Kueh is a bite-sized snack or dessert originating from Southeast Asia. There are many different kinds of kueh which come in all sorts of colour, shape and size. Usually made from rice or glutinous rice, these kuehs are often steamed rather than baked, resulting in delectable treats that have unique textures, flavours and appearances from the ordinary Western pastry.
What really pushed me to find out more about these snacks is the amazing variety out there! It’s incredible how many kinds there are. Often, I would get confused with the names (ang ku kueh? kueh lapis?) and the origins (Chinese, Peranakan, Malay or Indonesian?), and pester my mum to explain the differences over and over again. With kueh being so ubiquitous in cosmopolitan Singapore, I felt that I really should find out more about these treats myself.
Read on to explore more about the third series of kueh – Indonesian!
1. Kue Bugis
(Sources: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/117656608990385234/; aphrodite14.blogspot.sg)
This green-coloured kueh, which gets its colour from pandan, is made up of a steamed glutinous rice flour and tapioca dough, and filled with grated coconut and coconut sugar. It is then wrapped inside banana leaf. I’m pretty sure I’ve tried this before… maybe from Kedai Kue Kue? I’m not sure, but I certainly can imagine what it probably tastes like – yummy!
2. Kue Carabikang
(Source: infomakan.com)
This has the same texture as the porous cake (kue apem) in the previous Kueh Fridays post. This one has a unique shape – blossoms! Made up of rice flour and coconut milk, this colourful but simple cake is certainly a sight to behold. It’s made with the help of a special mold – sort of like a paint palette! The dough is first poured inside, before the colouring (mixed with coconut milk) is specially drizzled on top. The result when the cake puffs up is definitely something to brighten up your kitchen and dining room!
3. Kue Cubit
(Source: katalogwisata.com)
Kue Cubit is one of the more famous Indonesian snacks around. Its strange name (“kue cubit” means ‘pinch cake’), comes from its small size, which results in people having to pinch it to eat it. This kue uses only flour, baking powder, sugar and milk, but the result is a very cute, and I would suspect, addictive, snack! Basically the liquid dough is poured inside a steel plate with several small round basins, giving the kue a round shape. Meises (chocolate granules) are then poured on top of it before the seller uses a special hooked stick to take the cake off from the steel plate.
4. Kue Clorot
(Source: berthanatalia.wordpress.com)
Literally ‘Trumpet Cake’, this kue is made of a sticky dough comprising of glutinous rice flour sweetened with coconut sugar (gula melaka?). This dough is then filled into the cone-shaped janur (young coconut leaf), and steamed until cooked. It looks wonderfully tasty! The fun way of eating this is to carefully unwrap the swirled coconut leaf and eat it like an ice-cream.
5. Kue Cucur
(Source: resepkuekering.org; berita.grosirkeripik.com)
This pancake is famous for being sweet and fibrous! Made of fried rice flour batter and coconut sugar, this kue is normally served at local celebrations in Indonesia. This doesn’t look like something you should be taking on a daily basis (well, it’s fried), but trying it just once won’t mean I’ll bust my calorie limit too often.
6. Kue Dadar Gulung
(Source: cemilanmalam.com)
This is pretty similar to a kueh I had in my second post of this series (I believe it was called kueh dadar as well). But for the sake of a refresher, I shall explain this kueh again! This kueh is essentially grated coconut with coconut sugar, wrapped inside a thin dadar (omelette) made of rice flour. This dadar is usually green in colour, as pandan leaves are used. This is one of the most common kuehs I see around!
7. Kue Getuk
(Source: bubblews.com)
This kue is traditionally made of cassava flour and coconut sugar, and served with sweetened grated coconut. I can’t really remember whether I’ve ever tried cassava fruit before, so I can’t really imagine how this tastes like! This cake is normally made with pretty colours, which makes for an interesting combination with its stringy shape. There are also many variations in taste, from strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla to even cheese!
8. Kue Klappertaart
(Source: infokuliner.com)
This coconut cake is a specialty of Manado city, located in North Sulawesi. Influenced by the Dutch who had previously occupied this city, klappertaart has two types – a more solid form (baked) and another non-baked version which supposedly melts in your mouth. It only needs a few basic ingredients: coconut, flour, eggs, milk and butter. I wonder how this sinful cake tastes like? I’m sure it must be excellent for the locals to keep eating it despite its high calories.
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I’m learning so much about all the different kuehs out there, and it’s absolutely fascinating! Truthfully, I still feel very much in the dark about this sweet treats, but I’m slowly uncovering each stone. I can’t wait to share more about these kuehs in the weeks to come!
Where Are My Chopsticks? 
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