Over the Thansgiving holidays, Siew Loon (the long-time contributor of Nyonya Food) came to visit me in Southern California. It was fun and we had a great time chatting about Nyonya food and heritage, not mentioning eating out and shopping to our heart’s content.
Please check out Siew Loon’s recipe for Angku, or literally red tortoise cake, which is an iconic Nyonya Kuih, especially in Penang.
Happy New Year to all the wondeful readers. The craving for good Nyonya Kuih has prompted me to make some Angku and Kuih Kochi over the New Year holidays.
It turned out so well that I thought I should share it with our Nyonya Food readers and maybe you can try making it for the coming Lunar New Year as Angku is widely used in Chinese prayers.
Angku is a small dark orange oval nyonya delicacy which is made with glutinous rice flour wrapped with green bean filling. Angku has a high ritual value and it is commonly used for Chinese prayers and served during baby full moon parties.
Angku has a sticky sweet texture but it is really nice if you eat it with a cup of Chinese tea. It’s even better overnight as you can pan-fry the leftover until the skin of the angku becomes golden brown.
Angku Recipe
Angku Kuih (Red Tortoise Cake) Recipe | Easy Asian Recipes
Ingredients
Green Bean Filling
- 300 g split green bean, washed and soaked for 6 hours
- 200 g fine sugar
- 4 tablespoons oil
Angku skin
- 1/8 teaspoon Wilton orange coloring
- 200 g wheat starch, Tung Mein Fun
- 150 g water
- 500 g boiling water
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 500 g glutinous rice flour
- 100 g mashed orange color sweet potato
- 250 g water
- 120 g cooking oil
To Make Angku
- 1 banana leaf, cut into rectangle to fit the angku mould
- 3 tablespoons oil
Directions
Green Bean Filling
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1Steam green bean over boiling water for 30-40 minutes till soft.
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2Blend or mashed green bean till become a paste.
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3In a wok, combine green bean paste, sugar and oil. Stir on low medium heat till thick and do not stick to your hands.
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4Cool it and shaped into 30 balls of about 20g. ( The size of filling will depend on the size of your mould).
Angku skin
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1Mix coloring, wheat starch and water. Stir till blended.
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2Add in boiling water and mix till smooth and become translucent.
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3Add in sugar, glutinous rice flour, sweet potatoes and water gradually. Knead till combined.
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4Slowly add in oil and keep on kneading till smooth and do not stick onto your hands.
To Make Angku
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1Lightly grease the cut banana leaves with oil.
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2Divide skin dough into 30 pieces. Flatten each dough into 1/4 inch thick and wrap the filling inside. Roll into a ball.
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3Lightly dust the Angku mould with glutinous rice flour. Press the dough ball into the mould and lightly knock it out.
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4Place Angku on the banana leaf.
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5Steam over boiling water for 10 minutes.
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6Brush the surface of the cooked Angku with oil to give it a glossy look.
Sam
Just asking, sure the amount of oil used is 120ml?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, just follow the instructions.
Hera
Hi Bee, I have been looking for Angku recipe for a while. Thank you! Do you know where can I order the mold?
Thanks,
Hera