Kue lapis is an
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesia ...
, or a traditional snack of steamed colourful layered soft
rice flour
Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...
pudding.
In
Indonesian
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesia ...
means "layers". This steamed layered sticky rice cake or pudding is quite popular in Indonesia,
Suriname (where it is simply known as lapis) and can also be found in the
Netherlands
)
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, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
through their colonial links. Kue lapis is also very popular in neighbouring
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
,
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
, and
Brunei
Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi alphabet, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely sur ...
where it is called . Kue lapis was introduced by the
Sino-Burmese to
Lower Myanmar
Lower Myanmar ( my, အောက်မြန်မာပြည်, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta ( Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon Regions), as well as coastal regions of the co ...
, where it is known as ''kway lapay'' () or ''kway lapaysa'' ().
Ingredients and cooking method
This snack usually consists of two alternating coloured layers, thus the name of the cake.
The cake is made of
rice flour
Rice flour (also rice powder) is a form of flour made from finely milled rice. It is distinct from rice starch, which is usually produced by steeping rice in lye. Rice flour is a common substitute for wheat flour. It is also used as a thickening ...
,
sago
Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of '' Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is ...
,
coconut milk
Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...
,
sugar,
salt
Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quanti ...
, and
food colouring
Food coloring, or color additive, is any dye, pigment, or substance that imparts color when it is added to food or drink. They come in many forms consisting of liquids, powders, gels, and pastes. Food coloring is used in both commercial f ...
.
Popular food colouring includes green-coloured
pandan and red frozen food colouring. It is common to find rainbow layered kue too. This cake is steamed gradually, and layers are subsequently added in alternating order to avoid different colours mixing together. This method will create layered pudding-cake. Kue Lapis has bouncy gelatin-like texture, yet unlike jelly this cake is quite sticky and chewy due to rice pudding content.
Kue lapis is similar to
lapis legit or
spekkoek, the difference being that lapis legit is a puffy layered cake, made of flour and is baked, while kue lapis is a moist layered pudding, made of rice flour and
sago
Sago () is a starch extracted from the pith, or spongy core tissue, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of '' Metroxylon sagu''. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Maluku Islands, where it is ...
, and is steamed.
See also
*
Lapis legit
*
Sapin-sapin, a similar Filipino dessert
*
Khanom chan, a similar Thai
kue dessert
*
List of steamed foods
This is a list of steamed foods and dishes that are typically or commonly prepared by the cooking method of steaming.
Steamed foods
* Ada – a food item from Kerala, usually made of rice flour with sweet filling inside.
* Bánh – in Hano ...
References
External links
Kue Lapis, steamed layered cake recipeRainbow Kue Lapis Recipe
{{Malaysian cuisine
Kue
Malaysian snack foods
Singaporean snack foods
Singaporean cuisine
Steamed foods
Burmese cuisine