The transliterated Chinese name of this dish is 笋粿 (sun guo). This is a steamed Chinese dumpling made of rice flour skin with chopped turnips strips as filling. Although the word 'soon' is a Chinese dialect word for bamboo shoot (笋), practically all modern versions of this dish are made with turnip. It can be eaten steamed or fried (to make the skin crispy), with sweet dark soya sauce and chilli paste.










How to make Soon Kueh:

Ingredients:

200g dried shrimps, soaked
50g dried mushrooms, soaked and sliced
200g chicken or port fillet, sliced into strips
500g chives, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Dough:

900ml water
1/4 tsp salt
500g rice flour
100ml oil
250g tapioca flour

Method:

1. Cook the filling and set aside.

2. Boil the water in a pot and then stir in the salt, rice flour and oil. Mix thoroughly till the mixture thickens.

3. Allow to cool before removing from t he pot. Knead into a dough with tapioca flour. Divide into the same number of portions as the filling. Shape into a ball.

4. To make the soon kueh, wrap 1 ball of filling with the dough. Press the edges together to seal then twist patterns along the edges.

5. Steam on a greased tray lined with banana leaf for 12 minutes.

6. Remove and brush with oil.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -





A traditional must-have during a child's first month celebration, commonly know as 满月 (man yue). Not too sure what it symbolises though, but red is usually used in happy occasions like in weddings and all. ang koo kueh literally means "red tortise kueh". traditionally made in a mould with the shape of a tortise shell.





Guess what flavour?





It's green tea!!


How to make Ang Koo Kueh

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato Skin:
200 g sweet potatoes
300 g glutinous rice flour
2 tbsps oil160 ml water
Some red coloring (optional)
Mung Bean Filling:
200g yellow split mung beans (soaked until soft)
80g - 100 g castor sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tbsps oil
1/4 - 1/2 cup diced shallots
Water

Method:

Sweet Potato Skin:
Steam the sweet potatoes until soft.
In a bowl, mash the sweet potatoes with a fork. Add glutinous rice, oil and water and mix well to obtain a smooth dough. Cover with a damp cloth and leave aside. You can add a little more water if the dough is too dry.

Mung Bean Filling:

Steam the yellow split mung beans until soft. Mash with a fork.
In a non-stick wok, fry the diced onions in oil. Leave aside to cool.
In a bowl, mix the mashed split peas, salt, fried onions, oil and enough water to form a soft dough.

Shaping the Ang Koo Kueh:

1. Brush the ang koo kueh mould with a little oil to ease removal of the kueh from the mould.

2. Take a small lump of sweet potato dough and using your palm or a rolling pin, flatten it, into a round shape with the centre thicker than the sides.

3. Spoon some pea filling into the dough, pinch the sides of the dough together, and using the palm of your hand, roll it into a ball.

4. Press the ball into the mould firmly, to obtain the design and shape of the mould. Tap the mould gently on the table to remove the ang koo kueh from the mould.

5. Place the ang koo kueh on a square piece of oiled banana leaf.

6. When all the ang koo kuehs are shaped, steam them in a wok over high fire for 3 minutes covered. After 3 minutes, remove the cover to release steam, then re-cover and steam for another 3 minutes over a medium fire, until the kuehs are cooked.

7.Remove the kuehs from the wok and brush them with a little oil to prevent them from sticking to each other. Serve when cool.

Notes:If you don't like the mung beans, you can use peanuts or red beans filling.I used about 26g pastry and 19g filling.