Today we are going to make a natural coloring Pitaya Huat Kueh (steamed rice cake) that can be cracked without baking powder, yeast, soda, or ENO. The color is beautiful and natural, the taste is sweet, delicious, and healthy. Everyone loves to eat it.
Method of Making Huat Kueh
This recipe is very similar to steamed cakes, except that cake flour is replaced with rice flour. Put the Pitaya (Dragon Fruit) juice, corn oil, salt, coconut milk, egg yolk, and rice flour into a bowl and mix well. Let the rice flour rest for 30 minutes. The rice flour will be easier to be cooked after absorbed water. This is the same as the steaming rice theory. The egg whites are placed in another large bowl for later use. After the pitaya batter rests, you can start to whip the egg whites. In the same way, add lemon juice or white vinegar to the egg whites, then add the sugar 3 in times and beat at high speed until you see small peaks that are hard foaming. Then mix the egg whites into the pitaya batter in two portions. Use the folding method to mix, to prevent defoaming.
Mould for Huat Kueh
Use a medium-sized aluminum cup for the bottom, because this paper cup is soft and requires a stable shape of the aluminum cup. After cleaning these aluminum cups, they can be reused. Most people like to use paper cups to make Huat Kueh because it is more convenient to take them for worship or give it away. It also looks more hygienic and beautiful. Also, pour the batter until it is 90% full of the mold so that the result of steamed rice cake will be better.
I personally tried a lot of different molds. Besides the influence of the material, the structure of the mold has a greater impact. For example, muffin cups have oil-proof materials inside, and the only paper Hokkaido cake cups. Large bowls, teacups, and Shochu cups are made from the same ceramic material. There are also the same paper cups but placed in aluminum cups of different heights. The result of my experiment is to use a deeper cup and a larger mouth, and do not have oil or oil-proof material inside. The steamed rice cake will make a particularly good result.
Cookware
The bamboo steamer has good ventilation and no water vapor will drop to the surface and cause the problem of collapse. If you are not using a bamboo steamer, remember to leave a seam on the lid to make it breathable, just like the steaming cake we shared before. After steaming, turn off the heat and simmer for 8 minutes. Let the remaining temperature cook and set the shape of the cake. Since different stoves have different heat conditions, the time and heat conditions I give are for reference only. Please adjust the length of time according to the temperature of your stove.
Natural Colouring of Pitaya
Since we use the natural red pigment of pitaya and the physical foaming of meringue, long-term steaming at high temperatures will cause discoloration and collapse. The color is maintained very well if the temperature is low. But it couldn’t crack. But you can eat it as a rice cake, It’s also delicious. Therefore, the temperature, time, and mold have a great influence on this steamed rice cake.
The method of making this cake was accidentally discovered when I made the purple sweet potato cake last time. As long as the ratio of powder to water and the strong absorbent ingredients in the batter, it can crack during the steaming process. After that, I continued to adjust the recipes and practices about 13 times, trying to make a more ideal look, texture, and taste. This is not an easy recipe with zero failures. If you want to try it, please try the recipe size of 1 egg first.
We have also shared Red Yeast Rice Huat Kueh before, but the texture is different from this time. This one tastes like the steamed cake that I shared recently, it’s dense and moist and has an extra scent of rice. If you are like me and prefer to cook with natural ingredients, then you must try this recipe.
If you like this Pitaya Huat Kueh recipes we shared, welcome to share with your relatives and friends~ Have a nice day!
Pitaya Huat Kueh (Steamed Rice Cake)
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- 3 Eggs about 65 grams with shell
- 120 g Pitaya Juice
- 60 g Thick Coconut Milk
- 180 g Rice Flour
- 30 g Corn Oil
- 45 g Caster Sugar
- A Little Lemon Juice/White Vinegar
- A Pinch Of Salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the pitaya and scoop out the flesh to squeeze the juice.
- Separate the egg whites and the egg yolks. Close the lid of the egg whites and set them aside.
- Put the egg yolks in the bowl of pitaya juice.
- Add corn oil, coconut milk, rice flour, and salt to the bowl of pitaya juice, stir well and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Add a little lemon juice to the egg whites. Beat until the froth comes out, add the fine sugar in 3 times and beat until the stiff peak.
- Then add the meringue into the pitaya batter in 2 portions, and mix it evenly with the folding method.
- Pour the mixed well batter into the mold.
- Put the mold in the steamer and steam for 8 minutes. Then turn off the heat and simmer for 8 minutes.
INSTRUCTIONS VIDEO
NUTRITION
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