Vegan Kuih Seri Muka - 南瓜香兰糯米糕
Have you tried Nyonya Kuih from Malaysia? This Vegan Kuih Seri Muka is beautiful, sweet, and delicious. The bottom layer is made from glutinous rice with butterfly pea flower juice with a vibrant top made from Kabocha squash and coconut milk.
Servings: 6 people
Equipment
- Steamer
- Cake Pan
Ingredients
Bottom Layer (Glutinous Rice)
- 300 g glutinous rice soaked overnight or about 4 hours
- 100 ml [~½cup] coconut milk*
- 100 ml [~½cup] water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- pandan leaves
Butterfly Pea Flower Juice
- 25 dried Butterfly pea flower
- 4 tablespoons of water
Top Layer (Pumpkin Coconut)
- 230 g Kabocha squash cubes
- 100 g rice flour sifted
- 30 g tapioca starch sifted
- 8 palm sugar rounds about 120g adjust to taste if using cane sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups [350ml] of water
- 1 cup [250ml] coconut milk*
- pandan leaves
Instructions
How to cook the Glutinous Rice
- To make the rice layer, mix together coconut milk, water, and salt in a cup until well-combined.
- Drain out the water from the soaked glutinous rice and place them on a shallow plate.
- Tear a few pieces of pandan leaves and add them to the rice. Then, mix the rice with the coconut milk mixture until all incorporated.
- Steam the rice for 25 minutes over high heat.
Prepare Butterfly Pea Flower Juice
- Meanwhile, place the butterfly pea flower and water in a small pot. (quick tip: try to immerse the flowers in the water using a fork).
- Turn on the heat, and once the water starts to boil, turn down the heat and keep stirring to draw out the color. Once the water turns darker blue, turn off the heat and let it cool.
- Strain the flower on a fine sieve and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Set aside. Reserve the butterfly pea flowers to make tea.
Prepare the Kabocha Squash
- Prepare the Kabocha - place Kabocha cubes in a tall pot along with water, pandan leaves, and sugar. Bring it to boil and cook until Kabocha is fork-tender. Once it's ready, remove the pandan leaves and strain out the sugar water into a bowl.
- Blend the Kabocha into a fine paste. Measure the sugar water, you should have about 200ml remaining.
How to Prepare the Bottom Layer
- Once the rice is ready, remove it from the steamer let it cool slightly.
- Discard the pandan leaves and fluff the rice with a pair of chopsticks or a fork.
- Then, dab a few spoons of butterfly pea flower juice on the rice, mix to combine (Note: use the remaining juice to make tea).
- Transfer the rice to a greased 8" tall cake pan and press the rice with a fondant smoother or back of a spatula to compress it.
How to put everything together
- To prepare the top (custard) layer, add the sugar water back into the blended Kabocha, then fold in the flour and starch until well-combined.
- Finally, stir in the coconut milk to create a thick batter.
- Strain the custard onto the compressed rice.
- Tap the pan a few times on the countertop to remove air bubbles.
- Steam the mixture over medium heat for 25-30 minutes until the top layer is fully cooked through. [Please check my tips above to create a successful Kuih Seri Muka.]
- Let the kuih cool down completely before unmoulding it. Cut into your desired shapes and serve at room temperature with a cup of tea or coffee. Enjoy!
Notes
Note:
- Cooking Time is about 60 minutes as I've combined the steps. You can make butterfly pea flower juice and cook the Kabocha squash while the rice is in the steamer.
- *Please use canned coconut milk
- Adjust the amount of sugar if using cane sugar. Palm sugar or coconut sugar is generally less sweet compared to regular sugar.