With so many varieties to choose from, it’s safe to assume every local foodie has his or her own favourite Malaysian dessert.
That said, certain types of kuih are less common than others – including some that are near-impossible to find in the Klang Valley.
Two such examples would be wadai kepeng and balungan hayam. Never heard of them? We can’t blame you!
These are the creations of the Banjar Malay community, and are rarely seen outside of kampung household kitchens.
Wadai kepeng can be considered a Malay equivalent of Chinese tang yuan. After all, both feature chewy pieces of dough floating in a sweet gravy.
Wadai kepeng is thicker and richer in taste, though, thanks to the heavy use of santan.
Balungan hayam, on the other hand, resembles a cross between a curry puff and a pan-fried dumpling, albeit green and sweet inside.
If you would like to have a go at these two rare types of kuih, here are the recipes, provided to FMT Lifestyle by Kak Zainab Majid from Mersing, Johor. Plus, have you tried her kuih pupudak?
Wadai kepeng
Ingredients
- 400ml santan
- 1-2 knotted pandan leaves
- gula Melaka or white sugar (to taste)
- salt
- 2 cups glutinous rice flour
- 1/2 cup rice flour
- slaked lime (calcium hydroxide)
- water
- food colouring (optional)
Method
- For the gravy, mix the santan, pandan leaves, a pinch of sugar, and a pinch of salt.
- Heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to boil.
- Adjust the sweetness to your liking, adding more sugar if desired.
- Now prepare the dough by combining both flours, a pinch of slaked lime, and a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl.
- Add some water and knead the flour until it forms into a dough.
If you wish to make your dough colourful, add a few drops of food colouring. - Take a little piece of dough and roll it into a circular shape. Now flatten it and make an indent in the centre.
- Once flattened, arrange the pieces in a heat-safe bowl or container until all the dough is used up.
- Pour freshly boiled water into the container. Once the dough pieces rise to the surface, scoop them out.
- Finally, add the boiled dough to the prepared gravy, and stir.
Allow to cool, then serve and enjoy.
Balungan hayam
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2.5 cups glutinous rice flour
- 2 tsp limewater
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup pandan water
For the filling:
- 300gm brown sugar
- 1/2 cup hot water
- 1 grated coconut
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 pieces pandan leaves
- 1 tbsp wheat flour
- banana leaves
Method
- To prepare the dough for the outer layer, mix the glutinous rice flour, pandan water, limewater and salt.
- Knead the mixture until it turns into dough. Set aside.
- For the filling, dissolve the brown sugar in hot water, then add the grated coconut.
- Add the salt, white sugar, pandan leaves, and wheat flour to the sugar water mixture. Stir until it thickens.
- Smoke some banana leaves, wipe clean, and smear them with some cooking oil.
- Now take a lump of the prepared dough and place it onto a banana leaf. Flatten the dough into a circle and place a spoonful of filling in the centre.
- Fold up one half of the circle, enclosing the filling within. Should there be more dough than desired, feel free to cut away and remove the excess.
- Finally, steam the balungan hayam for 10 minutes. Allow to cool, and it is ready to be served.