Pak Tong Koh

Pak Tong Koh (白糖糕) is one of my favourite childhood breakfast treat which my dad used to get for me. And recently I happen to find this recipe from one of the "Local Kueh" recipe book that I bought. The recipe itself is easy to follow but the fermentation time is a bit way too long; need to rest the batter undisturbed for about 8 hours. In such case I did not try out the recipe until I come across another similar one from a website.


An easy version of this recipe can be found on Florence's Website where she made this kueh in about 2 hours. Her recipe is almost the same as what I saw from the recipe book but she only fermented the batter for 2 hours instead 8 hours mentioned in the book. With that I decided to follow her method and success in making my own favourite keuh. From the picture you might wonder why my version of Pak Tong Koh (白糖糕) is not white in colour. That is because I replace the white caster sugar with coconut sugar (aka Gula Malaka). Once again thanks Florence for sharing such a wonder tips for making this kueh.

Ingredients:
170g Rice Flour, sieved
150g White Sugar, Brown Sugar or Gula Melaka
360ml Water
3/4 Teaspoon Instant Yeast (Bake King brand)
1 Tablespoon Warm Water

Methods:
1. Combine instant yeast with warm water in a small bowl and allow it to ferment for about 5-10 minutes (until you see a lot of bubbles).
2. In meantime, combine rice flour with sugar and water and stir until well mixed.
3. Cook the rice flour mixture over low heat, keep stirring constantly until mixture is slightly thicken (should be less than 5 minutes).
4. Strain mixture into a big mixing bowl then let it cool in a basin of water before adding in the yeast mixture and stir well.
5. Cover the mixture with cling wrap and set aside in a warm place for about 2 hours or more until you see a lot of bubbles on the surface.
6. Pour the mixture into a lightly grease 7" square baking tin and steamed over high heat for about 25 minutes.
7. Let it cool before cutting into serving pieces.

Besides the coconut sugar version above I also made rose flavour Pak Tong Koh (玫瑰白糖糕) by adding a few drops of rose water into the batter. So next time when you are prepare this traditional kueh, do try the rose version by adding some rose water to it.