Chwee Kueh 水粿

If you get my Ah Ma to buy breakfast for herself or me, this is what she would buy! When i was young, she would buy this for me all the time and we would share it together. I can’t wait to make this for her now that i;ve learnt it 🙂 Steamed rice cakes with a topping of savoury sweet preserved radish, served with sambal chilli, it’s a very popular breakfast item in Singapore. Like me, most people who loves this dish has the same problem of not having enough toppings. Now that i can make my own, i can have as much as i want! The cakes are usually round and made in individual moulds but i think it’s much easier to pour all the batter into a cake tin. Just steam and slice, easy peasy!

Ingredients:

1. 250g preserved radish bits
2. 6-7 cloves garlic, chopped
3. 6 shallots, sliced
4. Pepper
5. 3 -4 tbsp caster sugar, to taste
6. 1/4 tbsp thick dark soy sauce
7. 150g rice flour
8. 15g wheat starch
9. 2 tbsp oil
10. 1 tsp salt
11. 400ml water
12. 400ml boiling water

Method:

1. Rinse radish a few times to remove excess salt. Taste as you go, it should be salty but not overly salty. Drain off excess water.
2. In a hot wok, heat up about 3 tbsp of oil and saute shallots and garlic until shallots are soft and translucent. Add in radish and fry along with sugar, pepper and soy sauce. Fry over low heat until there i no more liquid.
3. In a large bowl, mix rice flour, wheat starch, oil, salt and 400ml water.
4. When batter is smooth, slowly pour in boiling water while whisking.
5. Whisk batter over a double boiler until slightly thickened.
6. Transfer batter into a cake tin and steam over high heat for 30 minutes.
7. Cool for about 10 minutes before unmoulding. Use a wet knife to slice neatly.
8. Serve with toppings and sambal chilli.