This recipe uses natural red colouring extracted from beetroot to make this Natural Red Angku kuih. Angku kuih is made with glutinous rice flour, filled with sweet (or sometime savoury) filling, and usually has the shape of tortoise. “Angku” means “red tortoise” in Hokkien dialect.
Ingredients for mung bean paste filling: (Yields: about 240 g)
75gsplit mung beanrinsed
350gwater
1 ½tbspscooking oil
¹⁄₁₆ tspfine salt
65gfine sugar4 ½ tbsps
Ingredients for skin: (Yields: about 400 g)
100g+ 100 g glutinous rice flour
60ghot water70°C
100g+ ½ to 1 tsp beetroot juice*
20gicing sugar
2tbspscooking oil
*Ingredients for beetroot juice:
15gbeetroot
120gwater
Instructions
Preparing Mung Bean Paste Filling:
Bring split mung bean and water to the boil in a cooking pot, reduce to medium-low heat, cook for 25 minutes until very soft. (Reminder: Keep the pot partially open to prevent boiling over.)
Add in oil, blend until smooth with blender.
Add in salt and sugar, mix well, cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, then reduce to medium-low heat and cook for 6-7 minutes, until the paste is not sticking to the pan. It yields about 240 g.
Set aside to cool, then divide filling into 18 portions (13 g each), cover with cling wrap to prevent from drying.
Preparing Dough for Skin:
*For beetroot juice: Add water to beetroot, blend until fine, extract beetroot juice.
Mix together hot water (70°C) and 100 g of glutinous rice flour, then add in 100 g of beetroot juice, mix well. Combine icing sugar and another 100 g of glutinous rice flour, add to mixture, mix into a dough.
Add in more beetroot juice according to the dampness of the dough (about 1/2 to 1 tsp), knead until a smooth dough is formed. Add in cooking oil gradually, knead until well blended.
Divide dough into 18 portions (22 g each), cover with cling wrap to prevent from drying.
Making Natural Red Angku Kuih:
Prepare 18 pieces (7-cm) round banana leaves, coat with oil.
Lightly coat Angku mould with glutinous rice flour, tap off excess flour. (Reminder: The size of Angku mould used in this recipe is 35-gram mould, about 6 cm x 5.5 cm.)
Flatten a dough lightly with palm, top with a piece of mung bean filling, wrap filling fully with dough, put into mould, press lightly into mould with palm, tap the mould lightly on work top to unmould the filled dough, put onto a piece of banana leaf, then arrange in steamer rack.
Steam over medium heat for 8 minutes.
Lightly coat the surface Natural Red Angku Kuih with some oil.
Set aside to cool.
Video
Notes
Using bamboo steamer to steam will prevent condensation water from dripping onto Angku.When cooled, cover the Angku kuih with cling wrap to prevent it from drying.