INTRODUCTION

All Huat Kuih looks the same but they are different. Different in terms of taste and texture because it is made using different leavening agent and different flour.

Not many people will know how importance is this huat kuih recipe to me. It is my childhood huat kuih not because it was sold in shops, because my mum was steaming this type of huat kuih whenever there are festivals. This is the closest recipe i can find in terms of texture and taste . It is a rice flour huat kuih , flavoured solely by a bit of yeast and rice aroma. It is springy in texture and unlike plain flour huat kuih, it is usually not flavoured .

When I was young, on 27th or 28th of 12th Lunar month, my mum started to soak rice grains. In the next morning, my elder brothers will help her to grind the rice into rice milk. She then added yeast obtained from the nearby bakery shop. She mixed the batter, proofed and steamed in a very big wok that can accommodate at least twenty 5 inches diameter kuihs. She distributed these kuihs to neighbours and also relatives. Then, of course my role only helped her to line the bamboo basket and put a red dot on top of the kuih when done.

To me, this is one of the hardest huat kuih to prepare. For a successful huat kuih, it must smile such that it will bring luck. For rice flour and yeast combo of huat kuih, I have failed many times. This recipe is not common in the internet and I have trial and error many times until I talked to a member of a Taiwanese Facebook Group, Ms. Hibiscus Chang. Ms Chang gave me the following recipe and when I tried tried this morning and it was successful.  I want to take this opportunity to thank Ms. Chang for disclosing her recipe to me.

With this huat kuih recipe, I think I will not share any more huat kuih recipes and you can refer to part 2 of this post for a list of huat kuih that I have shared in my blog .

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About three 3 inches diameter huat kuih

• 300 grams of raw rice grain (soaked in water for at least 2 hours)
• 150 grams of cake flour or low protein flour
• 120 grams of icing sugar
• 8 grams of instant yeast
• A piece of muslin cloth

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Soaked the rice grain for at least 2 hours. Transfer the rice grain to a blender, add adequate water and blend until it become a rice milk. Transfer the rice milk to the muslin cloth. Squeeze hard until all the rice residue inside the muslin cloth is as dry as possible. Keep the rice milk.

• In a big proofing bowl, put the instant yeast, put some rice milk, stir the instant yeast until well combined. Add the rice residue.

• Followed by the low protein flour, icing sugar . Add the remaining rice milk and stir until it become a thick paste as in the picture. If the rice milk is not enough, add in some water such that it reaches the thick paste stage. Cover the bowl with a wet towel. Let it proof for 2-3 hours until it is about 3 times larger than the original volume.

• Once the proofing is done, heat up a steamer with adequate water for steaming at least 30 minutes. Line the bamboo basket with cellophane sheets, pour the batter onto the basket until it reaches at least 90% full. If preferred, you can use a greased scissor to cut a few slits on the batter to facilitate the formation of petals. However, this step is optional. Steamed under high heat for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

CONCLUSION

This recipe is very important to me as this is the type of huat kuih that grows up with me. If you are interested, you can give it a try. Part 2 will show you my other type of huat kuih recipes available in this blog.

Pandan Huat Kuih (香兰发糕) – Plain flour huat kuih/baking powder/ flavoured

Palm Sugar or Gula Melaka or Gula Apong Huat Kuih (椰糖发糕）– Plain flour huat kuih/baking powder/ flavoured

Orange Huat Kuih (香橙发糕）  Plain flour huat kuih/baking powder/ flavoured

Oolong Tea Huat Kuih (茶香发糕）– Plain flour huat kuih/baking powder/ flavoured

Pumpkin Huat Kuih (金瓜发糕） Plain flour huat kuih/baking powder/ flavoured

Dried Longan Black Sugar Huat Kuih (桂圆黑糖发糕） Plain flour huat kuih/baking powder/ flavoured

Sweet Potatoes Coconut Milk Huat Kuih (番薯椰奶发糕）  Plain flour huat kuih/baking powder/ flavoured

Chinese Rice Flour Cake (粘米粉发糕） – Rice Flour  huat kuih/Eno digestive salt/ Original flavour

Chinese Rice Flour Cake (粘米粉发糕） – Rice Flour  huat kuih/baking soda/ Original flavour

Teochew Huat Kuih or Ka Kuih (潮州发糕，潮州酵糕，米糕， 松糕） – Rice Flour Huat Kuih / Yeast/ rice flavoured

Yeasted Huat Kuih (酵母发糕） – Plain flour/ Yeasted/ original flavour

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