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Yam Cake Recipe (Or Kuih)
Yam Cake Recipe (Or Kuih) recipe – This is basically a steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns and rice flour. It is then topped with deep fried shallots, spring onions, chillis and dried prawns, and usually served with a chilli dipping sauce.
Ingredients:
For the kuih:
1½ bowls yam, diced into 1-2cm cubes
1 bowl rice flour
2 tablespoons wheat starch*
2 bowls water
½ – ¾ bowl dried shrimps (heh bee) – I used ¾ bowl because I cannot express how much I love an abundance of it in or kuih
5 shallots, finely chopped
1 teaspoon five spice powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
For the topping:
deep fried shallots (I buy mine ready fried from Chinatown)
spring onions, sliced finely
red chillies, sliced finely
dried shrimps (heh bee), chopped finely and fried (optional – you can just put more heh bee in the actual cake)
Method:
2. Add the cubed yam to the pan, and fry it with the onion and dried shrimp mixture until it browns.
3. In a separate bowl, mix the rice flour, wheat starch and water, and stir until it forms a smooth paste. Take care to ensure there are no lumps in the mixture.
4. Add the flour mixture into the pan slowly, and stir until everything forms a thick paste.
5. Add the salt, pepper and five spice powder, and mix well.
6. Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl/plate and steam over high heat for 45 minutes, or until cooked.
7. To serve, sprinkle with deep fried shallots, chopped spring onions, sliced chillies and chopped dried shrimp. Some chilli sauce on the side is also highly recommended.
* The wheat starch helps to make the or kuih softer in texture. If you can’t find this, you can substitute it with an equal quantity of corn starch.
Whenever I go home to Malaysia, I would always stuff myself crazy with all sorts of kuih (local sweet or savory cake). One of my favorite is or kuih, or yam cake made of yam (in the US, yam is referred as taro). I have never attempted making kuih in the US though.
Today, I have invited a fellow Penangite Su-Yin Koay of Bread et Butter to share the savory and mouthwatering or kuih recipe. Bread et Butter is a beautiful blog with many recipes: Malaysian, Chinese, baking, and all sorts of goodies.
You can also find culture guide articles bout Malaysia, Penang, etc. Please welcome Bread et Butter to Rasa Malaysia and do visit her wonderful food blog. Now I could only wish that I have some or kuih for my tea break today!
I was very excited when Bee asked me if I would like to write a guest post for her blog–I mean, this was Rasa Malaysia, one of my favourite food blogs out there!
She’s taught me so much about Malaysian and Chinese cooking, and it is truly an honour to have a chance to do this.
One of the things I’ve always enjoyed eating is yam cake (“or kuih” in Hokkien, where “or” = yam, “kuih” = snack or cake). It is a popular snack amongst the Malaysian and Singaporean communities, and is basically a steamed kuih made from yam pieces, dried prawns and rice flour.
It is then topped with deep fried shallots, spring onions, chillis and dried prawns, and usually served with a chilli dipping sauce.
I grew up eating my grandma’s or kuih, and I remember thinking how it would be so cool if I knew how to make it. However I would always be at school when she made or kuih, so I never really learnt how it was made.
And if I were being perfectly honest, I was only really interested in eating it… it also didn’t help that there was always a ready supply of it.
Of course, this changed when I came to England. I have yet to find a restaurant here that serves decent or kuih, which is highly disappointing. So I decided to ask my grandma for her or kuih recipe so I could have a go at making it myself.
And you know what – I don’t know why I never tried making this before, because it is actually pretty simple! Sure, there’s a bit of prep work involved in dicing the yam, but apart from that it’s quite a breeze.
The best part of her recipe is that it uses rice bowls as a measure. How brilliant is that? The ratio that’s used is 2 bowls water: 1 bowl flour: 1½ bowls yam.
Of course, this means nothing is perfectly accurate in terms of weight, but some degree of variation actually doesn’t alter the final product too much.
It also does not matter what size your bowl is, as long as it’s a Chinese style rice bowl (i.e. not a wide and shallow cereal bowl, for instance). Just follow the 2:1:1½ ratio and you’re sorted.
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Or Kuih (Yam Cake) Recipe
Yam Cake Recipe (Or Kuih) recipe - This is basically a steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns and rice flour. It is then topped with deep fried shallots, spring onions, chillis and dried prawns, and usually served with a chilli dipping sauce.
Ingredients
For the kuih:
- 1½ bowls yam diced into 1-2cm cubes
- 1 bowl rice flour
- 2 tablespoons wheat starch*
- 2 bowls water
- ½ - ¾ bowl dried shrimps heh bee – I used ¾ bowl because I cannot express how much I love an abundance of it in or kuih
- 5 shallots finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
For the topping:
- deep fried shallots I buy mine ready fried from Chinatown
- spring onions sliced finely
- red chillies sliced finely
- dried shrimps heh bee, chopped finely and fried (optional – you can just put more heh bee in the actual cake)
Instructions
-
Heat a pan over medium high heat, and fry the onions and dried shrimps until they become aromatic. This should take about 3-5 minutes.
-
Add the cubed yam to the pan, and fry it with the onion and dried shrimp mixture until it browns.
-
In a separate bowl, mix the rice flour, wheat starch and water, and stir until it forms a smooth paste. Take care to ensure there are no lumps in the mixture.
-
Add the flour mixture into the pan slowly, and stir until everything forms a thick paste.
-
Add the salt, pepper and five spice powder, and mix well.
-
Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl/plate and steam over high heat for 45 minutes, or until cooked.
-
To serve, sprinkle with deep fried shallots, chopped spring onions, sliced chillies and chopped dried shrimp. Some chilli sauce on the side is also highly recommended.
-
* The wheat starch helps to make the or kuih softer in texture. If you can’t find this, you can substitute it with an equal quantity of corn starch.
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Teoh
Hi, I am from Penang and missed this or kuih. I can actually get most of the ingredients and so I think I can try to make it. I like eating my or kuih with tee cheo (sweet sauce) but I think it will be impossible to get where I am. Thank you for the recipe.
Su-yin
You’re very welcome, and I hope you do try making it. :)
hcpen
i love or kuih soooo much..
Gothicat
Hi there,
I have shared your recipe on our blog.
Thanks for such a great recipe.
Gothi
deeba
What a wonderful guest to get to your beautiful blog Bee. Thank you for sharing such an intriguing recipe Su-yin. I love savoury snacks, and this is something entirely different from anything I’ve ever heard of. Love the topping and the dipping sauce, as also the rice bowl measures! Gorgeous post!
Ken
Beautiful and most enticing photos of the Yam Cake. Must try this recipe soon.
the lacquer spoon
Everybody needs family food and cooking is a part of our family history! This is a beautiful cake with the simple measurement indeed. Thanks Bee and Su-Yin :)
Su-yin
Nope it’s not chewy as it’s plain rice flour that’s used (not glutinous rice flour). It’s still delicious though! :D
Manju Rajender
The dish looks lovely. I do understand you love for shrimps.
zenchef
Here we go again.. Bee and Su Yin in the same room. This blog is wayyy too sexy!! :) And so does is this yam cake. I think i had it once and i loved it but i had no clue how to make it. Mystery solved! Thanks for sharing!
Rasa Malaysia
Zen – you sure have tried many exotic Malaysian/Asian foods. That’s great. I love a chef that has a “global” palate, it make you appreciate food so much more, right? :)
Jessica
This looks delicious! I love the simplicity of it. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Nicole
Hi, can I know if the bowl which you mentioned is the normal bowl we (Chinese) used to eat rice?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes.
dido
I like to eat yam cake and tried to make this dish but have doubt on the ingredient, 5 shallot or 5 onion? because for the Method 1, you mentioned it as onion, abit confusing.
Rasa Malaysia
Shallots.
Simply Life
Oh this looks so good!
cls girl
My mom adds lap cheong and minced pork for the topping. She sprinkles the julienned chilli on one side so that the little ones can also enjoy. ingredients are easily available in the US asian food markets. Buy the big taro. I cheat on the cooking time by microwaving!
Mark
Can this be made without the rice flour? I’m trying to eat less carbs.
Thanks
Rasa Malaysia
No, sorry. It will not work.
Rita
Thanks for sharing this yam cake recipe….made it and it tasted so good. Had lots of compliments on it….can’t wait to try others.
Amelia Chee
Tried it with the correct flour this time. Eating it warm with Maggie Chilli Sauce completes the yummy. I added Chinese sausage. Delicious! I’m off to try your Kuih Dadar next. Ribuan terima kasih for sharing!
tryingtocook
i really want to try this recipe but you put 1 bowl rice flour and 2 bowl water. What kind of bowl to be used. Can you convert them to cup and to ml.
Also can i pour the mixture to non stick pan and cook it on stove instead of steaming it? If yes, how to do it and how long to cook it?
Su-yin
It needs to be steamed I’m afraid, cooking it on the stove won’t give you the same “kuih” effect (and won’t be able to but them into slices).
Ai Lin
Hi, I would like to get some clarification of the bowl used as a measurement for this Yam Cake. Are you referring to the typical Chinese rice bowl? Thanks.
Ai Lin
Sorry just saw a post about the bowl clarification. How much does this recipe produce?
Lee Cheng
Just tried this recipe and no matter how long I steam, I can’t get the top part of the cake to “cook”. It’s still a little gooey. :( I tried for 2 hours! I don’t know if there’s something wrong with my steamer or I added too much water? But I followed using the ricebowl measurements! Sigh… on the plus side, though my yam cake looks ridiculous, it tastes nice!
Yeoh
Hi, can i check with you that how many serving does this recipe write for? i mean by the end, how big is the yam cake…
Rebecca Lee
I love to make Yam cake too but Ipoh style . We added in some fried minced 菜蒲 inside the yam cake and as part of the topping !! Use some tapioca flour with the rice flour as it will give the texture QQ . Some shops steamed and mashed some yam and cooked with the batter.
KC
Hey,
I tried your recipe and it seems like it lacked saltiness in the final product. You may need to clarify or give a rough estimate for the bowl to be used as I feel the 0.5 teaspoon salt is not enough if bigger bowl is used.
And, if the paste we get after pouring in the rice flour mix is suppose to be real sticky before we steam it?
Nice recipe though for the toppings at least as my cake is tasteless in this try =(
Su-yin
Thanks for the feedback. If you read the post, you’ll see that it mentions any Chinese rice bowl (which to my knowledge, are usually fairly small, and about the same size). At any rate, it’s advisable to taste the yam mixture, and adjust the seasonings to suit your taste.
And yes the mixture should become a thick, sticky paste.
GK
Hi there. I tried this recipe last night, and it turned out SUPERB. Wonderful taste. Some adjustment to the salt, pepper and all spice are needed, as the original recipe was a bit bland.
Su-yin
Glad you liked it. I think I’m just someone who doesn’t use much salt in my cooking! But good to hear that you adjusted the seasonings to good effect. :)
khaiming
Tried to make some oday but somehow didn’t turn out well. Couldn’t get the top part to cook. Maybe i cut my yam cubes too big. Will try again. But it taste good!
Christina
I tried two different recipes. One using rice flour +tapioca flour = tasted good bit kinda hard not soft. The one with cornstarch+ rice flour was softer. Next I will try with wheat starch and will let you know my verdict. Like you I love rshrimp. Will try most recipe with shrimp fresh or dried.
Sandy Ng
Hi
If I do not use five spice, will it drastically change the taste?
Rasa Malaysia
No, it will be lacking of the aroma.
Kathleen
Hi, am keen to try to make this but am new to cooking, may I know what exactly is rice flour? Thanks! Looking forward to try!
Rasa Malaysia
Rice flour is flour milled from rice.
Meena
the flour must be from the long grain rice. depending on where u live, u can probably it in the supermarket.
cindy
hi, it is difficult to purchase wheat starch where i live. is there an alternative? would corn starch work?
rachQ
Hi Su Yin, suddenly search to your Yam recipe and very interesting on it. By the way, I have few query:
1) When the flour mixture pure into the pan, is the fire still on or off?
2) If I replace the yam to pumpkin, would it possible to be pumpkin kuih?
:)
Martin Goh
Tried your recipe today, very nice, everybody like it. Thank you.
lizzie
Hi Bee may i suggest instead of bowl measurment, what if you pour any form of liquid in the measurement cups and this will be easy for your readers or participants interest. Hope my suggestion is useful.
Asian cakes is flexible, whereas western cakes must have the accurate ratio.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks Lizzie.
Joanne
I found frozen yam at the Indian grocery. The regular grocery stores keep labeling sweet potato as yam which isn’t right. Raw yam is toxic, so I was careful not to touch them with bare fingers as they may get a burning sensation.
Thanks for the recipe! It turned out very well. Sure satisfied my cravings.. :)
melissa
Hi Bee Yin,
Reading the posts, it seems that the bowl measurements of ingredients are kind of tricky for many. Will u pls consider to convert them to the standard measuring cup measurements?
Thanks,
Rasa Malaysia
This recipe was contributed by a guest blogger. The bowl measurement works I had tried this recipe before.
Bali Tour
Thanks for the recipe
i will try to make it :D
Nuanta
This recipe can fit in what size of try?
Basil&mint
Hi I tried this recipe twice. Came out nice but my husband thinks that there is a faint cocroach taste/smell. Is this caused by rice flour that I used? They are fresh flour though. Any idea? Thanks.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, it might be that your rice flour is stale.
Maybeline
A bowl equals to how many cups?
Rasa Malaysia
You can use two cups.
Melissa
I tried using this exact recipe since am a beginner.the taste of yam kueh was there but it was too salty to eat as 0.5 teaspoon of salt plus dried shrimp that had some salt was bit overkill. The steamed yam at 50 minutes was soggy in appearance. Not sure is it suppose to be like that? Think need to improvise on the recipe more. Maybe recipe missed out a step.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Melissa, this recipe is from a guest blogger and I have personally tried it. It worked fine and no soggy and gooey result.
Annie
For the yam steam cake what of bowl u use to measure the ingredients
Cecilia
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It was a simple and easy to follow recipe. However i couldn’t figure out where to buy the wheat starch hence I skip it. The yamcake turn out fine without wheat starch.
Rasa Malaysia
Good to know.
Joean
Hi Bee, can I know if these much of ingredients can fit into a 8×8 pan? Just want to gauge how much servings this will provide. Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
I think so I can’t remember anymore it’s a very old recipe.