Local cakes called 'kuih' are very different from the cakes which we made from butter, sugar, eggs and flour. Instead of using the said ingredients, the following ingredients are used, such as sago, sweet potatoes, bananas, yam, rice flour, coconut, pulut rice or pulut flour, tapioca or gula melaka.
Sago:
There are two types of sago- the large sago and the pearl sago, the latter being more commonly used. Sago is made from the pith of the sago palm and is actually not a cereal, although for convenience, it is often classified as one. Sago is composed mainly of starch. When cooked, it is of a soft , sticky texture and is rather flat in flavour unless coconut or coconut milk is added to it.
Bananas :
Many kinds of bananas are available in Malaysia. They are grouped into dessert bananas or bananas for cooking. Dessert bananas are sweet , of a good flavour and smooth texture, and are often eaten raw.
Some of the more common dessert bananas are pisang emas, pisang hijau, pisang rastali and pisang susu.
Bananas for cooking are not so well flavoured and the texture is coarse. Cooking improves the flavour and makes them more tender and easily digestible. Some bananas for cooking are pisang rajah, pisang nangka, and pisang tandok. Sometimes the dessert bananas are used for cooking to give the food its delicate flavour, but bananas for cooking are not good eaten raw.
Gula Melaka :
Gula melaka is a brown sugar made from the juices extracted from the flower shoot of the coconut palm.
Gula melaka is sold in cakes; the best and cheapest ones come from Melaka. Good quality gula melaka is dark brown in colour and is fairly easy to cut through. It keeps well in an airtight container in a cool place. Gula melaka has a lovely flavour but is not very sweet, so the addition of a little granulated sugar to it improves its sweetness.
Rice Flour :
Rice flour is used either dry or damp. Dry rice flour makes a very good plain coating
batter but it is not good for the steamed 'kuihs' which should be made from damp rice flour.
Damp rice flour is made by soaking rice for 1/2 a day and then grinding it wet. After grinding
the rice a batter like mixture is obtained. This mixture is put into a clean flour bag and hung up
till all the water drains away and only the damp rice flour remains in the bag.
An excerpt from a 1960s book
Sago:
There are two types of sago- the large sago and the pearl sago, the latter being more commonly used. Sago is made from the pith of the sago palm and is actually not a cereal, although for convenience, it is often classified as one. Sago is composed mainly of starch. When cooked, it is of a soft , sticky texture and is rather flat in flavour unless coconut or coconut milk is added to it.
Bananas :
Many kinds of bananas are available in Malaysia. They are grouped into dessert bananas or bananas for cooking. Dessert bananas are sweet , of a good flavour and smooth texture, and are often eaten raw.
Some of the more common dessert bananas are pisang emas, pisang hijau, pisang rastali and pisang susu.
Bananas for cooking are not so well flavoured and the texture is coarse. Cooking improves the flavour and makes them more tender and easily digestible. Some bananas for cooking are pisang rajah, pisang nangka, and pisang tandok. Sometimes the dessert bananas are used for cooking to give the food its delicate flavour, but bananas for cooking are not good eaten raw.
Gula Melaka :
Gula melaka is a brown sugar made from the juices extracted from the flower shoot of the coconut palm.
Gula melaka is sold in cakes; the best and cheapest ones come from Melaka. Good quality gula melaka is dark brown in colour and is fairly easy to cut through. It keeps well in an airtight container in a cool place. Gula melaka has a lovely flavour but is not very sweet, so the addition of a little granulated sugar to it improves its sweetness.
Rice Flour :
Rice flour is used either dry or damp. Dry rice flour makes a very good plain coating
batter but it is not good for the steamed 'kuihs' which should be made from damp rice flour.
Damp rice flour is made by soaking rice for 1/2 a day and then grinding it wet. After grinding
the rice a batter like mixture is obtained. This mixture is put into a clean flour bag and hung up
till all the water drains away and only the damp rice flour remains in the bag.
An excerpt from a 1960s book
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