Kueh, or kuih, is hard to define but nevertheless a colorful dessert and snack.
It ’s nigh impossible to define kueh ( sometimes compose as kuih ) , the genre - bend sweet / bite that exists across Southeast Asia — specifically throughout Indonesia , Malaysia , and Singapore .
“ There ’s a immense humans to strike with kueh , but to me , I always think of it as being colored and eye - catching , ” says Tara Carrara , one one-half of the sis duo that runs Los Angeles - basedBungkus Bagus , a Balinese street food for thought soda - up . “ A lot of Indonesian dessert are really playful . That ’s the spirit of the sweet — it ’s suppose to be really fun . ”
That ’s unquestionably the case for kueh lapis , a steamed cake with rainbow level that peels away like string cheese . The Carrara Sister educate tray of kueh lapis every weekend for their stand inLA ’s Smorgasborg .
Kueh lapis from Bungkus Bagus in Los Angeles|Photo by Patrick Minalo
There are dozens of different type of kueh to get mad about . What ’s bonk as klepon in Indonesia and onde - onde in some parts of Malaysia is a viscous rice ball filled with a palm sugar sirup that is then rolled in coconut shavings — what Celene Carrara , the other half of Bungkus Bagus , refers to as “ the OG gusher experience ” thanks to the gummy exterior and gooey sugar center .
The history of kueh and its religious affiliations
Kueh can be a unearthly food , somethingfound on altars and prayed over . “ When you see photo of Bali and the women going to temple with big , ornate [ kueh ] on their heads , it was for particular ceremony , ” Celene explains , “ and then once the rituals were thoroughgoing and they ’d been proffer to the gods , then it was all right for us to take part and eat them . ”
religious belief and holidays are also something that do to mind for Safira Ezani , who runs a Malaysian food pa - up in Seattle calledMasakanwith her mom , Mas Puteh . “ When I reckon of kueh retentivity I remember of Hari Raya , which is what we call Eid in Malaysia , ” Ezani say . “ They have what they call kuih raya . It ’s not something you could only make during raya , but you see it more often — like these very freakish pineapple tarts called tangy nenas . ”
Being so entrenched in religion also means that kueh has an established history . Victor Low , the founder and chef behind the Peranakan restaurantKapitanin Chicago , suggests that kueh is what king were dining on hundreds of class ago . “ The tooth root can be trace back to imperial China in the 1400s . The power back then were all splurge — they did n’t have just one repast , but a few hundreds of items on every plate , ” Low say .
Serimuka gula melaka or steamed pandan custard cake|Photo courtesy of Lady Wong
China has always been a huge land , with regional culinary art that differ from city to metropolis . When chefs across China honour the kings with their interpretation of kueh , they ’d be made with different tools and constituent . “ That ’s why kueh comes in so many chassis , ” Low explain . copulate that with the fashion kueh has transmigrate , and the ingredients native to Southeast Asia , and you have hundreds of rendering of this dessert bite .
For many, kueh is a nostalgic taste of childhood
For Puteh , kueh is intertwined with childhood memories spent grow up in Negeri Sembilan , a state in Malaysia just sou'-east of Kuala Lumpur . “ We consume or made kueh almost every day , ” Puteh reminisces . “ My mom was a kueh trafficker , so kueh is ingrained in our minds . The one I think my mom reach a lot is kuih koci . ”
Little did Puteh get laid that she , too , would become a kueh seller . Alongside her daughter , the duo decided to perfect the multigenerational family recipe and wait on kuih koci at their pop - ups , which often admit savory Malaysian meal of rendang and murtabak , as well as spread of kuih .
“ Kuih koci is almost like a riled mochi wrapped in a banana leafage , ” Ezani explain . The kuih is construct of viscous rice flour that envelops a sliced coconut and palm sugar woof , which is then layered with a saltycoconutcream for a sweet and zesty treat .
A kuih box from Masakan featuring onde onde, seri muka, kuih lompang, and kuih dadar|Photo by Safira Ezani
For Mogan Anthony , who cofoundedLady Wong , a bakeshop and kueh shop in New York ’s East Village , alongside his married woman , Seleste Wong , there is no right or wrong metre to enjoy kueh . “ It could be dinner party or snacks , breakfast , a former lunch , or Camellia sinensis fourth dimension , ” he lists off . “ There ’s no boundary or limitation of how you eat it or what time you eat it — it ’s just part of the culture in Southeast Asia . ”
Common ingredients used to make kueh
Anthony , who acquire up in northerly Malaysia , secretive to the border of Thailand , come back his founder picking up pack of kueh for him after work . Although Anthony was raised in Malaysia , he has menage in Thailand and has also spent a tenner in Singapore . When it derive to kueh , he find what links all the formula — no matter of regionality — are the ingredients .
“ Maybe they ’re slightly different colors from hamlet to small town or they represent unlike kinfolk values or symbolism sometimes , but the primary ingredient between all these commonwealth are the same , ” Anthony say . This includes viscous rice flour , palm sugar , coconuts , and of coursepandan . “ We toast and shower down in pandan in Southeast Asia , ” he laugh .
downhearted cites kueh filled with meats , flakier kuehs similar to Western pastries , as well as kuehs that toenail the stock between the two , gratify both sweet-scented and piquant appetency . “ It ’s a dessert , it ’s a culinary art , and it ’s a meal , ” he excuse , “ but the interchangeable commonality across all kueh is that it ’s meant to be finger’s breadth food and it ’s rich in presentation — meaning color , flavor , grain , and taste . ”
Angu kuih or red tortoise cakes|Photo courtesy of Lady Wong
When it comes to kueh , everything is emblematical . A color in a specific kueh may make up successfulness , while its conformation could mean longevity orluck . “ Everything has a reason — from the way it was inclined to the path it is prepared to the try out profile , ” Low say . “ If you labour further into it , you ’re actually taste a part of story . ”
Using kueh as a means of preserving culture
The connective thread between all these purveyor of kueh is the power to provide a taste of home , for both themselves and for their client , and to further educate the American public on what kueh can be .
Anthony and Wong founded Lady Wong when homesickness for Singaporean delicacy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic became unendurable . Celene and Tara start Bungkus Bagus to replicate their favorite restaurant in Ubud , knowing they would n’t be able-bodied to find anything like in Los Angeles — so they had to do it themselves .
Puteh and Ezani need to conserve Malaysian recipes , trying their honorable to stick to classic ingredients and preparations even in Seattle ’s much nerveless climate . And Low want Americans to recognize the immense and telling inheritance intertwined with kueh .
“ Our pleasure is bringing what we were so infernal to have as kids to people here , for citizenry who like us grow up in Indonesia and had to leave or for whatever reason , ” Tara say . “ So many citizenry are like , ‘ Oh my God , I was l bring back to my childhood or my aunt ’s cooking . ’ So I think that for us , the dream is to bestow that very singular experience of Bali to multitude here in LA . ”
Puteh feels similarly . “ If back home to Malaysia , it ’s hard to see a standardised flavor to what I grew up with because all the sellers are already dead and have submit their recipes to the tomb , ” she laughs . “ That ’s why I ’m inspired to keep tradition , ” make kueh alongside her daughter who can continue to uphold its delicious , palm sugar - kissed bequest .
