A cousin's wife was back from Australia and I was interested in meeting up with Aunt Ling again to make Mi Turn Kui or Rice Layered Cake.
A 2-in-1 event became a great reunion of sorts and it coincided with Mid Autumn.
the Making of Mi Turn Kui was easy and my Ling Koo was so sporting...You will note that she walks with the help of a "friend".
Meanwhile get the kuali steaming hot with the cake pan in it. Add one spoon of Soda (from Chinese Medicine shop or sundry shop) to the mixing bowl. Add a bit of salt and 2 cups of water until the batter is like a pan cake batter. Try a little in a little dish. Steam....and this is really good way of not spoiling the whole batter. If the consistency is good then you can start making the first layer of the Mi Turn Kui.
Mix well until no solids can be found. Colouring comes with a drop or two of light soy sauce. Some flavorings can come from a bit of Vitsin. (My version would include some cummin and fennel powder)
A simple kuali with a lid like this will do. Gas supply in Miri is great and economical all these years if you have it piped to the house. Most old houses in Miri have piped gas.
Use a Chinese bowl as a measuring cup for each layer. The pan must be oiled first with cooking oil.
We started making the kuih at 12 and each layer takes about 20 minutes and is firm to the touch. By two we had 9 layers made.....
The final product would have some wrinkles...like wrinkles on your forehead.
Ah Ling Koo is a very good teacher traditional Foochow Cuisine. My great grandfather and Ah Ling Koo's grandfather were brothers.
When Foochows serve Hong Ngang and Egg - it is a big deal!! or great honour. This is from Chong and Law a famous restaurant in Miri, it is really nice with lots of Foochow Red Wine.
Pork Leg Steamed or double boiled in Red Wine - a festive dish. (The Foochows usually say that it is so delicious you have to tie your tongue....)
The family together again...and thanks to Ah Ling Koo we can be together very often...Together again Foochow Style. The Moon is very Round here!!
Watch for another explorative culinary escapade of mine in the near future!!
Cheers...preserve our traditions but also be innovative...Hope Han Sen of Sibu is reading this...(or Mr. Bean)...
9 comments:
you should consider video n post this on youtube
No...it was very slow...more than two hours to have the whole kuih done...But the making is very easy....
Have you ever tried Mi Turn Kui in Sibu? It is an acquired taste because of the tingling on the tongue caused by the soda bi carbonate.
You can get in the Pasar Malam...do ask about the details etc.
cheers.
sorry - the steps are simple with just photos...
Sorry for being dumb, are you the one in red?
Cornelius
Nope the one in red is my cousin's wife. I am the photographer so usually do not appear in my own blog...
I never had this, do you make them like kueh lapis or do you take our one layer and make another?
Must be rich Foochow people who make this. My Foochow relatives are working people, they won't have time to make this.
Dear Ann
Nope this was a festive dish..yes it does take time to grind the rice flour using the strone grinder (LOL) and to steam layer by layer...think of big families of those days. Took several hours early morning to do it.
My mum won't make because of the time constraint.
May be the richFoochows today would sneeze at this simple farm cake. But I heard from friends that the cake is available in the Sibu pasar malam. The soda bi carbonate |(chor) may turn people away.
Cheers.
nice
Dear Stacey
thanks for visiting! come back again.
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