Kuih Onde Onde

Onde-Onde is one of the traditional kuihs in Malaysia. It is made from glutinous rice flour. Some recipes add in sweet potato to make the skin softer and sweeter.

The cute little rice balls are infused with pandan juice which gives it the green colour and fragrant taste. They are filled with Gula Melaka which when bitten into, burst into a mouthful of sugar surprise. Finally, the kuih is coated in freshly grated coconut which gives it a savoury taste and makes it look like Christmas during a fresh snow fall.


This kuih is not only cute but truly yummy. It is small yet it is abundant in flavours and yes once you eat one, you definitely can't stop until they are all gone.

I made ondeh-ondeh one night with my daughter and girlfriends. It was a fantastic night as my girl friends and I gathered in the kitchen and spent the night chatting and making these little delights.

I have here the end result of our nights work. Our husbands love them and I am sure you will too.

Kuih Talam

Kuih Talam is another popular kuih from Malaysia and Singpore. Talam is a Malay word meaning tray. This is because the kuih is steamed in a tray. It is made in two layers, one layer is sweet and one is savoury. The kuih is entirely opposite of the Seri Muka in terms of it's colours. The Kuih Talam has a white top and a green base whilst the Seri Muka has a green top and a white base. The Kuih Talam is also soft and jelly like whist the Seri Muka has a soft custard top with a glutinous rice base.

Both these kuihs are really yummy. They are both from the juice of pandan leave which gives them the green colour. The white tops and bottom is made from coconut cream which gives it a savoury, creamy taste and texture.

I recently got a chance to make kuih talam again for my wonderful friends from UK and so I took the opportunity to take more photos of the process of making the kuih. It's actually a simple 2 step process.

Step 1 Mix all the ingredients for the bottom layer which comprise of rice flour, green pea flour, tapioca flour and pandan juice and stir over low flame. Steam the end product for approximately 20 minutes.

Step 2 Mix all the ingredients for the top base which comprise also of rice flour, tapioca flour and green pea flour mix with coconut milk and a pinch of salt and stir slowly over low flame. Pour the thickened top base over the bottom green base and again steam for 20 minutes.

Step 3: To check if the kuih is cook, tough the top layer and if it doesn't stick to your fingers it is done.

Tang Yuan (Glutinous Rice Dumplings)

Don Zhi or winter solstice is a very important event in the Chinese custom. Dong Zhi is also known as Tang Check by the Peranakan which means the arrival of winter. It also signifies the longest night in the year. On this day the Peranakan will make Tang Yuan or Kuih Ee to signify the arrival of winter. By eating this Kuih Ee, it will mean that we will be a year older. 

In the Peranakan culture, this round shaped rice ball symbolizes togetherness and completeness of the family. The balls have to shaped till it is smooth and perfectly round. I remember when I was a child my grandmother will make me help her shape these balls. She would tell me that I have to make them as round, smooth and tiny as I can as it will mean that the my face will be as smooth and beautiful as the Kuih Ee. I was teaching my daughter how to make Kuih Ee one evening. I told her what my grandmother told me about the shape and texture of the kuih. She spent the next half hour to an hour ensuring that every ball she made was tiny, smooth and round as she wanted to ensure that her face would be beautiful when she grew up.

Tang Yuan is made of glutinous rice. In the past, they just came in pink and white and served in syrup.  These days it comes in different colours like pink, white, green, yellow, blue and orange. Some are even filled with red bean, black sesame and peanut paste. I still love the traditional ones which are simple and nice just the way they are.

My girls love them too.

More Chiffon Cakes

Another weekend another experiment on flavors of chiffon cakes. This weekend my son Andrew and I decided to try out a Cheddar Chiffon Cake and Chocolate Chiffon Cake (using chocolate powder instead of Nutela). Our first experiment was Cheddar Chiffon Cake. Andrew loves cheese cake just like his grandma. So we decided to see if we can make chiffon cake out of cheese. The cake turned out quite good to our surprise. It was a bit heavier than the Orange Chiffon Cake but nevertheless still light. The taste had a hint of cheese but not overly cheesy like the normal cheese cakes. All in all a good experiment.

My colleague came to me a few weeks ago asking if I could make a Chocolate Chiffon Cake. I decided to give it a try but using Nutela.The cake turned out very soft and fluffy but nevertheless I didn't like the colour as it was to pale for a chocolate cake. My mother in law suggested using chocolate powder instead so we did. I substituted the teaspoon of Nutela with 1/2 cup of chocolate powder mix into 3/4 cup of warm water. The cake turned out great, nice dark brown and yet still fluffy. I love this cake as to be honest it's dark colour hid some of the flaws from cutting the cake out of the tin which I must say is a technique I have yet to master.

The third chiffon cake of the weekend was an improvement on my Pandan Chiffon Cake. Previously I didn't add any coconut milk into my recipe. However, a friend suggested I substituted my water for coconut milk which indeed add to the fragrance of the taste and moistness. The colour was also more vibrant as not I substituted the pandan juice which I extracted from frozen pandan leaves with pandan paste.

I must say making chiffon cakes is a stressful process. Every step is so important from cracking the eggs to make sure the egg whites are cleanly removed from the egg yokes, folding the egg white meringue into the rest of the cake mixture, pouring the cake mix into the fluted tin, removing of the air bubbles and finally removing the cake from the fluted tin. I must admit sometimes I loose my cool but my daughter always comes to me and say "Mummy, you can do it and that calms me down". It also reminds me that what I am doing is not meant to be stressful. Cooking is suppose to be therapeutic and I remember a quote from Little Nonya "If you are feeling sad when you cook, the person who is eating the food will also feel it to". Hence, if I am cranky, the person who eats my cake will also feel my grumpiness. So, I have to be calm, happy and remember that I am cooking because I want to share my love for all things Nonya with all of you.