Angku Kueh/Steamed Glutinous Rice Cake with Sweet Filling Recipes

I made a lot of western dessert but sometimes I like our good old traditional Kueh too. Carlos is not a fan of it so sometimes it is difficult to make it just for myself. I am glad some of my Malaysian friends love it as much as I do so I get to make it with them. I made these Angku kueh with a friend of mine not too long ago.

Angku Kueh known as red tortoise cakes in Hokkien dialect is a common breakfast item among Chinese Malaysian or Singaporeans. As the name says, it is shaped like the shell of a tortoise because it was believed then, that eating these long-living creatures would bring longevity to the person eating it. It is also a must have on special occasions like celebrating the first-month of newly born baby, wedding days, birthdays etc for the Chinese.

Basically the skin of the AngKu Kueh is made from sweet potatoes and glutinous rice flour. You can put fillings like red bean paste, mung bean paste, coconut or roasted peanuts into it. A good angku kueh is one where the skin is thin, soft, and chewy and a nice contrast with the sweet fillings. We were pretty satisfied with the angku kueh we made as the skin turn out well and the filling is not too sweet. Here are some pictures taken when we were making these to share it with you.

Ingredients for the dough:

300g sweet potatoes - cut into chunks
180 g glutinous rice flour
2tbsp rice flour
2tbsp sugar
3tbsp vegetable oil
some water (to bind the dough together but if your sweet potatoes are soft you might not need it)

1. Steam sweet potatoes till soft, takes about 20 minutes.
2. Use a potato masher or a fork, mashed the cooked sweet potatoes, add in glutinous rice flour, rice flour, sugar, and oil, slowly add in water bit by bit to form a soft dough, cover and set it aside and rest for 30mins.
3. Shape into 30g small ball (depend on the size of your mould)

Ingredients for Mung Bean filling

250g mung beans/green beans – wash and soak overnight in cold water
130g sugar
3tbsp vegetable oil

1. Drain dry the mung beans, place the beans on a steaming tray and steam over medium heat until soft. It should take about half an hour.
2. While beans still hot, place beans, sugar and oil in a food processor, process till fine and become a paste.
3. Shape into 10-12g balls (depend on the size of your mould) and set it aside.

To make the Angku Kueh

Some banana leaves – cut into round shape
A bit of oil for brushing

1. Grease the angku kueh mould by brushing on some vegetable oil.
2. Flatten the sweet potato ball, place a mung bean ball to the center and shape it into a round ball.

3. Place the ball in the mould, press evenly, then knock to relased the dough and place on greased banana leaf.
4. Arrange on a steaming tray and steam for 10mins over high flame. Take it out from the steamer and brush it lightly with some oil.

Note : Different sweet potatoes will have different texture and water content. Some you might need to add more water to the dough and some you might need to add more glutinous rice flour to it.

Nate and Annie from House Of Annie will be hosting the September event. They have set up a form for all submissions.