Cafes & Wineries

Autumn, ah, pumpkin season! Of the pumpkin dishes, I love roasted pumpkin most of all, especially when served with roast chicken. However for some reason, I have never been particularly partial to pumpkin soup, although I don’t mind it, I have no craving for it and can happily go without it. Then of course there’s the Chinese steamed pumpkin pudding, the golden coloured Kim Kuah Kuih.
When I was in my teenage years, I was allergic to taro (luckily I got over that as I grew older), so I usually could not eat too much Orr Kuih (Taro Pudding), one of my favourites too. I was therefore always happy to see Kim Kuah Kuih (Pumpkin Pudding) on offer, which was not too often, as I could eat that without an allergic reaction.

Now, I have been buying a lot of pumpkins recently and suddenly getting very nostalgic for the Kim Kuah Kuih which I haven’t tasted for a long time. I also have never made this kuih before, so I thought it is time I give this a go. After consulting a few recipes, I plunged headlong into making the kuih – a few tips from one recipe, another hint from the next recipe and so on… I have also planned to use the more ‘glamorous’ waxed meat (臘肉) and Chinese sausage (臘腸) as part of the filling, but it was raining sporadically on Saturday and I couldn’t be bothered to go all the way to the Chinese supermarket in the next suburb to get the ingredients, so I settled for the more ‘homely’ minced pork which I already have. I mixed and matched the recipes and techniques, and also trying to recall the kuih I had back home to create the kuih I remembered. Wow, I couldn’t be more happy with the end result, maybe it was just my nostalgia talking, but it tasted wonderful, and just as I remembered it.

Makes one 20cm kuih.

[Ingredients]
500g shredded pumpkin flesh
240g rice flour
60g tapioca flour
400ml pumpkin liquid (excess pumpkin juice + water)
400ml soaking liquid (water from soaking dried prawns and mushrooms + water)
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 stalk green (spring) onion, chopped
1-2 tablespoons fried shallot flakes
1 red chilli, cut into thin strips or sliced into rounds (optional)

Seasoning:
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
250g mixed meat & dried preserves filling (臘味) – e.g.
· 150g minced pork *;
· 50g dried prawns, soaked then chopped
· 25g dried Chinese mushrooms (冬菇), soaked then chopped;
· 25g salted preserved radish (chaipoh 菜脯), chopped
* the minced pork may be substituted with Chinese sausage (臘腸) or waxed meat (臘肉) for special occasion.
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[Preparation]
1. Squeeze excess juice from the shredded pumpkin and add water to the juice to make 400ml. Blend rice flour and tapioca flour with this pumpkin liquid and set aside. Grease and line the base of a 20cm round pan with baking paper.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok and sauté chopped garlic until golden. Add chopped prawns and fried until aromatic, then add minced pork, mushrooms, preserved radish (chaipoh) and seasoning. Stir-fry for about 5 minutes, or until meat is cooked, then dish out. Set aside about ¼ of the meat mixture for topping.
3. Heat another 2 tablespoons oil in a wok and stir-fry shredded pumpkin until softens, add the remaining ¾ of the cooked meat mixture and the soaking liquid. Bring quickly to a boil then gradually pour in the flour mixture, stirring as you pour. Cook over a low heat until mixture thickens slightly, stirring all the time.

4. Pour into the prepared pan and level the surface. Sprinkle the reserved ¼ cooked meat mixture evenly over the surface. Steam over high heat for about 1 hour.
5. Garnish with chopped green (spring) onion, fried shallot flakes and red chilli strips. Serve warm or cold with chilli sauce if desired.

[Note]
Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.