I remember being really excited spotting yam bean in the Chinese supermarket in Glasgow. The next time I made a trip back there, I had prepared myself with a list of ingredients for cai kueh (mainly yam bean, wheat starch and tapioca starch) and gone through some recipes.
The wrapper is quite translucent which is attributed to using starch. The main ingredients for it are wheat starch and tapioca starch/ corn starch/ potato starch.
I was trying to figure out the wheat starch to tapioca starch ratio. It was between 2:1, 1:1 and 1:2. The lower ratio ones seem to have transparent skin dough but is harder to handle the fragile dough. So I went with 2: 1. The tapioca starch gives it its chewy-ness.
Chai Kueh Recipe (Steamed Yam Bean Crystal Dumpling)
(Adapted from Rasa Malaysia, Flavours of Asia & Taste Asian Food)
Dough ingredients
Wheat Starch 200g
Tapioca Starch 100g
Boiling water 450-500ml
Oil 3 tbs
Filling ingredients
- Dried Shrimp 4 tbs
- Shallots 2 tbs
- Garlic 2 tbs
- Yam Bean 500g
- Carrot 100g
- Oil 3 tbs
- Water
- Salt
- Pepper
Method
Yam Bean Filling
1. Preparation:
Dried shrimp: Soak dried shrimp for a few hours. Chop it into fine pieces
Shallot & Garlic: Mince it
Yam Bean & Carrot: Remove skin and cut into matchstick size
2. Fry Shallot first, put aside.
3. Fry dried shrimp until aromatic then add garlic.
4. Add in yam bean and carrot.
5. Add water until cooked & soft & pepper and salt to taste.
It can be prepared the day before and refrigerated. Just take it out an hour before using it the following day.
Dough (Makes about 32)
1. Pour boiling water to the wheat starch and tapioca starch mixture
2. Stir it well with a chopstick
3. Cover with damp cloth or cling wrap and let it rest for a few minutes
4. Knead it well with 3 tablespoon of oil until smooth
5. Keep dough covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying
Kueh
1. Weigh 20g for each dough skin
2. Dust the work surface with tapioca starch to prevent it sticking
3. Roll into a ball and roll into thin sheet 10cm diameter
4. Add filling into the centre of the dough skin and pleat it
5. Brush oil on the steaming tray & the kueh
6. Steam for about 10 mins on low heat
7. Remove when slightly cool to prevent breakage
Consumption & Storage
Consume straight away when cool
Store in fridge to consume the following day
Store in freezer to steam and consume within a few months
To steam from frozen
1. Coat plate with a layer of oil
2. Take the cai kueh out from freezer and steam immediately. Do not thaw at room temperature
3. Steam for about 10-15 min
4. If dough skin is too sticky after steaming, brush a layer of oil on top before serving
Feedback:
Quite a number of the dough skin broke, way higher rate than last round. I noticed this time my chai kueh is more translucent, bigger and uses nearly 70% extra filling. I have made changes for the recipe above.
- Shorter steaming time (won’t be as translucent)
- Less filling (used about 700g yam bean for 30)
- Smaller kuih & thicker skin 10cm (made mine 15cm)
- Lower the heat when steaming