Yam Cake Recipe

4.53 from 57 votes
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Yam Cake (Or Kuih) - Steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns and rice flour, and usually served with a chilli dipping sauce.

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. | rasamalaysia.com
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Or Kuih

Whenever I visit Malaysia, I always indulge in a variety of kuih, the local sweet or savory cakes. One of my favorites is yam cake “Or Kuih” made from yam (known as taro in the US). Despite my love for it, I’ve never tried making kuih in the US.

This recipe is contributed by Bread et Butter.

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. | rasamalaysia.com

Yam cake or “or kuih” literally means yam and “kuih” means snack or cake. This popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore is a steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns, and rice flour. It’s often topped with crispy fried shallots, spring onions, chilies, and more dried prawns, and served with a spicy chili dipping sauce.

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. | rasamalaysia.com

You know, I don’t know why I never tried making yam cake before, because it’s actually pretty simple! There’s some prep work involved in dicing the yam, but overall it’s quite easy.

The best part of the recipe is that it uses rice bowls for measuring. The ratio is straightforward: 2 bowls of water, 1 bowl of flour, and 1½ bowls of yam. This method is flexible—slight variations in the measurements won’t affect the final product much.

The size of your bowl doesn’t need to be exact, as long as it’s a Chinese rice bowl (not a wide, shallow cereal bowl). Just stick to the 2:1:1½ ratio, and you’re good to go.

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. | rasamalaysia.com

What To Serve With Yam Cake

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4.53 from 57 votes

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.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4 people
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Ingredients  

For the kuih:

  • 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 shrimp until aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Add the cubed yam to the pan and fry it with the onion and dried shrimp mixture until browned.
  • In a separate bowl, mix the rice flour, wheat starch, and water, stirring until it forms a smooth paste, making sure there are no lumps. Slowly add the flour mixture to the pan, stirring until everything forms a thick paste. Add the salt, pepper, and five-spice powder, and mix well.
  • Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl or plate and steam over high heat for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.
  • To serve, sprinkle with deep-fried shallots, chopped spring onions, sliced chilies, and chopped dried shrimp. A side of chili sauce is also highly recommended.

Notes

The wheat starch helps to make the kuih softer in texture. If you can’t find this, you can substitute it with an equal quantity of corn starch.

Nutrition

Serving: 4people, Calories: 44kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 299mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Please rate and comment below!

About Bee Yinn Low

Bee is a recipe developer and best-selling cookbook author, sharing easy, quick, and delicious Asian and American recipes since 2006. With a strong following of almost 2 million fans online, her expertise has been featured in major publications, TV and radio programs, and live cooking demos throughout the United States and Asia.

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49 Comments

  1. Janice says:

    Delicious recipe. Just follow exactly the instruction. I have made it twice. Turn out perfect. Thanks so much

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Awesome thanks for trying!

  2. Rose Shoo says:

    Awesome recipe. Follow exactly ur recipe n it works yummy yummy. Tq Bee for d recipe.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      Thanks!

  3. Jass Nia says:

    Can check from u your measuring bowl is which type ?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      US measuring cup/bowl.

  4. Sithra says:

    5 stars
    Hi dear…i tried ur yam cake recepi….its simply delicious……ur instructions simple and easy to follow up….Thank you Bee…..God bless u. ?????โค

  5. Neo says:

    How to check if yam cake is cooked?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      It’s cooked when a tooth pick inserted into the middle and it comes out clean.

      1. Neo Toong mei says:

        Tq! :)

  6. Jessy says:

    5 stars
    I wish I didnt read the comment as many said it was watery etc, so I reduced my water and the yam cake turned out pretty dense. But still taste really good, bring back the childhood memory ?
    P.S. You need to stir the flour mix into the shrimp/taro mixed while the pan still hot, so the flour still kinda being cooked while you stir them. By doing so, it will reduce the liquid.

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      HI Jessy, awesome, thanks for trying!

  7. Jessy says:

    5 stars
    I wish I didnt read the comment as many said it was watery etc, so I reduced my water and the yam cake turned out pretty dense. But still taste really good, bring back the childhood memory ?
    P.S. You need to stir the flour mix into the shrimp/taro mixed while the pan still hot, so the flour still kinda being cooked while you stir them. By doing so, it will reduce the liquid.

  8. Jin says:

    Hi. I followed your measurement using rice bowls. But they turned up watery and soft. I tried to reduce the water to 1.5 bowls, also same. Any idea why?

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      I don’t know why, it worked for me.

      1. Xue says:

        Hi, I used glutinous rice flour instead of rice flour (coz the store only stocked the former and I thought it was the same). The result is a super soft and sticky yam… MOCHI. Could this be the issue faced by Jin?

        1. Rasa Malaysia says:

          Glutinous rice flour is not rice flour. Just like glutinous rice is not white rice. This recipe works if you follow the recipe exactly and doesn’t replace ingredients.

    2. Claudia says:

      Same here. Itโ€™s watery and doesnโ€™t firm up even after steaming for 1 and 1/2 hr.

      1. Rasa Malaysia says:

        This recipe works. If it doesn’t firm up, it means your measurement is probably off.

    3. Sithra says:

      5 stars
      Hi dear…i tried ur yam cake recepi….its simply delicious……ur instructions simple and easy to follow up….Thank you Bee…..God bless u. ?????โค

      1. Rasa Malaysia says:

        Thanks for trying.

  9. YOKE LEE says:

    Hi Rasa Malaysia

    can you update your recipe with modern measurement instead of bowl – no idea of your bowl measurement?

    Thanks

    Yoke

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      This recipe was contributed by another food blogger.

  10. Joean says:

    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!

    1. Rasa Malaysia says:

      I think so I can’t remember anymore it’s a very old recipe.