YAM HUAT KUEH

Yeast Dough:

2 tsp Instant Yeast
150 gm. coconut water or water (the coconut water is inside the coconut itself)
50 gm. Plain flour

Mix the instant yeast with the coconut water and let it stand for 5 mins. Mix in the plain flour and stir till smooth. Rest for 30 mins.

Batter:

500 gm. Yam or Orange colour sweet potatoes (steamed and mashed)
400 gm. Self Raising flour
150 gm. Thick coconut milk
375 gm. sugar (200 gm boil with coconut milk and 175 whisk with eggs)
2 nos. eggs
1/4 tsp. Vanillin
1 tsp. Yam paste or a drop of purple colouring (for orange sweet potatoes, no colouring or essence is required as they have a nice orangy - natural colour)

Method:

(1) Boil the thick coconut milk and sugar until just boil. Warm will do, just to dissolve the sugar. Let it cool completely.

(2) Mix the boiled coconut milk with mashed yam or sweet potatoes and the whisked eggs. Sieve it. It will be thick but press through the sieve.

(3) Add in flour and stir till well mixed.

(4) Add in the fermented yeast dough and stir till well mixed.

(5) Rest batter for 2 to 3 hours covered with a wet cloth.

(6) Prepared small moulds with paper cups. Scoop in the batter till almost to the rim. To make the yam huat kueh split open, dip your spatula into a small bowl of cornoil and then make a cross on top.

(7) Steam for about 15 mins till cooked.

I get very excited when I make huat kueh or fatt kou in cantonese. The most excited part is when you open up the steamer's cover and you'll have a lot of exclamation!! It could mean 2 things - the fatt kou opens up and smile at you or it turns grumpy and never smile at all. Have fun and don't forget to post pics after doing it...