Kuih Talam (Coconut Tray Cake) 娘惹香草糕 - Featured in Group Recipes

Microwave Kuih Talam?

This is another classic Nyonya dessert. Kuih is a common local Malaysian word for all Nyonya and Malay desserts. This popular kuih not only is one of Malaysian all-time breakfast favorite but also serves as great party snacks. This steamed coconut flavor rich dessert comes with top white layer made from coconut milk and rice flour and the bottom green layer is made from rice and mung bean flour with natural green coloring extract from pandan leaves a.k.a screw pine leaves.

The instruction in the original recipe suggested cooking time of 1 hour, requiring slow simmering or double boiling in the kuih thickening process before steaming. I reckoned this traditional way of thickening process was quite time consuming. It struck my mind whether I could adopt the same microwave method that I applied in coconut egg jam, Kaya making to speed up the process.

I gave it a try with the microwave method on my first tray. My first attempt was not as impressive as I was trying to find out the right time required to microwave-cook the batter to the right concentration before placing it into steaming tray for steaming. I over heated the green layer resulting in the green layer batter was over thickened and lumpy.

However, since I had another half tin of coconut cream to experiment further, I proceeded with my second attempt. This time I knew that I shouldn't heat the green batter for more than 4 minutes in total and each session no more than 1 minute. It should be stirred constantly after every time it is taken out from the microwave. As for the white coconut cream batter, it only took about 2 minutes to thicken. I repeat the heating process more often with last minute at 30 seconds interval. The result, as can be seen from the photo, is a nicer smoother batter for both the green and white layers. J

I didn't expect my little picky boy appreciate this classic kuih so much.

KUIH TALAM (COCONUT TRAY CAKE) Serves 6-8 Preparation time : 20minutes Cooking time : 45 minutes INGREDIENTS Green layer 50g (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp) rice flour 4 tsp tapioca flour 1 tbsp mung bean (green pea) flour 160g ( 2/3 cup + 4tsp) sugar 100ml(1/3 cup) Pandan juice 250ml(1 cup) water ¼ teaspoon alkaline water (replaced with baking soda solution if not available) Baking soda solution making: 1 part baking soda dissolved in 1 part water Pandan juice making: Rinse the 6-8 pandan leaves and cut into small pieces, place in blender and add 150ml water and process until pulverized. Strain and discard the solids. Measure the required amount in the recipes. If Pandan leaves unavailable replace with Pandan essence or vanilla essence + green coloring and add the required amount of water to make green solution. Coconut cream layer 2 tbsp rice flour 1 tbsp + 2 tsp mung bean flour ¼ teaspoon salt 250ml(1cup) thick coconut cream METHOD 1. Combine all the 3 types of flour in a mixing bowl and mix in the sugar. 2. Pour in the Pandan juice and water and mix until well combined and add in alkaline water. 3. Instead of using the traditional double boiling method to thicken mixture, I speed up the slow simmering   process with the microwave method that I applied in Kaya making. 4. Pop the batter in microwave oven and set the microwave for 1 min on high heat. Remove and stir with wire whisk. Put it back in and repeat with the same power setting and time until mixture thickens slightly. I repeated 4 times to get this texture with last minutes at 30 seconds interval. 5. Beware not to microwave heat longer than 1 min for each session, this will make mixture lumpy. 6. Strain batter into a steaming tray and steam with medium heat until set about 15-20 minutes. Tilt the tray to test, the mixture shouldn't wobble. 7. While steaming the green layer, at the last 5 minutes start to prepare for the coconut cream layer. 8. Combine the rice and mung bean flour and salt into a mixing bowl; gradually pour in coconut cream, stir well until smooth. 9. Repeat the same microwave process on step 4 for coconut mixture. Zap for 1 min on high heat. 10.Remove and stir with wire whisk. Put it back in and repeat with the same power setting and time until mixture thickens slightly. I repeated 2 times with last minutes at 30 seconds interval to thicken the cream batter. 11.Strain the coconut cream batter on to green layer, steam with medium heat for another 15 minutes. Cool thoroughly before cutting. (Best to cut after chilling in fridge for a while). Note: The microwave timing is very much depending on the power of your microwave, mine is 800 Watt. Best to repeat more often with less microwave time per session to get a smoother batter. 娘惹香草糕 材料 绿色下层 50克（1 / 3杯+ 2汤匙）粘米粉 4茶匙木薯粉 1汤匙绿豆粉 160克（2 / 3杯+ 4茶匙）糖 100毫升（1 / 3杯）香兰汁 250毫升（1杯）水 ¼茶匙碱水（或用小苏打溶液代替） 小苏打溶液制作： 1份小苏打溶解于1份水 香兰汁制作： 6-8片班兰叶洗净，切成小块，放入搅拌器，加入150毫升水，打至成汁去渣，取食谱所需份量。 如果无法找到班兰/香兰叶。 用香草精+绿色色素取代。 2汤匙粘米粉 一汤匙+2茶匙绿豆粉 ¼茶匙盐 250毫升（1杯）椰浆 制作： 椰浆上层 1。将所有的3种面粉放入搅拌碗中加入糖拌匀， 再加入班兰汁，水和碱水搅拌均匀。 2。为了加快烹饪时间，我采用微波法而不是使用传统的慢火搅煮至浓。 3。放入微波炉用1分钟高温，取出并搅拌把它放回并重复用相同的功率设置直到粉浆变稠。 4。我重复了4次微波，绿色粉浆才变稠。小心不要微波超过1分钟不然粉浆易成块状。 5。把稠了的绿色粉浆过滤到一个蒸盘，蒸约15-20分钟至凝结。 6。在蒸绿色层的最后5分钟，开始准备椰浆粉浆。 7。把椰浆层的材料加入碗中搅拌，逐步倒入椰浆，搅拌至均匀。 8。重复以上第4的过程用微波炉把椰浆粉浆变稠。我微波2次椰浆粉浆才变稠。 9。把稠了的椰浆粉浆慢慢过滤倒在绿色粉浆层上，用中火蒸约15分钟至熟。 10。之後移出冷却後入冰箱冷藏一下，冰凉後即可切块食用。 注意： 微波时间取决于你的微波炉的功率，我的微波炉是800瓦。最好更频繁重复微波减少微波时间以避免粉浆过以稠至块状。