Kuih Talam , Kuih Talam Tepong Pandan (绿白双层香兰糕）

INTRODUCTION

If you goggle images of Kuih Talam, the images that was presented may not necessary a green and white colour kuih talam. It can be brown and white, it can be savoury like talam berlauk; it can be talam ube etc. etc. etc.. I just discovered that the Malay word talam in essence means trays. Therefore Kuih talam literally translated as any kuih that was steamed in a tray and such definitions include kuih lapis, kuih seri muka and etc.…

As per Malay Wikipedia under category of Malay kuih:

“Kuih talam bukanlah jenis kuih yang khusus, tetapi biasanya merujuk kepada cara pembuatan jenis kuih yang dibuat di dalam bekas talam. Ia merangkumi beberapa jenis kuih seperti Bengkang ubi, kuih lapis, Kuih Seri Muka dan pelbagai lagi. Biasanya kuih talam ini tidak memiliki bentuk khusus kerana ia mengikuti bentuk talam, samaada bulat, segi empat sama atau segi empat tepat. Selepas kuih masak, barulah ia dipotong mengikut saiz hidangan. Secara kasarnya, saiz hidangan bergantung pada yang memotongnya.” (Source: http://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuih_talam)

Now I am confused as to the exact name of this kuih talam which was made of various flour, coconut milk and pandan juices. Well, never mind, for the purpose of this post, I will follow suit the generic name: Kuih Talam and widely used by Malaysian and Singaporean.

This is not a kuih that I am familiar with but I believed it was not available in Sarawak when I was young. I am unsure about the situation in Sarawak now and I only get to know this kuih when I studied in Kuala Lumpur and in Singapore.

The kuih was made of two layers. At the bottom is a green layer which is made from pandan juices and with a denser texture. On top is the white layer which is softer, with strong coconut milk aroma and slightly salty. The combination of these two layers made it a very delicious piece of kuih. Mung bean flour is used to hold the structure and alkaline water is used to provide some springy texture of the green layer.

This is a simplified recipe to suit the current busy lifestyle . Though simplified, I am pleased with the taste and texture of the kuih.. I will definitely prepare again in the near future.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Recipe adapted from: Nonya Kueh, Seashore Publications, July 2012 Page 36 Kueh Talam

Servings: A 8” x 4” x 3 “ tray of Kuih Talam

Green Layer

400 grams of thick coconut milk (椰奶）
180 grams of white sugar （白糖）
60 grams of tapioca or sago flour （木薯粉）
30 grams of rice flour （粘米粉）
30 grams of mung bean or hoen kuih flour or green pea flour（绿豆粉）
10 pieces of pandan leaves （香兰叶）
2-3 drops of green pandan flavouring (optional) （青色食用色数）
1/2 teaspoon of alkaline or lye water or kansui （碱水）

450 grams or ml of thick coconut milk （椰奶）
25 grams of tapioca or sago flour （木薯粉）
25 grams of rice flour （粘米粉）
25 grams of mung bean or hoen kuih flour or green pea flour（绿豆粉）
1 tablespoon spoon of sugar （白糖）
1/2 teaspoon of salt (盐巴）
5 pieces of pandan leaves （香兰叶）

STEPS OF PREPARATION

Lightly greased your desired steamer tray.

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until fine. Sift into a non stick pan. Heat the batter under low heat. Constant stirring is required to avoid lumps forming too fast.

Stir until the batter starts to coat the sides of the pan and wooden spoon but still in liquid form. In this process, you will feel that the batter is getting stickier to stir. Off the heat and transfer the sticky liquid batter to the greased tin. Steam under high heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the green layer is set. The cooked green layer shall have a darker shade of green and the top surface shall be dry.

Put all the white layer ingredients in the non stick pan. Stir until well mixed. Put the pandan and cook under low heat until the white layers slightly thickens but still in liquid form. Throw away the pandan leaves. Transfer to the steamed green layer. Steamed at high heat for another 10-15 minutes or until the white layer have set. Use a skewer to pierce on the centre to ensure that white layer is cooked. Cooled completely before unmoulding and cut into desired pieces.

Notes:

If you like this shade of green colouring, you will have to add some pandan green colouring.

Constant stirring is very important in the step of pre-cooking the batter. The liquid can turn solid rather fast. Close supervision is required. If you wish, you can use double boil method to let the boiling water steamed the liquid batter. If the batter become lumpy too fast, you are advised not to proceed. Otherwise your cake with have uneven, wavy layers.

This recipe yields the same height of green and white layer. If you want a shorter white layer like what is sold commercially, you can consider reducing the white layer ingredients by half. It will also faster to steam.

For steaming of the second layer, make sure that the middle is totally cooked. The centre of the cake can be uncooked though both sides, top and bottom are cooked. Skewer test is a must. If you withdraw your skewer, some white floury substance sticks to the skewer, it means the centre is not cooked.

Steaming time is for your reference and It very much depends on your steamer tray and your steamer.

To avoid water condensation dropping into your cake, you can either cover it with a piece of cloth or clingy wrap or aluminium foil during the steaming. However, it will take a much longer time for the cake to set.

CONCLUSION

I am happy with this attempt. The texture is slightly springy for the bottom layer and it is not an overly sweet kuih. If you are adventurous enough, the basic recipe is there, you can always toy with colour and flavour of the kuih.

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day.

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