If you watched my episode of House Hunters International: Family Reunion in Penang and wondered about the green thing I was making in the show, it’s Kuih Dadar. Read on…
Nyonya kuih—or Nyonya sweet cakes—is a big part of Nyonya cuisine. In fact, Nyonya kuih is iconic, so much so that it outshines savory dishes.
Ask anyone around and it’s likely that they have had some sort of Nyonya kuih, but may not have sampled other Nyonya dishes. Many Nyonya kuih are simply adaptations of Malay kuih-muih, or Malay version of sweet cakes and desserts.
Kuih dadar or kuih tayap is a rolled crepe flavored with pandan juice and filled with grated coconut steeped in gula melaka or Malaysian palm sugar. Pandan leaf is the core ingredient of kuih dadar/kuih tayap.
The green exterior of kuih dadar is made of batter colored with natural pandan juice extracted from pandan leaves. Nowadays, many kuih vendors use artificial coloring for convenience purposes, but the end product usually lacks the tempting sweet fragrance of pandan leaves.
Also, the coloring appear somewhat bright or fluorescent green, a sure-fire tell tale sign of artificial coloring…
This kuih dadar/kuih tayap recipe is adapted from Nyonya Flavours: A Complete Guide to Penang Straits Chinese Cuisine. Making Nyonya kuih is no simple affair but I find kuih dadar to be rather painless to make and the end result is beautiful and gratifying, especially if you have a sweet tooth.
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 360 calories per serving.
What to Serve with This Recipe?
There are many types of kuih in Malaysia. If you wish to try making kuih at home, I recommend the following recipes.
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Kuih Dadar (Kuih Tayap)
Kuih dadar or kuih tayap is a rolled crepe flavored with pandan juice and filled with grated coconut steeped in gula melaka or Malaysian palm sugar.
Ingredients
- Pandan Juice
- 5 pandan leaves chopped
- 3-4 tablespoons water
Crepe Batter
- 120 g flour
- 1 egg
- 300 ml coconut milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoon pandan juice
Filling
- 90 g Gula Melaka, Malaysian palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 pandan leaf knotted
- 50 ml water
- 1/2 grated coconut white part only
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
Directions
-
1
Combine the pandan leaf and water in an electronic blender and blend for a minute. Wrap the pandan in a cheese cloth or muslin cloth and squeeze to extract the juice or strain through a fine sieve. Set aside.
-
2
Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and crack in the egg. Slowly stir in the salted coconut milk and 3 tablespoons pandan juice. Set aside.
-
3
Break up the palm sugar and combine with the sugar, pandan leaf and water in a pot. Cover over a medium flame until sugar dissolves. Strain the syrup and return it to the pot. Add in the grated coconut and corn starch and continue to cook for a few minutes. Dish out into a bowl.
-
4
Heat up a shallow frying pan over a low flame and grease lightly with oil. Pour 2 tablespoons of the batter in the center and swirl the pan to coat it forms a thin crepe of about 13 cm in diameter.
-
5
When the crepe is cooked, transfer it onto a chopping board.
-
6
Place 2 heaped teaspoons of filing on the crepe and roll it up like a spring roll.
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7Serve immediately.
Lee-Ann
Could you please tell me if u can substitute real fresh coconut for desiccated coconut?
Thank you
Lee-Ann
Rasa Malaysia
Yes you should use fresh grated coconut if you can find them.
ماى سيما
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Ann
Can I substitute the flour with gluten free flour?
Rasa Malaysia
I am not sure please follow recipe.
Winnie
I tried
My crepe cracked when I rolled immediately. Please advise me. The taste is good. I definitely will want to make again. Thank you.
Rasa Malaysia
Maybe it’s too thick.
Sindhu
I made this recipe following exactly how you mentioned so many times and it’s always a hit! Thank you so much for sharing this awesome and easy to make recipe!
Joo Sim
I used coconut cream and need to add a little more water to the pancake mixture, otherwise delicious. The coconut cream gives an added kick to the favour and the filling was not too sweet.
Rasa Malaysia
Awesome, please try more recipes on my site: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipe-index-gallery/
Ambi
I’ve had kuih before and totally loved it and as said in one of the comments above would love to recreate the taste of it at home instead of having to trek around to look for it. Can you advise though if there is any alternative for egg in this recipe? My husband is lacto vegan and does not have eggs. Please advise.