Green Tortoise Kueh

"Help me reply my sms," my friend said. She was driving. She dictated while I typed : Reserve 5. Will pick up later.

What? What? Pick up what? I asked my friend. "Ang Ku," she replied. "From Yen Fah."

Yen Fah? That's the video shop. I asked, confused. They sold DVDs and not Ang Kus.

Well, indeed it was the video shop at Pelita Commercial Centre. And they sold Ang Ku Kueh sometimes. Someone made and left the kuehs there to sell, apparently. My friend had discovered it by chance. She had bought it twice and served it at 2 functions, and everyone loved them.

Today, we bought 6 packets. There were 10 mini green coloured Ku Kuehs in each plastic package. I opened up a packet and caught a very fragrant whiff of the pandan flavour. Mmmmmm ... they sure smelled fresh and yums ....

A pack of 10 sells for RM6.00

Then I picked up one piece of Ku. It was soft, yet firm. Then I bit into it and found the skin to be of the right texture - chewy. It was also packed with green bean paste. I loved it as it was not too sweet.

 Yums ....

I finished one Ku in 2 bites and reached for another piece .... geez ... it was certainly addictive. These had to be one of the best Ku Kuehs I'd ever eaten!

For the uninitiated, Ang Ku Kueh is a traditional Chinese kueh or pastry. The skin is made of glutinous rice flour and the filling is usually green bean paste. Nowadays, yam paste and lotus paste are sometimes used for variety. Then, the pastry is moulded into an oval to resemble a tortoise shell. Hence it is called the "Ku" which means Tortoise.

Traditionally, the pastry skin is red in colour, and the Hokkien word for red is "Ang". Nowadays, people do away with the artificial red colouring and opt for natural colours from pounded pandan or screwpine leaves.

Second Aunt's homemade and delicious green-coloured pandan-flavoured Ku

Others got even more creative, and came up with grey, orange, and purple pastry skin. The grey colour was the result of adding some black sesame paste into the pastry. Meanwhile, the orange colour came from the use of mashed orange sweet potatoes, while purple pastries had yam or purple sweet potatoes added into them.

A purple version

Nonetheless, red-coloured skin is still preferred for important Chinese occasions when the Ku is served. Red is after all an auspicious colour for the Chinese. One occasion would be the Full Moon celebration when a newborn baby celebrates his or her first month. During this time, the Ang Ku Kueh would normally be distributed to friends and relatives.

Berry's Full Moon Set from Kedai Ayamas
Unfortunately, the Ku pastries were not moulded

Berry's Full Moon celebration Ang Ku Kueh 

The Ku kueh is best eaten fresh, but if you have got some leftovers in the fridge, you can try pan-fry them with a drop of cooking oil. Sizzle the pastry till it gets browned and crispy ... and enjoy a different texture and flavour altogether!