How to Make Nyonya Soon Kuih aka Chai Kueh

This is a more recent recipe for Soon Kuih or Chai Kueh that I used during one of my Live Asian Kitchen broadcasts on Twitch. I was much happier with the texture of the skin, which was softer and less rubbery, hence why I’m posting it here.

(BTW kuih and kueh are the same word in Malay; they can be used interchangeably, though kuih is a more modern spelling, at least if you are a product of the Malaysian education system of the 70s-80s.)

The previous iteration was posted here – https://jackiem.com.au/2017/10/04/make-soon-kueh-aka-chai-kueh/ 

Nyonya Soon Kuih aka Chai Kueh

Pastry –

(recipe for pastry from Nyonya Passions by Andrew Kow)

125g glutinous rice flour

100g wheat starch

100g tapioca starch

300ml water

½ tsp salt

1 Tbsp oil

Filling –

2 Tbsps cooking oil

2 Tbsps garlic, minced

2 Tbsps dried prawns, soaked and minced

500g yam bean (aka jicama/sarkot/sengkuang) – grated

50g carrot, grated

200ml water

1 Tbsp sugar

2 tsps chicken powder

½ tsp white pepper

Garlic oil –

150ml oil

4 Tbsps garlic, minced

METHOD:

1. Make garlic oil by frying minced garlic until lightly browned and aromatic. Set aside.
2. Heat 2 Tbsps oil, then add garlic and saute until lightly browned.
3. Add all other ingredients and simmer until mixture is almost dry and yam bean reaches a translucent appearance. Allow to cool.
4. To make the pastry, combine water, salt and oil in a pot and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.
5. Mix all the flours in a bowl, add the hot salted water and stir with chopsticks.
6. Knead into a soft dough, then roll into a cylinder. Cut into equal portions and roll out to a thin pastry about 4 inches in diameter.
7. Fill with one tablespoon of yam bean mixture, then pleat and/or pinch to seal.
8. Steam on medium heat for 8 minutes or until the pastry is translucent.
9. Drizzle with garlic oil, garnish with chopped spring onions and serve with chilli sauce.

Chilli sauce recipe can be found here >> https://jackiem.com.au/2017/09/16/make-chilli-sauce-dim-sums/

Soon Kuih pictured here with a deBortoli Villages Pinot Noir from the Wine Selectors Australian First Families of Wine Favourites Mixed Collection