Longevity Peach Ang Ku Kueh （寿桃红龟糕）

Among Nyonya pastries, red tortoise cake is a very common and popular Nyonya pastry. The red tortoise cake also names as Ang Ku Kueh. Because red tortoise cake represents blessing, honor and longevity, it is a must-have offering during worship services by the Chinese in Malaysia and Singapore, especially during the birthday of the Jade Emperor on the ninth day of the first lunar month and the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

This year is my mother-in-law’s 73rd birthday. The kitchen is where I get creative. Since some people make longevity peaches into birthday buns, I can also make birthday buns into a longevity Ang Ku Kueh peach for her birthday.

For this recipe, I am making my own mung bean paste, it really paired well with this longevity peach Ang Ku Kueh. You may use other fillings like red beans paste, peanuts, custard or even salty filling with black-eyed peas or turnip

This longevity Ang Ku Kueh does not need a mould. All you need is a little patience to shape it into peach. You will be blown away by the outcome.

I always make a “starter” – paste or water roux is a cook mix of rice flour and water. It makes the dough easy to handle and the cake skin will be chewier to eat and won't be stiff overnight. The texture of the kueh is still chewy but not hard to eat the next day when the skin is made by mixing mashed potatoes with glutinous flour.  

Avoid adding too much coloring to the dough, it will become overly colorful or harsh after steaming.

A piece of oiled banana leaf normally needs to line the bottom of the kueh before steaming. Or you may line it on top of a piece of parchment paper. Do remember to brush in oil in a container for storing. And brush in oil on a plate before serving.

When making the “kueh” dough, in fact, add in liquid to the flour incrementally, going by feel rather than measurement, is the preferred way to get a perfect dough. Another tip is applying some oil to your palm, to smooth the dough.

Let us get all the ingredients to hand and the detailed instructions to make these beautiful longevity Ang Ku Kueh peaches for the elderly.

INGREDIENTS (15 pcs)

125g potatoes

125g glutinous rice flour

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cooking oil

50ml water (more or less)

Half of the starter

Some green coloring

Some red coloring

 

MUNT BEAN PASTE (FILLING)

150g split yellow mung beans

60g sugar

2 tbsp cooking oil

STARTER PASTE

10g rice flour

100ml warm water

2 tbsp oil

 

 

METHODS (Mung Bean Paste)

1. Clean the split mung bean a few times until water is clean and let it soak for at least 3 hours or overnight.

2. Drain and add water just about cover the beans. Steam at high heat for 40 minutes. Or until you can mash it into with a fork or a spatula.

3. Transfer to a pan, add sugar and cooking oil, cook it at low heat. The mung bean puree will become liquid once the sugar melts; stir-fry it until it dries. It won't drip when you use the spatula to lift it up. Set it aside and let it cool.

4. Divided the paste into 15 potions,10g each, shape into a little ball.

METHODS (Longevity Peach Ang Ku Kueh)

1. To make the starter, combine the starter paste material in a saucepan and stir well. Make sure that there are no lumps.  Cook it at low heat stirring continuously until the roux thickens.

2. Peel and cut the potato into a small chunk. Let it cook in a pot of water until soft. Jabs with fork to test, they should fall apart. Mash it with a fork and set it aside.

3. Combine the glutinous rice flour, sugar, cooking oil, mashed potatoes and starter. Mix it well until you get a smooth dough. If the dough is dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at each time until you get smooth dough.

4. Spare 100g of the dough aside for the peach leaves. Add a little green coloring to the dough, knead until you get a pale light green dough.

5. For the remaining dough. Divide it into half. One half as white dough. Add a little red coloring to the other half, knead until you get a pink dough. Divide both the white dough and the pink dough into 15 potions respectively and form into a little ball.

6. Take one of the little white balls. Flatten it with your palm. Put one pink little ball put in a white flatten dough. Flatten the pink ball with your palm again. Then fill it with the mung bean paste ball, seal it. And shape the dough round. Continue to finish the rest.

7. Shape the round dough from Step (6) into a smooth oval ball. Then using your hand to form a peak on the top. To make the seam of the peach, gently press the bench scraper in to create a line along the arch. Pinch the top, mimicking the shape of the peach.

8. For the green dough on Step (4). Divide the green dough into 24 equal pieces (about 1 cm long). Take one portion of the green dough and shape it into a cone shape. Using bend scraper, flatten the cone. Stick it on both sides of the peach, form a line in the center and create the leaf vein patterns tilts.

9. Line a piece of parchment paper on a bamboo steamer. Place those shaped Ang Ku Kueh into the bamboo steamer. Steamed for 10-12 minutes at medium low heat.