Learn how to make a simplified version of the traditional Chinese rice flour huat kueh without using any eggs and yeast. I’m sharing how to make original flavor huat kueh and gula Melaka huat kueh.
Rice flour huat kueh was actually the kind of huat kueh I grew up eating. Mom usually bought the iconic pink rice flour huat kueh from the market and use them as an offering for praying. In Indonesia, we call this kue mangkok, which literally means cake in a cup. Some kue mangkok also used fermented cassava (tape singkong) as one of the ingredients.
Traditional Chinese rice huat kueh is made by soaking rice and grind up your own rice flour and then the rice batter is fermented with toddy palm wine (tuak). Then there is also rice huat kueh made with leftover cooked rice and yeast balls are used to ferment the rice.
Then in these modern days, rice flour huat kueh is made by using store-bought rice flour and leavened by either baking powder, club soda (or carbonated drink) or ENO, which is a combination of baking soda, citric acid, and soda. I honestly don’t really like the version made with ENO because it gives a funny taste IMHO.
Easy version of rice flour huat kueh
This recipe doesn’t use yeast, toddy palm wine, and ENO. It just uses a baking powder as a leavening agent. The cake depends solely on this to rise and bloom open (huat).
The recipe rundown
Taste: lightly sweet
Texture: Soft with a slight chewiness (but not too much) when they are warm but will turn hard as they cool down especially after refrigeration. They are hard, dry, and crumbly, which is typical of cake made with solely rice flour. Reheating them will bring back their softness
Level: Easy
Ingredients
1. Rice flour
I use Thai Erawan rice flour. You can use any other brand just make sure it is pure rice flour and not a mixture of rice flour with other flour/starch
2. Sugar or Palm sugar (gula Jawa/gula Melaka)
For the pink version I use granulated sugar and for the brown color, I use palm sugar
3. Baking powder
I use double-acting baking powder, which is a common type these days
4. Coconut milk
Coconut milk will give the cake a richer taste and moister compared to just plain water. You can use either one
5. Salt
A pinch of salt really is all you need to bring out the flavor
6. Food coloring (optional)
I use a tiny drop of red food coloring for the pastel pink color
What to expect
Unlike huat kueh made with all-purpose flour, rice flour huat kuih will harden when they cool down and this is normal for most food made with rice flour. They are dry and crumbly when not warm or hot. Reheating them will bring back the softness.
Tips for success
1. Please make sure the steamer can accommodate steaming the cake all at once because you don’t want the batter to sit around and wait
2. The steamer is ready to go when you are done filling up the batter to the cups
3. Steam over high heat for the maximum bloom
How to store rice flour huat kuih
1. Let the rice flour huat kuih cools down completely on a cooling rack
2. Individually wrap it up with a cling wrap and put in a freezer bag, push all the air out and they can be kept in the refrigerator for up to one week and one month in the freezer
3. Simply thaw them overnight in the fridge if you remember and then reheat by steaming them until they are warm and soft again
Did you make this rice flour huat kueh recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Easy Chinese Rice Flour Huat Kueh (No Yeast)
Ingredients
For original pink color version:
- 150 gr rice flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 80 gr icing sugar
- 120 ml coconut milk
- Red food coloring
For gula Jawa/Melaka version:
- 150 gr rice flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 100 gr gula Jawa
- 120 ml coconut milk
Instructions
Prepare the cake batter:
- Combine rice flour, icing sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk to combine.
- Gradually add coconut milk and stir until the mixture is smooth and no lumps. Strain the mixture if necessary. Add a few drops of red food coloring. The amount depends on how light or deep the color you want
- For gula Melaka version, put coconut milk and gula Melaka in a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until sugar melts. Strain the mixture and let it cools down. Add to the flour mixture and stir until combine and no lumps
Steaming:
- Bring the water in the steamer to a rolling boil. Prepare the cups by lining them with a paper liner. OR you can use small tea cups and lightly oil the cups
- Fill the cups to the brim and steam over high heat for 15 minutes. Check with a cake tester and it should come out clean
- Let them cool down in the cup for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack to let them cool down completely
2 comments
I have tried on this simple huat kueh and did some adjustments because the intention of baking is for praying purpose and not to be eaten. I only use rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, reduced coarse sugar to 70g and red colouring. The smile effect will turn out very nicely if the cup is filled 3/4 and steamer heat must be high (rolling boil). Proven already that if steamer heat is not high, the smiling effect will not be there. If the cup is filled up to 90%, the smile effect will overflow. Well, it was pretty easy to make this Kueh after several trials especially on how much mixture to put into the cup to get the right ‘smile’. Thanks for the great recipe without using ENO. Will try again to see the effect for recipe without baking soda.
Hi SK, thank you for sharing your experience. You are right, sometimes I have to fill it up to the brim to get that nice (but that kinda depends on the cup I use too), some I won’t get nice smile if I only fill it up 3/4. I guess it’s kind of an experiment. I would love to hear from you how it turned out without the baking soda and whether steaming over high heat alone is enough to give that smile!