
Mung Bean paste filling
10.5 oz (300 g) mung beans
7 oz (200 g) sugar
5 fl oz (150 ml) water
Banana leaves
Oil for brushing

COOKING METHOD FOR FILLING:
1. Soak the beans overnight
2. Discard the soaking water and steam the beans for about 30 minutes and then pour into the blender and blend them until you get a smooth paste. Set aside
3. Prepare a sauce pan and boil the sugar in water. Lower the heat and add in the bean paste and continue to stir until it is dry and pasty. Set it aside to let it cool before wrapping
WRAPPING:
1. Divide the dough into 14 equal balls. Flatten them with the palm of your hand or rolling pin. Spoon about 1 Tbsp of the filling and bring all edge together and form them into balls again
2. Place the dough ball into the greased mould. Slightly pressed it down and you will get the imprint on the ang ku kueh

Other Place that you can get it!

JI XIANG Confectionary Address: Blk 1 Everton Park, #01-33 Singapore
Tel: +65 6223 1631

Tang Yuan!

Tang Yuan, which is a dessert made from glutinous rice flour. It is mixed with a small amount of water to form balls and there are different choices of fillings that you can choose from! Some are actually, black sesame and peanuts. They are then served with different soup bases like sugar water, ginger and rock soup and such. 


It is usually eaten during festive seasons like - Lantern Festival or during Yuanxiao. In a traditional term, it actually means being united as a family! 


One of the most famous area that you can try it out is at Ah Chew Desserts! 

Hennie's comment : There are different fillings like peanut and black sesame! and different colours too. It is really very special to have this in Singapore! I'll definitely come back to try more!




How to get there! 

Address: 1 Liang Seah Street, #01-11 Liang Seah Place,Singapore

Want to try doing it out yourself? Enjoy the time with family by doing it with them!

Ingredients
For the rice ball:
300 gram glutinuous rice flour (about 1 cup)
1 teaspoon of cherry red colour essence
½ cup of water

For soup:
3 slices of ginger
5 pandan leaves, washed and cut off dead edges, tie leaves into a knot/ bundle
1 lump of rock sugar or brown sugar (about palm size, adjust sweetness to your liking)
1 pot of water, 50% filled (about 1000ml)

Dipping:
Ground peanut mixture (peanut, white sesame and sugar)

Method
1) Place glutinuous rice flour in a clean large bowl. Put some water (in few stages) while kneating the flour into dough, which means mix the flour with a little bit of water, kneat and put a little bit of water again. Repeat the step till it becomes dough. The texture of the dough has to be smooth and a little sticky.

2) Split half the dough. Half of it to mix with red colour, while the other half remains white. Take a small lump of dough, put on your palm and roll into bite-sized ball. Repeat step till all complete.

3) To add ground peanut into the rice ball as its filling: take a biggr lump of dough, put on your palm and roll into (size of fifty cents) ball. Then, kneat with finger tips to flatten the piece. Put half teaspoon of ground peanut at the centre of the dough, fold it half and kneat around the edge to seal it. Tenderly roll it into ball. Repeat step till desired amount of rice balls. Reserve rice balls for later.

4) Boil a pot of water over high heat. Place ginger slices and pandan leaf bundle into the boiling water. Add rock sugar. Bring broth into a boil again.

5) Place rice balls into the boiling broth. Wait till all rice balls rise to the surface of the broth, when cooked. Heat off and serve.

Other Places that you can try it out too! 

1. Ah Balling Peanut Soup - 23 Serangoon Central Nex

2. Ji De Chi - Address: 8 Liang Seah Street, #01-03 Singapore