Sunday, November 22, 2009

Fatt Koh (Steamed Rice Cake)



Fatt Koh (Steamed Rice Cake) or Huat Kueh in Hokkien is a must for Chinese during prayers. Every 1st and 15th of each Lunar month, the Chinese will offer this cake at the altar for prayers. "Fatt " or "Huat" means prosperity while "Koh" or "Kueh" means cake. It is made from rice flour like muffins and normally pink in colour. A good Fatt Koh is one that cracks in the middle resembling a "smile". It is sold in abundance on the eve of the 1st or 15th of each Lunar month in shops or stalls as not many people make them by themselves. My children like them but I hardly buy them as I find store bought ones too sweet for my taste. Moreover, I do not like to consume the colouring that is used to made them sweet pink.


Thanks to my gym buddy, Fiona, I am now able to make my own Fatt Koh that is less sweet and no colouring added. This is a foul-proof recipe that her mother-in-law perfected after 3 years of experimenting!!!. She has been using this recipe every month and I have tried it many times too!. Result has always been PERFECT!!! My children will be smiling from ear to ear everytime I make them.


Huat Kueh

Ingredients :

1 bowl cooked rice

½ pc crushed wine yeast biscuit (chow paeng)

2 tbsp water

1 ½ cup sugar

4 ½ cup water

500gm rice flour (1 packet)

1 ½ tsp – 2 tsp ENO fruit salt

Method

1) Cool cooked rice in a container.

2) Add 2 tbsp water and sprinkle crushed wine yeast biscuit on the rice.

3) Stir until thoroughly mixed and leave to ferment for 3 days 2 nights (ie if mix on Monday it will be ready on Wednesday)

4) Blend fermented rice into blender with sugar and 1 cup water.

5) Add in rice flour and the rest of the water.

6) Be sure that there is no lumps in the mixture.

7) Keep in airtight container for 7 hours for fermentation.

8) Sprinkle ENO on batter.

9) Stir well and pour into moulds (with paper cups).

10) Steam for 15minutes.

15 comments:

  1. Hi, thanks for sharing your recipe. i'd like to try it but where can one buy wine yeast biscuit (chow paeng)?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Shirls! I think you can get it from most Chinese Medicine Hall. In Mandarin it's called Jiu Bing.

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  2. How much cooked rice. How big is the bowl? Is yeast better than baking powder ? Can I use regular yeast ? The one used in making bread ? Thank you

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    Replies
    1. Hi Joshua,

      1 bowl of cooked rice is about 240gm (approximately 8.5oz). Do make sure it is cold. I have not used yeast nor baking powder for this recipe. However, I believe you could substitute the yeast biscuit (chow paeng) with 10gm of dried yeast.
      Hope this helps :)

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  3. Hi how many kuehs does this recipe yields for the size pictured?

    Funk_a_mania@hotmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Depending on the size of your mould, it should between 25 - 30 pcs. Hope this helps:)

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  4. Leave the rice on the counter to ferment.
    I believe if you were to cook the fermented rice, you will not get sick from it :)

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  5. Hi Gabby,
    1) Yes, Pc stands for pieces.
    2) Ferment the rice on the counter.
    3) I steam the Fatt Koh in an electric steamer.
    If you do not have one, you could boil some water in a pot. Place the Fatt Koh in a plate and place it in the pot of boiling water (with a stand or inverted bowl). Then cover the pot with a lid to steam.

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  6. Hi Gabby,
    I really love your recipe.
    Can I use 4 ½ cup coconut cream or coconut milk instead of 4 ½ cup water?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Trang,
      Yes you can use coconut milk. However the taste will differ. If you like the taste of coconut milk it would be fine.

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  7. Replies
    1. Hi, it's the normal rice bowl. A bowl of cooked rice is about 240gm or 8.5oz in weight. Hope this will help.

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  8. Thank you for your reply. I also wanted to ask what the weight of the yeast biscuit. Im in US, there are lots i can buy online but every yeast ball has different weight depending on the brand. Can you please give me an idea whats the weight of 1/2 pc of yeast ball or how many tsp if its fine crush? Thank you very much! :)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Kian. 1/2 pc of yeast biscuit is about 10gm. 2 tsp if crushed. Happy trying.

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