Monday, February 8, 2010

KUIH BANGKIT ~ TAPIOCA-COCONUT COOKIE FISH


Did I tell you a long time ago that I am a fish person? Yes I did ~ I so did. And I am now even more of one. 

How could I not love fish when I have these snowy carps swimming around in a dark pool of serenity. Like a floating dream on a moonlit night. 



And how could I not love fish when it melts in your mouth after a crunch and a crisp. And when I bite it a little bit further it melts a little bit more and some of it so submissive that it sticks to the roof of your mouth so that you cannot speak until you have finished the whole little cookie fish. Naughty little cookie fish!

Today I have a whole shoal of them. 


I was inspired to make these by Shirley of Kokken69 when I saw her beautiful Kinako Polvorones made from wooden cookie moulds that she had brought home from China. 

Now China was too far away for me to wander even if I did befriend Goosey Goosey Gander so I felt myself blessed when I chanced upon a box full of wooden Chinese cookie moulds that were, to me, Made in Heaven. They were beautiful. Exquisitely crafted moulds of carp. 


Although they had written the word crap on its label I really didn't think they were crap at all. They were carps. Not craps. Carps ~ gorgeous gorgeous carps.


Then I saw Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover make kuih bangkit ~ snowy cookies of tapioca flour. I suffered her experiments and reveled in  her successes and I felt encouraged.


Then I saw Elin of Elinluv make these snowy mowie cookies too and finally I felt committed. Finally ~ I felt I could do it. Yes why not!



And the proof I say ~ Is in the cookie fish. 


I had used the same recipe that Elin of Elinluv had used. And this is a recipe from No-Frills Recipes blog. A blog that stays true to its name. 


The recipe............


I have to tell you that instead of standing like a scarecrow for 45 minutes to an hour in front of the stove stirring a wok full of flour I cheated and baked the tapioca flour in the oven instead ~ For an hour at 160 C. 

I can't tell you how the pandan leaves scented up the house ~ a total delight that Ju,The Little Teochew constantly raves about. 


And when I took the tray out from the oven the flour had a hint of caramel-like fragrance in it as well! Sweet!! Is it possible that the starch in the flour had turned to sugar and the sugar had caramelized? Shirley, Kokken69 do tell. I'm so not a chemist!

The flour had also turned a lovely hint of pinkish gold. How heavenly is that?

After baking I let it cool and stored it in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 2 nights by which time I couldn't wait to get started on making the cookies.


This recipe is fantastic. A dream. And the only adjustment I would make is to up the sugar a little, probably by about 20 grams or so. It is truly a melt-in-your-mouth-crumbs-on-the-floor kind of cookie fish. Heaven.


Note : bake more flour than you  would need. The excess flour is to be used for flouring the mould.


450 gm tapioca flour
60 gm shortening
130 gm icing sugar
2 egg yolks
150- 200 ml coconut milk (I used 200 ml)
4 or 5 pandan leaves

Spread the flour on a suitably sized baking sheet. Cut up the pandan leaves into 4 ot 5 inch lengths and stir them into the flour. Bake in a preheated oven at 160 C for an hour and the pandan leaves have dried and crisp.


Cream the shortening with icing sugar and egg yolks till light and creamy and the sugar is totally dissolved. Pour in slowly 100 ml of the coconut milk and beat until well mixed and creamy.


Meanwhile sift the tapioca flour into a bowl, add a pinch of salt and add in the creamed mixture. Add in half of the remainder of the coconut milk and mix until teh dough comes together. If dry add in some more coconut milk until you get a nice lump of dough. Cover with a damp cloth and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Flour the wooden mould well and then press a small mound of dough into it.Press down and cut off excess with a knife. Then knock the mould face down on teh baking tray and the cookie should fall out easily. If it doesn't then you have not floured the mould well.


If you don't have a cookie mould , roll out the dough onto a floured board and use a cookie cutter.


Bake 20 minute in a 170 -180C oven.


Allow to cool and store in an airtight container. Crush melt yummm....






58 comments:

Angie's Recipes said...

wow Look at these cookies! Too beautiful to eat them! You are an Artist!

La Table De Nana said...

I love those molds and your shoal is divinitely Zurin:)

No spelling mistake there..

It must be good w/ the icing sugar and coconut milk..Isn't if fun to bake w/ something pretty? An added treat I think..Beautiful tail:) to go along with the recipe too!!

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

Lovely fish mould! I love all these kind of wooden moulds, but this time only managed to get plastic mould since wooden mould was run out stock in the bakery shop that I use to buy. Must get some after CNY and keep for next year Kuih Bangkit.

Linda said...

Zu these are simply gorgeous!
I love these molds...
I would love to pop a cookie right into my mouth right now with my tea...
I must find some Pandan leaves...I have never seen them and I am so intrigued with what they must smell like...

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Zurin, these are so beautiful! I am glad you found these moulds. Your photos are so stunning, looking like an aquarium. Are these moulds big? You have to tell me where you get them... I will check them out the next time I am KL! (I am so hopeless)

Ju (The Little Teochew) said...

These are the Coco Chanel of Kuih Bangkits, hands down! Zurin, they are exquisite! Every single one of them is perfect. I am itching to make Kuih Bangkit (almost did today) but I don't have nice molds. And I have lousy cookie cutters. Argh. So, I am sitting out for now :( I love how your arranged the fishes! And did you realise, "fish" sounds like "abundance" in Chinese? That's why a fish dish is traditionally a must on the table? Any Chinese family will love you for bringing some of these over!!! You made my day just looking at your photos.

Zurin said...

Tq ladies for the lovely lovely comments. I can't tell you how excited I was when I saw how it turned out!

Angie, tq..myhead is swelling a little now. :)

Kenny, yea its swelling all right

Sonia, go to chang tung..Igot the mould from there!

Monique, mmm yes coconut n icing sugar ~ a marraige made in the kitchen :)

Linda, hope u can get th e pandan....they have alovely fragrance when used fresh.

Shirley, I left a comment.

Ju, Ill get u one n keep it for u just in case u come :)

Kate at Serendipity said...

What gorgeous cookies! I'm trying to imagine what they would taste like. I'm laughing at the carp/crap mistake. That's the kind of mistake my students make all the time. Sometimes it's hard not to laugh!

Thanks for this recipe. Any idea where I could get some pandan leaves?

chow and chatter said...

oh wow fish cookies love this what a cool mold

fimere said...

une belle réalisation tes cookies en poisson sont magnifique
bonne soirée

Federica Simoni said...

wow questi biscotti sono meravigliosi!!! complimenti!!!

Stella said...

These are so cute and I bet kids love them. I want a mold like that!

Tasty Trix said...

These look like little sculptures - almost too pretty to eat. Note that I said "almost." ; )

pam said...

Those are the prettiest little fishies ever! I want to make cute little fish!

ICook4Fun said...

Zu, I just LOVE the wooden fish moulds. There are just beautiful. May I know where you get it? I love kuih bangkit but only made it once but didn't turn out well. Maybe I will try to make this next year.

Passionate About Baking said...

Hi zurin,
Your fish are just GORGEOUS! Goodness! They looked so nicely crafted with your "crap" mould! Heehee... I used such wooden moulds before, and I must say you did a very very good job in unmoulding them! It's truly not easy! I can imagine putting the fish into the mouth, as if it's real, it looked so 3D too! ;)

Su-yin said...

Oooh your kuih bangkit are so pretty! Really like the fact that they look different than the more easily found round shaped ones - very nice!

Will have to bookmark this and try this out for sure. :)

terri@adailyobsession said...

haha, u discovered chinese englsih. ppl who make these just amaze me with their patience and skills. i'm not a lover of kuih bangkit--too dry but the coconut flavor is yum.

3 hungry tummies said...

I love this and the smooth texture when it starts to melt in my mouth . Great photos!

Unknown said...

I am not familiar with pandan leaves. Does it add a special flavour to the cookies?

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

These are SO clever Zurin! :o And lol about the crap label, that's funny but clearly they are not crap at all! I'm going to keep an eye out for these molds :D

ClearTear said...

oh so pretty. What is shortening btw?

Quinn said...

Selamat Tahun Baru Cina to you Zurin! Nice little fishes you have there. Join the CNY cookies baking and show us more alright? Mmmmm...maybe I should attempt Kuih Bangkit as well? But having just arrived home in Malaysia, I am still enjoying all the pampering and attentions I am getting with everyone fussing around me... Maybe later, haha! I know I don't need an occasion to make these simply good looking bangkits!

Jade said...

Oh that mould is precious!!! I've been looking for wooden moulds for ages but I can't get them in the UK :(

PY said...

Simply gorgeous !
I never know that kuih bangkit can been so cute and pretty until I see yours....
I want a mould like that too !
Thanks for sharing.
新年快乐!

Pei-Lin said...

Zurin, your ikan kuih bangkit look so adorable! Yes, I've got 2 more to go for my Chinese New Year bakes! Another inspiration in the food blogosphere! Thanks for such encouraging words! I love your sense of humor & writing! It's just brilliant! ;)

Zurin said...

Tq everyone for stopping by to chat ...:)) I so enjoy your visits sooo much!

Clear tear, shortening is solidified vegetable fat....or the well known brand of vegetable shortening is Crisco...u can find it in the supermarkets anywhere Im sure. hope that helps.

oh and Happy Chinese New year to all my Chinese friends!! have a great year ahead!!

Quinn, enjoy it while u can!!

Cathy said...

Your little fish cookie are wonderful! And so beautiful on your plate. How lucky you are to have those wonderful molds.

pigpigscorner said...

Crap...lol...they are so cute! Maybe I'll make this for CNY next year!

Anonymous said...

ahh pandan is awesome indeed.
i plant my own at home!
cute little fishies btw :)

susan said...

LOVE these and would love to have some of those wonderful molds!

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

They are so cute.

MaryMoh said...

Wow...these look so beautiful!! Even lovely for decorations :P

Anonymous said...

So pretty! Love the moulds :) Kuih bangkit's one of the many reasons I look forward to CNY each year, besides peanut cookies and love letters.

Yours look really pretty, and with the increase in fish prices here, I think everyone should just stick to these kuih bangkit fishies instead!

diva said...

kueh bankit are my favourite CNY cookies! :D these are so beautiful. Where do you think I could find cookie moulds like that? Beautiful. x

Zurin said...

Diva, perhaps Chinatown? Ill bet they have it there!!

Trissa said...

Just absolutely beautiful. That one picture where it looks like they are a school swimming sublime! And I am sure they taste just as delicious.

Jade said...

I just saw the lovely comments you left on my blog, zurin. thank you.hehe..you're so sweet!

Elin Chia said...

Zurin...you are great! Those are so beautiful fishes and you have done a great job making this kuih bangkit. Where is chang tung? I want to have those wooden mould with this lovely fish design. I want I want I want ... ohhh I can't sleep tonite :( I will be dreaming of them swimming in my dream space :p Thanks Zurin :)))

Cheah said...

Such nice fishes and glad that you liked the recipe.

2 Stews said...

You have inspired me, Zurin. These are sooo beautiful. I am a fish person, too! I think I might be able to make this recipe...are there any substitutions for Pandan leaves? I will be on the lookout for them in Asian markets.

Thanks for your artistry......Diane

Faida said...

Ah...thats one of my favourite cookies. I also like kueah makmur. It melts in the mouth and no talking while eating it. Beautifully presented, aunty.

Anonymous said...

Your Kuih Bangkit looks so nice!! May I know why does the Kuih Bangkit need to add in shortening? Is it a must to have ingredient?

Kana said...

I love those carp molds!! Where did you get them?! I love kuih bangkit!!!!

Daniela said...

una forma davvero originale per questi meravigliosi biscotti.
Ciao Daniela.

Barbara said...

Those molds are adorable! Just got to have one.
And the cookies! Wow. I am so impressed.

WendyinKK said...

I was so attracted by the scales on the fish. The detail that u managed to keep after all the knocking out of the mould.

Good Job, well done!!!

Jane said...

Wow! How beautiful and delicate your fish cookies are. I have never seen anything like that, nor heard of them before. Those molds really are incredible. Lovely post!

Mary Bergfeld said...

These are just beautiful. I love the fish molds. I've never seen any like them. I'll have to keep my eyes open. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

Mary Bergfeld said...

These are just beautiful. I love the fish molds. I've never seen any like them. I'll have to keep my eyes open. Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

Jo said...

Zurin, I tried out this bangkit recipe you had posted and it absolutely worked (my 3rd attempt). Thanks for this and wishing you a great holiday this weekend.

Deana Sidney said...

I see those beautiful molds on ebay but never knew what to do with them... those are gorgeous.. thanks so much for the recipe... I can't wait to try them!

Kathleen said...

I have just had a lovely time touring your blog..So many beautiful things...I enjoyed every minute of it!
Kathleen
Southampton, NY

Nadia said...

wow mummy i m waiting for a new post LOL and then i saw 56 comments!!! LOL.....hmm wonder if the kids want to try making this..since boleh pakai cookie cutter.....hmmmm
seriously la mummy visiting your blog is like makan ice cream LOOOOL....so delightful....

Duchess of Tea said...

Zurin darling thank you so much for visiting me and for the sweet and kind comments you leave behind. I appreciate your prayer my treasured friend. I am happy to report that so far it seems I have passed my check-up with good colours. Luv, wishing you a lovely weekend and a love filled Valentine’s Day.

Love & Hugs
Duchess

Mrs Multitasker said...

Oh I thought I had commented on this post but I guess I forgot!
Your kueh bangkit is just gorgeous zurin. So jealous! I made some too but still far from perfect. Maybe I'll use your recipe next year...

petite nyonya said...

the wooden mold is such a treasure to have ! very traditionally Chinese. lovely presentation & bakes.

hungryc said...

Your kuih bangkit is absolutely gorgeous - love how the details come out so clearly.

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