Steaming Yam Cake: Rice Cooker Method Explored

Yam cake is a popular snack in Malaysia and Singapore, and it can be steamed or fried. It is made from yam pieces, dried shrimp or prawns, and rice flour. The cake is often topped with fried shallots, spring onions, and chillies, and served with a chilli dipping sauce. Yam cake can be cooked in a rice cooker or a pressure cooker.

Yam cake ingredients and their measurements

Yam cake, also known as "Or Kuih" in Malaysia and Singapore, is a savoury dish that can be steamed and served as a cake or rice. The ingredients and their measurements are as follows:

• Yam/ Taro: 1.5 bowls, diced into 1-2 cm cubes.
• Rice Flour: 1 bowl.
• Wheat Starch/ Corn Starch/ Tapioca Starch: 2 tablespoons.
• Dried Shrimps/ Prawns: 0.5-0.75 bowls.
• Shallots: 5, finely chopped.
• Five-Spice Powder: 1 teaspoon.
• Salt: 0.5 teaspoon.
• White Pepper: 0.5 teaspoon.
• Spring Onions/ Scallions: finely sliced.
• Red Chillies: finely sliced.
• Roasted Peanuts: 0.75 bowls, chopped.
• Cooking Oil: 2-3 tablespoons.

The measurements provided are flexible, and slight variations will not significantly impact the final product. The recipe can be customised to your preference, such as adding reconstituted dried mushrooms or Chinese sausage instead of dried shrimp/prawns.

Yam cake preparation

Yam cake, also known as Kuih, is a popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is a steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns, and rice flour. The cake is often topped with crispy fried shallots, spring onions, chillies, and more dried prawns, and served with a spicy chilli dipping sauce.

Ingredients:

• 170g rice flour
• 1/4 tsp five-spice powder
• 500g taro root, peeled and cut into small cubes
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 4 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely minced or grated
• 30g dried shrimp, soaked until soft and roughly chopped
• 50g dried shrimp toppings
• 1 tsp cooking oil
• 4-5 red chillies, stemmed, slit into halves, seeded, and finely chopped
• 3 stalks of green onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup of fried shallots

Method:

• Grease an 8 x 8-inch pan with oil on all four sides. Place parchment paper on the bottom (optional). Prepare your steamer by bringing water to a boil.
• Place the rice flour, water, five-spice powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk until blended.
• Preheat 1 tbsp of oil in a large skillet or wok. Add shallots and garlic and saute until fragrant and soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add the dried shrimp and saute for another 1 minute.
• Add the taro pieces and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Give the rice flour mixture a stir and then pour it into the skillet/wok. Reduce the heat to medium or low. It will start to thicken. Keep stirring until it coats the spatula and has a medium-thick consistency. If it's too thick, your kueh will be tougher after steaming. Remove from the heat.
• Pour the batter into the pan or glass dish. Use the back of a spoon or spatula to press it down so the cake will be compact and smooth.
• Place this into the steamer and steam for 1 hour or until the taro cake is cooked through and set. It may still appear a bit soft at the end of cooking time, but that's okay—let it cool off completely before removing it. It will "firm up".
• While waiting for the taro cake to steam, prepare the topping: In a medium-size skillet, preheat some oil. Saute the dried shrimp until fragrant, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and set aside.
• When ready to serve, you may remove the cake from the dish if desired. You can leave the cake in the dish and sprinkle the dried shrimps on top of the cake, or cut the taro cake into desired sizes and then place toppings on top.
• Sprinkle the green onion, chilli, and fried shallots on top and serve by cutting with a wet knife into desired sizes.

Tips:

• The wheat starch helps to make the kuih softer in texture. If you can't find this, you can substitute it with an equal quantity of corn starch.
• The cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. Cool the yam cake before storing. Cut into thick slices, pan-fry until both sides turn golden, and serve with some chilli sauce.

Yam cake cooking methods

Yam cake, also known as Kuih, is a popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is a steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns, and rice flour. Here are some methods for cooking yam cake:

Steaming

Firstly, prepare the ingredients: yam, dried shrimps, dried shiitake mushrooms, preserved turnip, garlic, shallots, meat, rice flour, all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, wheat starch, water, ground white pepper, chicken stock granules, Chinese five-spice powder, fried shallots, spring onion, red chilli, and white sesame seeds.

Next, heat oil in a wok or pan and fry the shallots and garlic until aromatic. Add the dried shrimps and fry until fragrant, followed by the shiitake mushrooms and preserved turnips. Stir-fry until well combined, then add the meat and fry until just cooked. Add the yam cubes and fry until lightly browned. Add the seasonings and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, mix the rice flour, wheat starch, all-purpose flour, tapioca flour, and water to form a smooth and runny batter. Slowly add the batter to the wok, stirring continuously over low heat until it thickens. Turn off the heat.

Pour the batter into a greased steaming tray and smoothen the top with a spatula. Bring water in a steamer to a boil and place the steaming tray inside. Steam for 45 minutes or until cooked through.

Rice Cooker

Alternatively, a rice cooker can be used to cook yam cake. Here is a simplified version of the above recipe that can be cooked in a rice cooker:

Prepare the ingredients: yam/taro, dried shrimps, shiitake mushrooms, onion, garlic, chicken or pork, rice, oil, and seasonings (oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, green onion, coriander leaves, and fried shallots).

Heat oil in a wok or pan and add the onion and garlic, sauteing until fragrant. Add the dried shrimps and shiitake mushrooms, stir-frying until combined. Add the chicken or pork and yam pieces, sauteing until the meat turns opaque. Add the rice and seasonings, followed by the liquid from soaking the mushrooms and dried shrimps.

Transfer the mixture to a rice cooker and cook on the white rice setting for about 20 minutes. Wait for 10 minutes after it's done cooking, then fluff the rice.

Pressure Cooker

A pressure cooker can also be used to cook yam cake, following the same recipe as the rice cooker method. Simply press "saute" on the instant pot, add oil, and proceed with the same steps as the rice cooker method. After adding the seasonings, pour in the liquid, sprinkle in the rice, and gently push the rice into the liquid. Close the lid, turn the steam release valve to "seal", and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. Wait for 10 minutes before releasing the pressure. Fluff the rice and serve.

Yam cake toppings

Yam cake, or "or kuih", is a popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is a steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns, and rice flour. While the cake itself can be slightly altered by substituting or omitting certain ingredients, the toppings are what give the dish its signature look and taste.

The most common toppings for yam cake are crispy fried shallots, spring onions, chillies, and dried prawns. The fried shallots add a crunchy texture and savoury flavour to the cake, while the spring onions provide a fresh, onion-y taste. The chillies give the dish a spicy kick, and the dried prawns add a salty, savoury element.

Other toppings that can be added to yam cake include roasted peanuts, which provide a crunchy, nutty flavour, and scallions, which add a mild onion taste and a bright, green colour to the dish.

When serving yam cake, it is often accompanied by a spicy chilli dipping sauce, which complements the other toppings and enhances the overall flavour of the dish.

Yam cake storage

Yam cake, also known as Kuih, is a popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore. It is a steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns, and rice flour. It is often topped with fried shallots, spring onions, chillies, and dried prawns, and served with a spicy chilli dipping sauce.

Yam cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. It is important to let the yam cake cool down completely before storing it. To store, cut the cake into thick slices and pan-fry both sides until golden. You can then serve the yam cake with chilli sauce.

Another option is to prepare the yam cake a day in advance and keep it in the refrigerator. When you are ready to serve, simply re-steam the cake and garnish with the desired condiments. This method is especially useful if you are planning to serve yam cake at a party.

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