Nonya kueh is another favourite in my household. It is commonly found in Singapore and Malaysia. The Nonya cuisine originated from descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang, Malacca and Singapore. Through inter-marriage, the cuisine they produced is unique, the result of blending Chinese ingredients with various distinct spices and cooking techniques used by the Malay community.
There are many different types of Nonya kueh – they are colourful, sticky and sweet-savoury delicacies. Main ingredients for most of the kueh are glutinous rice and coconut and kueh are often steamed. This particular recipe is a favourite and never fails to put a smile on our face. The soft slightly savoury glutinous rice blends well with the sweet fragrant coconut egg jam.
GLUTINOUS RICE (aka PULOT)
- 1 cup glutinous rice
- 1 cup coconut milk (use fresh coconut milk where available)
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 drops of blue food colouring
1. Wash the glutinous rice and drain.
2. Put glutinous rice, coconut milk and salt in a small pot with a tight fitting cover. Give it a stir.
3. Steam the mixture for 1 hour. (Steaming tip: I use a small casserole dish, cover it with aluminium foil and put the glass cover on top of the aluminium foil to ensure a proper seal. Put the dish on a stand in a pot of boiling water. Water level should reach half way up the dish).
4. Remove from heat and use a fork to fluff up the rice. Add a couple drops of blue food colouring and stir through roughly. Steam for another 10 minutes. (Traditionally, blue pea flower is used to provide the colour. As it does not add any flavour or fragrance, I use blue food colouring instead).
5. Remove from heat, and when cooled slightly, put a piece of baking paper on top and press down on the rice to compact.
6. When cooled, remove from dish and cut into small rectangular pieces. Serve the glutinous rice with coconut egg jam.
COCONUT EGG JAM (aka KAYA)
- 3 eggs
- 100 ml coconut milk
- 75 gm raw sugar
- 1-2 drops pandan essence (use fresh pandan leaves where available)
- 2 teaspoon melted sugar
1. Use a double boiler (or sit a small pot on a stand in a pot of near boiling water with water level reaching half way up the small pot). Put coconut milk, sugar and pandan into the small pot and dissolve the sugar. Once sugar is dissolved, remove pot from heat.
2. Melt 2 teaspoon of sugar until it turns a rich caramel brown and add to the mixture. Stir to combine.
3. Whisk the eggs in a bowl. Pour the egg (through a small sieve) into the milk mixture and stir continuously to ensure a smooth blend.
3. Put small pot back into the double boiler and cook until a jam consistency is reached (20 mins). Stir the mixture with a soft spatula frequently to avoid lumps from forming. The jam will continue to thicken slightly so stop the cooking once a softer than desired consistency is achieved.
