Do you love Seri Muka Kuih? If you are reading this recipe, this confirms the depth of your devotion. In the Malay language, seri muka translates to “pretty face”. This classic dessert has graced the tables of Malaysian families for centuries. The tender texture of glutinous rice and reliable richness of the pandan green custard is a staple for many. Here at Butterkicap, we like to take the occasional break to sample a slice of something indulgent – and this dessert is a firm and absolute favourite.
Popping a little green tea powder into your Seri Muka may sound new-fangled – what’s wrong with pandan juice, we hear you cry? Well, green tea powder is the surprising new best friend you never knew you had. Although its roots lie in Japan, like so many once little-known Asian ingredients, this humble hero had a slow path to prominence. Today, green tea is classified as one of the world’s best superfood for optimal health.
Our own version of Seri Muka kuih harks back to this dessert’s Malaysian roots. Accordingly, we hope to add a dash of excitement to this classic recipe by blending some green tea powder into this popular favourite, typically made from santan, eggs, salt, sugar, pandan, kaya, flour and pulut rice. After some experimentation, we are pleased to say, it worked beautifully! Naysayers and non-believers, you can rest easy, this kuih will rise to meet your expectations. Selamat menjamu selera!
Ingredients
Green Custard
- 100g (3/4 cup) flour
- 6 g (3 teaspoons) Fulleaf Tea green tea powder (6 grams)
- 135 g (3/4 cup) of sugar
- 288g (2 1/4 cup) of fresh santan or coconut milk
- 3 small eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Pulut Rice (aka Glutinous Rice)
- 1 1/4 cup glutinous rice – soak for one hour
- 230g (1 teaspoon) salt
- 230 g (1 cup) santan
- 8-inch tray (21 cm deep)
Method
Let’s Start with the rice base
1. Spread the pulut or glutinous rice in a tray.
2. Add 1 teaspoon of salt into the santan mixture and stir.
3. Pour santan mix over rice. The level of santan should be just over the surface of the rice.
4. Steam pulut rice for 25 – 30 minutes. Remember to close the lid of your steamer.
5. Take the tray out of the steamer. Press down the sticky rice.
Now on to the top green tea layer:
6. Add 1 tablespoon hot water to the green tea powder and mix.
7. In a bowl, add flour, sugar, egg, salt, tea and coconut milk.
8. Mix well.
9. Sieve mixture to remove any lumps of flour.
10. Pour it all over steamed pulut rice.
11. Let it steam again for 25 minutes.
12. Take it out of the steamer. Let it sit for 1 hour.
13. Cut into diamond shapes.
14. Serve. It tastes best when eaten fresh!
Extra Tips
- If you buy boxed santan, you will need to add in 2 cups of warm water.
- If you live abroad and can only get santan in a can, just add 1 cup of water to 3 cups of santan.
- 2 1/2 cups of coconut cream makes 3 cups of santan.
- If there are water droplets on the surface of the kuih, use tissue to dab away the water. Or if you have deep steamer, you can wrap the cloth around the kuih so that it absorbs water from the steamer.
- Get good quality green tea powder. We got ours from Fulleaf Tea Store.
- Best consumed fresh. Store in an airtight container if you must. Forget refrigeration, it will make the pulut rice hard, and it will not taste as nice.
Did you take a bite? We did, and we felt like we needed to write poetry to celebrate this lovely heritage kuih for its richness and the ease with which it was made. So here is our little malay pantun for all of you here in Malaysia:
“Seri Muka dijamu waktu petang,
kalau nak menikmatinya jemputlah datang!”
If you have not devoured your masterpiece just yet, do snap a picture and share it on Instagram and Facebook. Don’t forget to use the #butterkicap hashtag to let us know what you think!