Orh Kueh/Steamed Yam Cake (II)

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is my video worth? Let's see . . . .

length of video = 5 minutes 10 seconds = 310 seconds
frames per second = 25
total no. of frames/pictures = 310 x 25 = 7,750
1 frame = 1,000 words
7,750 frames = 7,750,000 words

There are, depending on which translation you're counting, about 560,000 words in War and Peace. Hence, the video is equivalent to almost 14 times War and Peace.

QED.

The recipe for Steamed Yam Cake is in my earlier post here, and here are some tips for making the traditional kueh:

The yam must be fried, and it must be salted and seasoned with a bit of five-spice powder whilst it's piping hot. These two steps are crucial to bringing out the flavour of the yam.

To maximise the flavour and aroma of the dried prawns and mushrooms, season whilst you're stir-frying. If you season when you're making the batter, your kueh wouldn't taste anywhere near as nice even if you use the same amount of seasoning.

If you prefer a softer kueh, leave the batter thinner when you're cooking it on the stove. If you prefer a harder kueh, make it a bit thicker. Unless you like your orh kueh quite hard, the batter shouldn't be thick enough to hold its shape.

If you line the cake tin with parchment paper, you can lift the kueh out of the tin whilst it's still hot to let it cool down faster. If you're not in a hurry, the parchment paper isn't necessary.

When buying yam, make sure the peel is firm. Soft spots would mean the yam is starting to rot.

Yam may be sold with the stem withered or still fresh. The state of the stem doesn't affect the eating quality of the yam but fresher ones would keep longer.

Don't keep yam in the fridge or the starch would convert to sugar in the cold. Put it in a wooden bowl or on a pile of newspapers, uncovered. Yam needs plenty of ventilation or it would rot very quickly. Avoid plastic containers because yam may rot where it sits on the plastic, which doesn't breathe.

Click here for the recipe.