INTRODUCTION
Weather was hot and I prepared some mung beans sweet soup for the family.. My kids like only to drink the soup but never wanted to eat the boiled mung beans. Most of the time, it ended up I have to throw away the mung beans. It is such a waste and It suddenly reminded me of this traditional Malay kuih and occasionally I will buy from the Malay kuih stalls.
The name of the kuih is Kuih Kasturi or Kuih Kacang Hijau or Kuih Rengas or literally translated as mung bean fritters. It can be hard and chewy or for homemade, it can be rather soft since it is freshly made.
The fritters are prepared from boiled mung beans, mashed, added shredded coconut and deep fried. Turmeric powder were added to colour the batter and possibly help to prevent gas production in our gastro intestinal system.
Though most recipes will require one to steam or boil the mung beans until soft and can be mash with fork, however, I am of the humble opinion that this is time consuming. It may be better to boil a pot of mung beans soup, drink the soup and use the mung beans for this fritter.
I will not share the preparation of mung bean soup as it is rather simple, just add rock sugar, Pandan leaves and mung beans, boil until soft and the soup is ready.
As all will know, boiling mung bean soup until soft and tender needs a lot of time and patience. I have long opted out to boil the mung bean over the stove, instead I have used the pressure cooker to cook for one round (under soup function) and use the food processor to blend the cooked grainy mung beans. So the steps of preparation for this post start from the grainy soft mung bean after preparation of mung bean soup.
WHAT IS REQUIRED
Servings: Prepared about 12-15 medium size kuih kasturi (depends on the size you like)
For filling
-
400 grams of cooked mung beans (about 200 grams uncooked mung beans)
-
150 grams of castor sugar
-
150 grams of shredded coconut
-
50 grams of plain flour
For batter
-
125 grams of rice flour
-
55 grams of plain flour
-
One egg
-
1 teaspoon of turmeric
-
1/2 teaspoon of salt
-
130 grams or ml or water
STEPS OF PREPARATION
-
Put all the filling ingredients in a food processor, blend until the desired texture of the mung bean you like. Some like it a bit coarse where as I prefer it a big finer. The finer it is, the softer it will be.
-
Take a portion, shape it into a ball, slightly flatten it to make a 1 cm thick patty. Repeat for all the remaining ingredients. (Note: If you like chewy texture, the patty will have to be thin and coarse, in this illustration, I have shape it into 2 cm thick and it is the softer, finer version that my family likes it). If the dough is too difficult to shape, put in the freezer to chill it harder before shaping or deep frying).
-
Mix all the batter ingredients, stir until well combined.
-
In a pot of hot oil, dip the patties into the batter. deep fry the patties till crispy under medium heat. Remove and drain in an oil absorbing paper.
CONCLUSION
In my humble opinion, mung bean soup and this kuih goes hand in hand. It is not “justify” just to boil mung bean for the kuih. With the use of food processor, there is no such a need to boil the mung bean for long. As long it is slightly soft, it can be used. If you do not have a food processor, by all means use something hard to pound the mung bean (for example pastel and mortar).
The thinner the patty, the crispier it will be.. And lastly, a bit more of less of cooked mung beans is acceptable for this recipe and it very much depend on the texture that you are used to eat.
Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice time.
-
For more recipes, you can refer to my RECIPE INDEX (updated as at 28 July 2014) here and you can follow me at PINTEREST or visit the blog’s FACEBOOK PAGE to keep abreast of my future posts.
-
If you are a Pinterest user and you are interested to have more recipes, you can join or follow this Pinterest Board set up by me where there are more than 2600 recipes worldwide and pinned by various bloggers: FOOD BLOGGERS AND FOODIES UNITED PINTEREST BOARD.
Hi kenneth, I tried this today. Here’s my feedback and questions.
1. I blended the green beans till very fine. Is that the reason why it is hard to shape them and dip them in the batter? I did freeze them for 2 hours after shaping them into 1cm thick discs but they turned mushy pretty fast in the batter. Am I missing other tips?
2. I fried them in medium fire and after a while, the fillings start bursting out of the batter. Why is that so?
3. Immediately after frying, I tried one piece and it is super good. But within a minute or so, the skin turns soft. Is there a better way to keep them crispy for a longer time?
My family love this recipe, except for the above problems I faced. I would love to try again if I can get a better, longer lasting crispy batter..
Annie, thank for trying.
1) It is very likely the fineness of the green beans that make it too soft, especially if it is very well cooked before blending. Possibly you may want to cook the green beans to say 60% cooked before you blend. Next time if it is still too wet, add more flour to it.
2) Apparently the batter is too thin (coating) and the filling is too wet, hence when heated, the internal expands and starts to burst out.
3) With the rice flour, it should not be soft that fast. Again, the internal is too wet and a lot of moisture inside, hence it starts to permeate to the skin making is sagging. You can add more rice flour and use less water if you want.
Thank you for your advices! I will take note of the points. Actually I like the over-cooked beans texture. Maybe like you say, I will add more flour next time. Till then, I will keep you posted of my second attempt. 🙂