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By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright January 2023
Growing up in the 50s and 60s in Alor Setar we looked forward to Chinese New Year for kuih bakul or Nian Gao 年糕 or ti kuih 甜粿.
The latter term is used by our Hokkien neighbours. It is a sweet sticky rice cake but less stickier than Malay dodol, wrapped in banana leaf shaped like a little basket or bakul, abundant during Chinese New Year season.
My neighbours told us that it was a prosperity cake meant to "sweeten" the lips of the God of the Heavens hoping for their blessings, in return, for the rest of the year. Since it is served once a year it is also known as an annual or yearly cake.
As far as I can remember there was plenty of ti kuih everywhere you turned during the season with each family giving away lots of the kuih bakul to neighbours and friends from far and near intent on sharing prosperity earnestly.
In our kitchen there was a table where we stacked these "golden" gifts to be eaten for the rest of the month in our own way using recipes handed down from great grandmas to my mums and later my sisters to whom I owe the information that I divulge to you here for the first time with their kind consent and approval.
One of the easiest dishes for snacks from ti kuih is kuih bakul goreng. It's quite easy to prepare.
Slice the ti kuih thinly then after dusting it with flour dip it into a batter made from rice flour, water, salt and slaked lime.
The batter is best kept at room temperature. Then deep fry like you would when making goreng pisang (banana fritters) or goreng keledek (sweet potatoes).
The dish is excellent when served hot. But be mindful of the hot gooey ti kuih when you sink your teeth into the batter. I have burned my tongue once too often by the sticky tasy stuff in a hurry to try the snacks.
We would sit outside under the mangga tree enjoying the snacks taking turns at the frying pan trying to keep up with the demands of every hungry being in the village.
It makes me drool thinking of those snacks we enjoyed a long time ago hundreds of miles from Kuala Lumpur in a village where time stood still.
Yet another easy and our best kept secret treat is tepung bungkus kuih bakul. It's a two step process. Cut the kuih bakul into cubes.
Prepare the tepung mixture from rice flour, santan and salt. Cook the mixture until it thickens.
Spread two large spoonfuls of the cooked mixture on a piece of cut banana leaf that has been smoked over an open fire.
Then put two cubes of the kuih bakul into the mixture one at either end before folding it neatly to be steamed for half an hour. This dish is best served warm although some like it hot!
It is one of the best known dishes from our family heritage, the recipe untold to outsiders, previously for at least 5 generations.
Try it you'll love it.
It's sweet saltish snacks full of coconut milk with just the right consistency of a steamed custard wrapped in banana leaf. You might need a cup of kopi O to go with it.
I have to try making these two dishes of kuih bakul based family treats again to remind me of the charming days of Chinese New Year season when my family sat under a large mango tree in our backyard thinking what else we could do with mountains of ti kuih in our kitchen.
Happy New Year of the rabbit.
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