Being born and bred in Penang, I grew up adopting a bit of the Nyonya culture although I am a Cantonese. There is a strong influence of Nyonya culture in Penang, mainly the language and food. When it comes to food, nyonya kuih is a snack that I love. Whenever I am back in Penang, I will not miss out the chance to savour some of the sweet delicacies. It comes in different shapes, colors and textures. Many of the kuihs are sweet but some are savoury.

Many of the kuihs are made especially for important festivities such as the Qingming Festival (Chinese All Soul’s Day or Tomb Sweeping Day) or Chinese New Year, however many others are consumed as main meals or snack on a daily basis. As a child during the Qingming festival, after paying our respect to our ancestors and all the offerings were done, my cousin and I will fight for the kuihs 🙂 This still happens today..haha

Give me any type of nyonya kuih, I will finish them all. One of my favourite is kuih kosui also known as kuih lompang. It is a mini teacup shaped rice cake flavored with pandan (screwpine leaves) juice. Some are flavored with Gula Melaka (palm sugar). But my favorite is the former. A good kuih kosui is rich in pandan aroma and have a springy and soft texture, best eaten with grated coconut.

Kuih Kosui (Pandan Flavor)

makes 24 mini teacups

80g rice flour
30g green bean flour
200 ml water
1/2 tsp alkaline water
150g grated coconut
1/4 tsp salt

120g sugar
100ml water
2 pandan leaves, knotted
3 tbsp pandan juice

1. Mix rice flour and green bean flour with 200ml water.Set aside.
2. Boil sugar, water and pandan leaves until sugar dissolve. Cool and add in pandan juice.
3. Combine flour mixture, cooled syrup and alkaline water. Stir to smooth consistency.
4. Strain mixture and add enough water to get 480 ml batter.
5. Arrange cups on a steaming rack and steam unfilled for 5 mins.
6. Stir batter well before pouring into heated cups.
7. Steam in high heat for 10mins or until set.
8. Remove kuih from heat and allow kuih to cool down before removing from cups. Serve with grated coconut.

** A good kuih kosui should have a slight depression in the centre.

naked kuih