Let's make Kuih Talam!

Kuih Talam (Malay) literally means ‘tray cake’. This kuih consist of two layers; a white top over a very attractive translucent jade green layer.

Taste:

The green layer is fragrant and sweet. The main ingredient Pandan juice is made from the Screw Pine leaves (pandanus amryfollious). The plant is easily available in South East Asia and commonly used in making dessert.

The top white layer is the perfect foil, it is savory and rich with coconut milk.

The best Kuih Talam is made from fresh ingredients. Try not to use canned or paste unless you have absolutely no choice.

Texture:

The green layer is slightly sticky and wobbly to the touch but still firm enough to handle. The top white is firm.

Ingredients
The Green Layer
1 Rice Flour - 100 gm
2 Green Pea Flour / sub with Hoen Kwe flour green pkg -30 gm
3 Tapioca Flour - 1 tablespoon
4 Sugar - 200 gm
5 Alkaline Water (lye water) - 1 teaspoon
6 Pandan juice. - 700 ml extracted from 15–20 Pandan leaves.

The White Layer
1 Coconut Milk - 500 ml extracted from 600 gm freshly grated coconut.
2 Green Pea Flour / sub with Hoen kwe flour blue pkg - 40 gm
3 Tapioca Flour - 30 gm
4 Salt - ½ teaspoon

Process. I have numbered the steps for easy reference. This is my work flow evolved from the fact that I have a small kitchen. I need to clean up frequently to have working space. You are welcome to switch the steps around to suit your space and pace.


First Stage : Preparation. I always start off with the messy bits  i.e. extracting the Pandan Juice and coconut milk.

1. Wash the Pandan leaves and cut them into 30cm length. Put the leaves in a blender,  add 700ml of water. Switch blender to high. Shred leaves into a fine pulp. Pour the pulp and juice into a bowl. Put your hand into the pulp and give it a few hard squeezes. Set the bowl aside.

2. (skip this step if you are using can coconut milk).   Put the freshly grated coconut into a big bowl, add 500ml of warm water. Just like before put your hand into the mixture and give it a few good squeezes. Put the bowl aside.

3. Next prepare the steamer. For this I use a large wok with a lid and a trivet (steamer rack). Fill the wok with water until it just about reaches the rack. Remember you must have a good supply of hot water to keep the steam going.  So always have a ready kettle of hot water within reach.

4. For the steaming tray I use a 20cm (8 inches) square glass tray. Most people use a metal tray. For easy removal of the kuih, greased the tray. To do this, put a few drops of cooking oil into the tray then using a paper towel smear it all over,  Now place the tray on the steamer rack.

5. Measure out the dry ingredients into two big bowls; one for the white and one for the green layer. Put the two bowls aside.

Second Stage : making the green and white layer mixtures (liquid and flour).

6. I shall now make the mixture for the green layer. Refer to bowl in step 1 i.e. the Pandan pulp steeped in it's own juice. The easy way is to pour the juice over a sieve and collect the juice with a measuring cup. The sieve will separate the plant matters from the juice. Squeeze the pulp until you get the required 700ml.

Alternatively you can use the traditional method i.e. using a large piece of muslin cloth instead of a sieve. First put the pulp into the cloth. Run the juices over the pulp and collect it in a measuring cup. Now wrap up the pulp tightly and slowly squeeze the amount needed into a measuring cup. If you are using this method, collect about 1 litre of juice. Let the juice sit still for an hour or until you see the green separates from the water. I heard that purist will discard the pale top layer and used only the sunken dark green layer. I leave it to you which method you prefer.

7. Now pour the Pandan juice into the bowl containing the dry ingredients for the green layer (refer step 5). Stir the mixture slowly until the different flours and sugar are blended together. Now add in 1 teaspoon of alkaline water and mixed it thoroughly.

The alkaline water gives a very pleasing translucent effect to the kuih. I am not sure if it adds any nutritional value? But I heard in order to stay healthy our body should be slightly alkaline rather than acidic. However alkaline is very corrosive.  Please do not use more than what is recommended.

8. Now do the same for the white layer. Repeat step 6. Extract coconut milk by using the muslin cloth. I find this easier because the muslin cloth is big enough to wrap up all the tiny bits. Slowly and tightly squeezed the parcel over a measuring cup until you get 500ml of coconut milk.

9. Now add the coconut milk into the bowl (refer step 5) of dry ingredients for the white layer. Stir the mixture until everything blends together. Add in ½ teaspoon of salt. Taste the mixture, add more if necessary. The mixture should have a slightly salty taste. Now I have two bowls of mixtures; one green and one white. Put the bowls aside.

10. Turn on the stove to boil the water in the steamer/wok (refer step 3). By the time I finished the next stage, the water should be boiling and ready for steaming.

Final Stage – steaming the mixtures. Before you can steam the mixtures you need to cook them a litle. If you steam the mixture directly, the suspended flour in the mixture is liable to the bottom before it gel. If this happen you will get a firm bottom with a very liquid surface in the same coloured layer!. Believe me you do not want this at all. This may look like additional work but this is proven and well worth it.

11. This step is very crucial. I use the baine-marie (double boiler - water bath) method so that there is no chance burning the mixture. My make shift double boiler is made up of two glass bowls; a smaller bowl that fits into a bigger one. For a start I put water into the bigger bowl until it reaches up the sides of the smaller bowl. Turn on the stove and bring the water in the big bowl to a boil. Then slowly pour the green mixture (step 7) into the smaller bowl . Stir the green mixture constantly until it thickens into a paste (like wall paper glue). Now remove the small bowl from the bath and pour the mixture into the prepared tray (step 4). The green paste should be liquid enough to find its own level. If it is too thick then use a spoon/spatula to even it out.

12. By now the water in the steamer should be boiling. Cover it with a lid. Steam for 20 minutes. Please remember to open the lid every 5 minutes to prevent condensation from dropping into the kuih.

13. Now I’ll thicken the white mixture just like the green (step 11). Once the green mixture is cooked (20 minutes), pour the thicken white layer onto the steamed green surface. Again the white layer should be liquid enough to find its own level. If you need to, then use a spoon/spatula to quickly spread it evenly. Work very quickly. Put the lid back and steam for another 20 minutes. Just like before, open the lid once every 5 minutes. Make sure there is enough water in the steamer. For topping up add only hot water. Do not add cold water because this will make the temperature drop and slow down the steaming process.

14. After 20 minutes, turn off the heat and open the lid in one swift movement. Let the tray of kuih sit in the wok for another 10 minutes. Remove the tray and let it cool completely. This will take 2 to 3 hours.

15. Cut the kuih into squares or diamond shapes before serving.

Owing to all the natural ingredients , it is best to consume the kuih within 24 hours.  Try not to put the kuih in the refrigerator because it will make it too hard.