Pulut Tai Tai / Pulut Tekan (Pressed Glutinous Rice Cake with Kaya Jam)
Course: Kue
Cuisine: Peranakan
Prep Time: 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 30 minutesminutes
Soaking the rice: 4 hourshours
Total Time: 4 hourshours50 minutesminutes
Servings: 7inch square cake
Author: Marvellina
Moist and flavorful glutinous rice is cooked in coconut milk and naturally colored with blue pea flower extract and then pressed into a cake pan and then serve with a rich and creamy kaya jam is one of the popular nyonya kueh/kuih you can easily make at home with this easy recipe.
Boil the flowers in 250 ml of water. Turn off the heat and then let the flowers steep for 10 minutes. Strain the juice and discard the flower. Set aside to let it cools down
Soak the sticky rice:
Get about 130 grams (1/3 cup) of the glutinous rice and put it in another bowl. Soak this portion with the butterfly pea flower juice. Soak the rest of the 270 grams of the rice in water. Soak them for at least 4 hours or overnight if you have the time
After soaking, drain off the soaking liquid
Cooking the rice:
Mix coconut milk with water, salt, and sugar. Stir to mix. Place the soaked rice in a steaming dish (make sure it can fit in your Instant Pot if you plan to use pressure cooker). Pour the coconut milk mixture into the rice and stir to mix. Put the knotted pandan leaves and kinda push them into the rice for maximum flavor
Steam over high heat for 25-30 minutes on the stove. If you are using an Instant Pot pressure cooker, pour 1 cup of water into the inner pot. Put the trivet in. Place the steaming dish on top of the trivet. Secure the lid and turn the pressure release valve to seal. Push "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on "high pressure". Set the timer to 15 minutes and then wait 5 minutes before fully release the pressure
Assembling the cake:
Once the rice is done cooking, fluff it with a fork or rice paddle. Transfer the rice to a pan lined with parchment paper or banana leaves (it adds an extra flavor that I really like). Really press down on the rice to make sure it is packed down. If you don't pack it down, the kueh will fall apart when you cut it later
Let the pressed rice cake cool down for at least 4 hours before cutting. They can be left at room temperature. Don't put it in the fridge as the rice will harden when it's cold
Decorate with kaya jam:
Cut the cake into the desired size. Place them on banana leaves if you have some
Since glutinous rice turns hard when it's chilled, I suggest only decorate as many kueh you are going to serve that day with kaya jam. That way, you can store the leftover sticky rice in the fridge and then warm them up in the microwave or in the steamer and then decorate with kaya jam just before serving