Once in a while, I have sudden cravings for kuih, or Malaysian sweet cake, which is a delicacy found in Malaysia. I usually crave for onde-onde and kuih bingka ubi (cassava cake). However, making kuih is laborious and takes a long time, and I have no patience to make these two cakes to fix my cravings, so I usually combine two recipes into one and make cassava cake with shredded coconut. The cassava cake looks just like kuih sago, but it’s made with cassava instead of sago pearls or tapioca pearls.
Back home in Malaysia, whenever there is festive season, for example: Hari Raya (Aidilfitri), Malay or Peranakan weddings, various kinds of kuih are served to the guests. I grew up with my late grandmother who was a legendary kuih maker. Every wedding or festive celebration in my family was graced with endless array of colorful kuih, all cut into nice little bite-shaped shapes waiting to be devoured.
Ironically, I didn’t appreciate kuih when I was back home in Malaysia. I was into western-style baking: cakes, cookies, buns and donuts. I thought kuih was unfashionable; little did I know that kuih were such an art form and unique creations of my culture.
Anyway, now that I realized how delectable and dainty these kuih are, I enjoy eating them whenever I have a chance. These cassava cake with shredded coconut is absolutely delightful and lovely, both to the eyes and the taste buds.
(Click Page 2 for the Steamed Cassava with Shredded Coconut Recipe)
Whenever I go home to Malaysia, I would always stuff myself crazy with all sorts of kuih (local sweet or savory cake). One of my favorite is or kuih, or yam cake made of yam (in the US, yam is referred as taro). I have never attempted making kuih in the US though. Today, I have invited a fellow Penangite…
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