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 topped with red chillies, fried shallots, dried shrimp and spring onions.
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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.

Sliced yam cakes served on a plate.

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.

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.

Two slices of yam cake topped with chili sauce.

Recipe Ingredients

Ingredients for yam cake recipe.
  • Yam
  • Rice flour
  • Wheat starch
  • Water
  • Shallots
  • Dried shrimps
  • White pepper
  • Salt
  • Five-spice powder
  • Spring onion
  • Red chillies
  • Deep fried shallots

How to Make Yam Cake

Stir-fry shallots, dried shrimp, and yam in a pan.

Step 1: 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.

Add the rice flour mixture to the pan and cook with the yam.

Step 2: 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.

Transfer the yam cake mixture to a glass container and steam it.

Step 3: Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl or plate and steam over high heat for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.

Slice the cooked yam cake into small slices, and top them with red chillies, dried shrimps, deep fried shallots, and spring onions.

Step 4: 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.

Break the yam cake with a fork.

What To Serve With Yam Cake

For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

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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.

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About Rasa Malaysia

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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