Oh Ku Kueh - Behind The Scene

Happy April Fool! Anyone got dooped yet? seems like the Malaysian Citizens are getting smarter by year, i dun hear as much April Fool stories as before, or is it just me being stuck in the jungle for too long that i dunno how to joke? uh...

It's the time of the year again for Qing Ming. Suddenly i feel like showing off my 11 years of broken mandarin. Here goes...

Qing ming shi jie yu fen fen,
Lu shang xing ren yu duan huen,
Jie wen jiu jia he chu ye,
And i dunno what's the last sentence.

Hahahaha! i'm so proud of myself! I've been asking everyone the same question every year during 1st week of April for the past 8 years, 'what's the last sentence?' and yet i can't remember! So now i resort to online friends to help me. Anyone can help me out on this? :P

Since tomorrow me going to do some exercise by ascending & descending hillssss and accidentally stepping over tombs, mum decided to feed me with her high energy food - OH KU KUEH! a.k.a black ku cake...... LoL!!!!!

That's what everyone calls it in hokkien. But in hakka (my mother tongue), we call it Chu1 Yap4 Ban1 (Kuih Daun Kasar in B.M). Why so? cos the leaf used for making this kueh is very coarse and berbulu-bulu like a guy's hairy leg. Ewwww! *vomit - of all things to compare, why the hairy legs!?


This plant originated from a small town in Jelebu District called Titi.

So, today, let Kampungkai - the kampung boy teach u how to make Black Ku Kueh! Firstly, chop off a hand full of this daun kasar plant, and pluck only the leaves, leaving the stems back. U dunwan to bite on such fiberous stems later on cos u ain't a goat.


As big as my hand!

I was wondering whether this is the leaf that ribena berries use to cover up their private parts, it looks pretty alike u know? It's even big enough for human's use! My goodness! just make sure it doesn't fall off.

Back to topic. Secondly, put all those leaf (rinse 1st) into a big pot with some water, and boil it for many hours till it becomes erm... like recycled paper pulp, get what i mean? no? erm... imagine throwing something soft on the wall and it takes 10 seconds to flow down the wall hahaha! now u get it?

Then, add in glutinous rice flour and mix mix mix till your biceps, triceps, and forearm muscles become rock hard. When it's done, take a rest and watch cartoon 1st.


Chai Bu (in mandarin) + pork/chicken what's chai bu called in english?

The pink color thing is the mould to shape the dough. It's a turtle shell shape. Make a hollow in the center, and add in the Chai Bu. Next, cover it up and compress it so that it gets its shape.


Big = Guys'...... Small = Ladies'

After u got it compressed, knock the mould on the table to let the turtle shell fall off. Tadaaaaaaaa, a turtle shell sitting on the banana leaf! Original Oh Ku Kueh, no artificial flavouring, no artificial coloring, just purely authentic.


Steamer

Put them into the steamer for approximtely 15-20 minutes. Once u open up the steamer lid, steaming hot water vapor will gush out like an atom bom, forming a small white mushroom in the kitchen (no la.. was just exaggerating). Anyway, do be careful not to scorch your hands.


Finish Product.

Now, this is what i call BLACK. It looks very tempting, dun u feel like landing your mouth on it? *chew chew chew... it's big, it's fat, it has got lots of chai bu inside, lovely! For easy storage, cut off the sides of the banana leaf, so that it looks neater too. It seems like there's a whole tray of steamed baby turtles, dun u think so?


Drooling already?

This is the best part, look at how much Chai Bu there is stuffed inside this Oh Ku Kueh. wahhhhhh i myself am already drooling! soft soft on the outside, but when u get to the fillings, it's slightly crunchy and salty, and u can feel the texture of the fresh dough in your mouth, mm mmmm mmmmmmmm!


Now u see it......... now u don't!

It's so tasty that u dunwanna have small bites ya know. It taste so good to have 1 big chunk of it in your mouth. It's abit like chewing gum, whereby it's a lil starchy, but difference is that u can swallow it. Therefore, with 4 bites, u get the satisfaction. *burppppp

1 left! anyone up for grab? Yes to the big guy from jasonmumbles.com, RM3! anyone calling for RM3.50? 3.50? Oh, Yes to the lady at the back from gingerlyyours.blogspot.com RM3.50! anyone calling for Rm4? RM4?

"RM10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" everyone's jaw dropped and look towards jasonmumbles.com. He was the only one showing all 32 teeth, running lintang-pukang (imagine it slow motion) all the way from melaka to kajang for his RM10 Oh Ku Kueh! which, he will finish in just 1 mouth. wasted!

My advice: when it's his, dun try to steal it from him......never.
(LoL... kidding dude)