Steamed Hairy Gourd Cake -节瓜糕

The first time I saw this recipe I found it hard to accept - I mean we have always been using yam and pumpkin to make kueh. How would hairy gourd taste in this dish?! Isn’t that used to cook soup or to fry with meat, prawns? Curiosity got the better of me and I decided to experiment.

So it turned out that generally it tastes similar to normal kueh but however, it does not have the fragrance of yam nor pumpkin. Quite bland. That said, the hairy gourd does add some interesting addition to the traditional taste and texture. I personally still prefer using yam as yam tastes most fragrant and old-school, street side hawker feel to it.

Recipe: source from Steamed Cake &  Kuih Muih

Ingredients:
300g hairy gourd (peeled, shredded)
50g dried shrimps (chopped) -original recipe calls for 150 g
150g shao rou烧肉- roasted pork - shredded
1 tablespoon of shallots -diced

Batter:
300g rice flour
1 tbsp wheat starch 澄面粉
1 tbsp. corn flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tbsp sugar
800ml water

Seasoning:
1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp chicken stock granule

Method:
1.  Combined  batter ingredients, keep aside.
2.  Heat up 2 tbsp oil, stir-fry diced shallots and dried shrimps until fragrant, add in roasted pork and  stir-fry for few minutes.
3.  Add in hairy gourd and seasoning, toss well.
4.  Pour in batter mixture, keep stirring until the batter becomes almost thicken. Transfer into a greased 9" round steaming tin/pan.
5. Steam over high heat for 30-40 minutes and until cooked.  Leave to cool and cut into desire shapes. Serve with garnishing (fried shallots, spring onions and sesame seeds).