Sunday, January 23, 2011

ang koo kueh in melbourne





when my elder daughter was expecting her first child, she had told me that she would like to have ang koo kueh and red eggs for her child's full moon celebration. i thought it would be a piece of cake because i had successfully made ang koo kueh at home in singapore. what i failed to reckon with was that not all asian things are readily available in melbourne. i hunted for the ang koo kueh mould in a number of asian enclaves like clayton, glen waverley and richmond in melbourne but could not find one. i even enlisted the help of my younger daughter, who is also here in melbourne, to try and get me one.



the other thing i had not considered was the cost of some of the requirements for making ang koo kueh. back in singapore i do not remember having to buy banana leaves to use as the base for placing the kueh. even if i had to buy, it would not cost more than a dollar. over here, unless you are in the state of queensland, banana trees are non-existent. so they have to be brought in from queensland or imported from some tropical countries. the packet of banana leaves, cut and folded, cost aus$7.50.



the first lot of ang koo kueh i made was the typical, round and flat type. somebody who saw them commented that they were not appropriate for a boy. we decided to make something more representative of a boy. my mother used to make ang koo kueh of this shape - the hokkien call it 'ang ee' and it did not require a mould. you can also buy this type of ang koo kueh, which is made for special occasions, from the confectioneries and some stalls at the market or food centre.




we made a total of about forty ang koo kueh, with two types of filling. the ones which appear darker (third photograph) were filled with peanut. the filling for the other lot was tau sar (mung bean). the peanut version was more popular with the guests. to make the dough, i used sweet potato and glutinous rice flour.

12 comments:

Betty said...

You have got the shape right - ang ee for boys and ang koo for girls for the full month celebration. This, I learnt from Mrs Toh of Bendemeer.

yg said...

betty, the correctly shaped ones were the work of lay bee; the out-of-shape ones were my products.

Uncle Phil said...

Hi yg,
Glad to know that you continue with the age old custom of making and giving away the felicitious "ang ee" to friends and relatives as part of the full month celebration of your grandchild. My mother used to call them "tu boh leng"(sow's udder)as a token of fetility and as a blessing of many children...(子孫满堂)

yg said...

phil, we didn't give them away. the guests each came with a dish of their own and the eggs and ang koo kueh were our share in this australian 'pot-luck' culture. my younger daughter made a cake for her nephew's full moon celebration. the ones with peanut filling were all snapped up but we still had some tau sar ones at the end of the party.

Betty said...

Tks Phil. I learnt something new - new name and its significance. Sure looks like sow's udder.

Uncle Phil said...

Hi Betty,
Sorry, I'm hijacking yg's blog to say hi. Unless we pass the baton to the next generation, it will stop with us.
Cheers,
Phil

Betty said...

Hi Phil,
Agree with you. Must keep tradition alive!

Pat said...

Oh ... flat round Ang Koo Kuehs are not meant for boys ??

Coincidentally just last Tues, the repeat telecast of "The Ways of the Matriarch" had a segment on making Ang Koo Kueh (the traditional way, with mould) to celebrate the birthday of family's eldest son. (I think he is supposed to be in his late 30s/early 40s in the storyline.)

But the fussy matriarch-neo didn't say that flat round ones are not appropriate for guys. Or maybe the policy is more flexible when it comes to grown-up boys.

yg said...

pat, i suppose for this kind of occasion, the traditional chinese go for 'ang ee' because, as my friend phil put it 'it is a token of fertility and a blessing for more children.
for me, it was the right type because you didn't need a mould
and we could find one in melbourne.

Betty said...

Ang ku kueh (made with mould) is generally used for birthdays to signify longevity. Ku (tortoise) have a long life. Ang ee is for the full month celebration.

yg said...

betty, thanks for the info.

yg said...

pat, sorry, i meant to say 'didn't need a mould and we could not find one ....