Old School: A guide to all the local kueh you need to know

Old School: A guide to all the kueh you need to know in Singapore

Karen GEORGE

23 Jul 2015

updated the 6 October 2015 à 22:53

1/10
Tutu Kueh
You’ll always be alerted if there’s a tutu kueh stall in the vicinity – its fragrant coconut and peanut scent is one your olfactory senses will find hard to miss. Bite into these fun-sized spongy pastries and your tastebuds will be rewarded with shredded coconut or crushed peanuts. Best eaten when warm and fresh.
2/10
Angku Kueh
Fondly known as red tortoise cake because of its similarities in shape with a tortoise’s shell, angku kueh is a Chinese steamed cake served on a small piece of banana leaf. Soft and chewy on the outside, the sticky glutinous rice flour skin wraps around a sweet filling that is usually green bean paste or yellow mung bean paste.
3/10
Chwee Kueh
This is a nostalgic Singaporean hawker this that is fast disappearing from the local culinary scene. Chwee kueh is basically a type of steamed cake made from rice flour and topped with fried radish or turnip.
4/10
Orh Kueh
The beauty of kueh is its ability to be either sweet or savoury, and the orh kueh, or Chinese taro cake belongs to the latter category. This steamed yam cake is moist and is usually garnished with dried prawns, dried mushrooms, spring onions and deep fried shallots.
5/10
Kueh Lapis
The rainbow cake has got nothing on the multi-coloured kueh lapis! It takes an amazing amount of time, skill and dedication to make them but the effort is oh-so-worth it when you bite into these sweet, jelly-like cakes made from tapioca flour, rice flour, pandan and coconut milk.
6/10
Ondeh-Ondeh
Ondeh-ondeh are cute green coloured balls made with a combination tapioca flour and glutinous rice flour and filled with gula melaka before being coated with freshly grated coconut strands. The highlight of this kueh is when you bite into it and the condensed palm sugar squirts out of its glutinous confinement to delight your tastebuds with a sweet aftertaste.
7/10
Kueh Dadar
Kueh dadar, also known as kueh ketayap, kueh gulung or coconut crepes is basically a pandan infused pancake roll stuffed with sticky, sweet coconut gratings. Whatever you choose to call it, it’s a popular teatime treat no one can resist.
8/10
Kueh Kosui
Think of this as the Nyonya version of the ondeh-ondeh without the gula melaka filling. These bite-sized steamed rice cakes with a fudge-like colouring and soft, springy texture is also made from pandan, rice flour and tapioca flour before being rolled in grated coconut. Those who find ondeh-ondeh too sweet will enjoy the balanced taste of this Nyonya treat
9/10
Pulut Inti
Yet another Nyonya kueh delighting our tastebuds is pulut inti – steamed glutinous rice wrapped in pandan or banana leaves. Unwrapping the pyramid shaped treat immediately reveals the inti – sweet coconut toppings that are meant to be eaten with the sticky rice.
10/10
Kueh Sago
Like most Asian kueh, kueh sago is a steamed rice treat made from pearl sago and sugar and just like the ondeh-ondeh and kueh kosui, this syrup flavoured teatime treat is rolled in grated coconut.

Do you know your kueh lapis from your kueh tutu? Brush up on your kueh knowledge before Kueh Appreciation Day!

We’ve seen cafes specifically dedicated to waffles, Korean bingsu, froyo, bubble tea and pretty much every other sweet delicacy under the sun but have you ever come across an eatery solely dedicated to celebrating the traditional kueh of the country? Sometimes it feels like getting crème brulee is easier than finding your average kueh lapis.

Thankfully, this is about to change with the inaugural Kueh Appreciation Day 2015, an event that looks to build awareness and deepen appreciation of local food and culinary heritage. Happening this Sunday at the established kitchenware retail store, Tools of the Trade (ToTT), visitors to the event will get to enjoy traditional kueh from all the different ethnic groups in Singapore, be it Eurasian, Peranakan, Hokkien or Indian.

So do you think you know your angku kueh from your kueh tutu? Test your local kueh knowledge in our gallery above before you indulge in the sweet delights this Sunday.

Kueh Appreciation Day will take place this Sunday, 26 July at ToTT Store, 896 Dunearn Road, #01-01A Sime Darby Center from 10am to 3pm.

Karen George

Photos: Shutterstock

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Old School: A guide to all the kueh you need to know in Singapore

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