Malay Desserts

5:14 AM |

Kong Lian Jiek

0111539@kdu-online.com

Title: The Wonders of Malay Cuisine ( Desserts Edition )
Last week on Foodelicious, we have shared about the iconic Malay main dish which is the Nasi Ulam and of course; that is not the end of it certainly. I have lived with this very principle for as long as I can remember and now, I wish to share it with all of you guys out there who is reading this blog. "There is no such thing as a complete meal if there is no dessert on the table". Many of you would have agreed with me and can relate to it well as desserts is a must in our daily lives. Hence, here are some of the most popular desserts or 'kuih' in the Malay culture that we can savor and feast upon in Malaysia.

Ais Kacang

Ais kacang, literally means "ice beans" are also commonly known as ABC throughout Malaysia, which stands for Air Batu Campur. This dessert is also well-known in Singapore and Brunei. Ais kacang is usually prepared traditionally by using an ice machine which churns out shaved ice and is operated through hand cranking it although many has seems to move on with the technology era and most of the ice machine now are often motorized.

During the old times, it was originally made out of only shaved ice and red beans as the toppings though the number of ingredients has now expanded. The ais kacang that we can see today has brighter colours and it comes with a variety of fruit cocktails and dressings to accompany it. In Malaysia, almost all ais kacang is served with :

attap chee (palm seed)
red beans
sweet corn
grass jelly
agar-agar (jelly/nata de coco)
ice-cream

After that, it is topped with the final dressing of evaporated milk, condensed milk or coconut milk drizzled along with red rose syrup and sarsi syrup. There are also different versions of ais kacang that are served with gula melaka syrup instead.

Apam Balik

Apam balik, translated into English which is "Turnover Pancake" is a type of griddle pancake that is common in the Southeast Asia. It is usually sold at specialist roadside stalls and is available throughout Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Singapore.

The pancake's batter is made from a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk and water. After preparing the the batter, it is then cooked upon a thick round iron pan which is covered plenty with palm margarine to avoid the batter from sticking onto the surface of the pan during the cooking process.

After the batter is poured in, other ingredients will be sprinkled in as the fillings which includes :

sugar
peanut granules

The ingredients above are the main and most common of all though more and more people are starting to put in chocolate sprinkles and cheese as the alternate flavours nowadays. Apam balik also has another name, which is called the "terang bulan" due to its shape which is big and round before it is folded. After folding, it is then cut into several pieces before sold. In Malaysia, the apam balik has been declared a heritage food by the Malaysian Department of National Heritage and is widely enjoyed by all who loves its crispy texture.

Dodol

Dodol is a sweet toffee-like confection that originated from Nusantara and is popular in most of Muslim countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines. In these countries, dodol are commonly served during festival like Eid ul-Fitr and Eid al-Adha as sweet treats for children and to those who came to visit. In Malaysia, dodol is quite popular especially amongst the Javanese-influenced eastern states, such as Kelantan and Terengganu.

Dodol is made from coconut milk, jaggery and rice flour hence its stickiness, thickness and sweetness. Dodol also consists of many other flavours such as dodol durian which contains durian. There is also dodol that has soursop and jackfruit in it.

The process of cooking dodol is absolutely not an easy task as it requires a lot of attention and patience while preparing it. It takes up to 9 hours for the cooking and the dodol must always be stirred while in the big wok. Even a brief pause can ruin the taste and aroma of the dodol or worse, causing it to burn. When the dodol is completely cooked, it is firm and does not stick to one's fingers when touching it.