What's your favourite Kueh/Cake and let's see if we have the recipe for you?
What an amazing "Kuih Chart" and we might have quite a few Kuih-muih ie Asian steamed cake recipes that you will need to use our natural plant-based colours and flavours to create and let's start with Nian Gao and we have Pandan'd it -
Eat Kuih first
Kuih for every Zodiac this Lunar New Year 2024 we kick off with - those born in the Year of the Ox - Nian Gao is your Kueh. In Chinese, the name of the glutinous rice cake sounds like "getting higher year by year" - “年年高 (niánnián gāo /nyen-nyen gaoww/)- lucky saying to invite positive connotations e.g. children's height increasing as they grow big and strong, a rise in business success, better grades in one´s studies, promotions at work, the more prosperous your business will be etc."
.
The main ingredients of niangao are sticky rice, sugar, chestnuts, Chinese dates, and lotus leaves. Pandan is optional and recommended as the flavour and fragrance are out of this world.
.
Kuih for every Zodiac in the Lunar New Year
Purple Sweet Potato Angku by Catherine Ang and perfect colour for those born in the year of Snake. "The use of Ang Koo is usually associated with the worship of Chinese deities, particularly the Jade Emperor. Ang Koo also features prominently in the Baby's Full Moon Celebration (Muah Goay), an offering made by parents after their newborn child has passed a full month of age. The Baby's Full Moon is a thanksgiving celebration to the gods for giving them the child. It is also a proclamation to friends, relatives, as well as to the deities and long-departed ancestors, that a new member has been added to the household.
Very lucky the Horse zodiac - they get to savour Kueh Bangkit and we've got them made by Catherine Ang who gave us Pandan Bangkit and Dragonfruit Bangkit. Like most Nonya dishes, the Kueh Bangkit is one fastidious cookie to crumble. Meaning "to rise," the name was derived from how the cookies would rise during the baking process. Perfect for the Lunar New Year.
Kuih Bangkit with Pandan, Dragonfruit and Coconut flavours by the amazing Catherine Ang.
Yes, we will be at the Chatswood Year of the Dragon Festival on Saturday, 3 February 2024.
Watch our for My Blue Tea and our Coconut Shake flags at the event.
Come over and grab your favourite ingredients ie PANDAN, Dragon fruit powder auspicious in the Dragon year and Sambal Tumis for savoury cookies. All you need to make and create all these delicious food and drinks. See you there.............
Kueh Baulu for those born in the year of the Rat. Kuih Bahulu is usually referred to as the Nyonya version of Madeleines. It is either shaped as a scallop, a cermai fruit, or a fish which represents abundance. In the past, these miniature traditional cakes were hard to cook over hot charcoal, so since then, it has been regarded as a precious snack for CNY.
So, let's make Fish shape Kueh Baulu as Fish (pronounced as 'yu' in Chinese) signifies abundance, and is a sign of prosperity.
For the Rabbit zodiac, we give you "Peanuts" an auspicious ingredient to create this Kuih for those born with this zodiac sign.
Peanuts, also named "longevity nuts", symbolize vitality, longevity, riches, and honour. As a Chinese New Year snack, peanuts are always served unshelled. There are many ways to cook peanuts, such as boiling them with water or salt water and stir-frying them.
We have for the outgoing Rabbit year friends Sambal Peanut cookies using our Sambal Tumis and Nasi Lemak premix.
Pineapples are called “ong lai” in Hokkien and Cantonese, which translates to “fortune come,” hence their popularity during the Lunar celebrations. It is considered lucky to have them during Chinese New Year, and giving pineapple tarts as gifts symbolises good fortune and luck.
We have Chef Catherine Teo with Purple Sweet Potato-based Pineapple tarts. They not only look pretty they're yummy too. Purple and silver are good colours for the Lunar New Year as it's called "Ngan Chee" - money or prosperity.
The 12 Zodiac signs in the Lunar Calendar
Chinese New Year 2024 is a Year of the Dragon, more specifically, Wood Dragon, starting from February 10th, 2024, and lasting until January 28th, 2025.
Huat Kueh is for the Tigers - maybe to tame the Tiger zodiac people with something sweet.
𝗛𝘂𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝘂𝗲𝗵 is a traditional Southern Chinese steamed glutinous rice flour cake used for prayer offerings and also as a gift to family & friends and for the Chinese New Year. “Huat” means “to grow” in Hokkien/Fujianese dialect, but it also sounds like “to prosper”, hence the auspiciousness attached to 𝗵𝘂𝗮𝘁 𝗸𝘂𝗲𝗵.
We have Pandan'd or rather Chef Merv in Singapore has PANDAN'd the Huat Kueh and when you make this cake, you must be cheerful and happy. If you are in doubt, frustrated or angry with someone, the Huat Kueh will not "Huat".
Don't forget to check out our previous blogs on savoury auspicious food to eat during the 15 days of the Lunar New Year.