Into the Doorway of Food, where it's all about Eating...



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Different tastebuds with different tongues; you're the eater and you're the judge...
What I share here is simply the passion towards food and drinks.

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Saturday 12 February 2011

Chinese Tradition; Ang Ku Kuih红龟糕

红龟糕 or what is pronounced in Hokkien dialect as 'Ang Ku Kuih' is one of the traditional Chinese pastry that must be prepared on special occasions such as new-born baby celebration, wedding ceremony or praying festival. 红 means red while 龟 means tortoise; in overall, the red color brings good luck while the tortoise symbolizes the longevity. Don't think that the name comes without reason...

Traditionally, the blended glutinous rice instead of flour is being used as the skin of the pastry. The water content in the rice dough will be squeezed out and then the dry dough is colored in red as Chinese trusts that red is representing luck and prosperity. The inner ingredient is made from the yellow beans. The blended beans are cooked on fire and seasoned with sugar. The beans are wrapped inside the skin dough before being formed with a mold that has a tortoise-shaped carving or the word longevity寿. Lastly, the molded 'Ang Ku Kuih' will be steamed to cook. Anyway, we can make the 'Ang Ku Kuih' in different shapes that bring different meanings such as round is for the new-born baby girl while the long oval shape represents the new-born baby boy and the tortoise is just symbolizing longevity that can be widely used in any festive occasions.
My preference of 'Ang Ku Kuih' is definitely the homemade from my mom. The skin dough is soft while the bean mixture is so smooth, just nice to be bitten in the mouth; leaving behind a nice aroma of the beans. Moreover, I like especially as the beans are not too sweet.

I'm lucky to have always the homemade pastry...

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