Kuih Salat aka Seri muka ~ 沙拉糕

Kuih Salat aka Seri Muka is a decadent Peranakan Chinese or Nyonya kuih consisting of two layers.  The bottom layer is made of glutinous rice and coconut milk while the top layer is a layer of green coconut milk custard flavoured and coloured from the juice of the pandan leaves.

Kuih Salat aka Seri muka ~  沙拉糕

(A)  Bottom layer

• 300 gm glutinous rice
• 100 ml coconut milk
• 100 ml water
• 1/2 tsp salt
• some Pandan (screwpine) leaves
• Blue pea flower (Bunga Telang) juice

Method

1. Wash the glutinous rice till water is clear.  Soak it for about 4 hours, preferably overnight which I did.  Next day, drain, wash and strain to get rid of excess water.  
2. Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper and oil the sides.   Pour the rice into this pan.
3. Mix the coconut milk with water and salt, then pour the mixture onto the rice.  Shake it a bit for even distribution.  The mixture should just cover the rice.
4. Place pandan leaves on the rice and steam the rice under medium flame for 30 minutes.
5. Remove the pandan leaves, fluff up the rice with a pair of chopsticks and randomly pour in 4 teaspoons of blue pea flower juice into the rice.  Flatten the rice a bit.  Let it steam for another 10 minutes.
6. Remove the rice and place a piece of parchment paper on it and press it hard by hand and use a scrapper to press down the rice to pack and make it compact.  This must be done when the rice is still hot and moist.
7. Then place the pan back into the steamer but turn off the heat.

(B)  Bunga Telang juice

• 40 dried blue pea flowers
• 1/4 cup water

Method

1. Wash the flowers and boil with water, press on the flower to extract the blue ínk.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

(C)  Top layer

• 3 eggs
• 20 ml coconut milk
• 120 ml pandan juice
• 120 gm sugar
• 4 Tbsp plain flour
• 3 Tbsp cornflour OR tapioca flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pandan paste OR a drop or two of green colouring

Method

1. Whisk eggs with sugar.  Gradually add coconut milk, salt and pandan juice.  Mix well.
2. Sift in plain flour, mix well.  Sift in cornflour, mix well.  Mix in the pandan paste or green colouring if the mixture is not so green.
3. Strain mixture to get rid of lumps, into a saucepan.
4. Cook the mixture on low heat, stirring constantly till slightly thickened.
5. Meanwhile, heat up the steamer to ensure the rice cake is still warm.
6. Gently pour the coconut mixture onto the rice cake.  Use a fork to scrape off any bubbles to ensure a smooth surface.
7. Wrap the lid of the steamer with a piece of cloth to absorb condensation.  Steam the cake for about 35 to 45 minutes on medium low flame.  Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
8. Remove from steamer and let cake cool completely before slicing with a plastic knife.  It will take a few hours to cool and let the top layer of custard set.

Note

1. The rice cake should be warm before adding the top layer of coconut mixture.  If the rice cake is cold, the top layer will not stick onto it.
2. Do not steam the cake on high heat after pouring the coconut mixture, top layer as it will result in uneven surface for the eggs inside the coconut mixture tend to cook.