Why the Hokkiens pay homage to the Emperor of Heaven with a pair of Sugarcane...

For the Taoists in Singapore, the most important day during the Lunar New Year celebration is the ninth day of the first lunar month. On this day Taoist families, especially to the Hokkiens, will hold a Emperor of Heaven ritual (拜天公, literally "heaven worship") and offer thanks-giving prayers to him for protection from evils and disasters, as well as for blessings and answering prayers. Numerous offerings such as ang ku kuih (red rice cakes in the shape of tortoise shells), fruit, vegetarian food or roast pig, and gold joss papers and incences are set out in front of the house or five-foot ways of terrace shophouses to celebrate the birthday of the Emperor of Heaven, who was believed to have been born immediately after midnight on the ninth day. One of the most important items included in the offerings is sugarcane as it was the sugarcane that has protected the Hokkiens from a certain battle calamity generations ago. During which the Hokkien hid in the sugarcane plantations.Following their liberation, the Hokkien people came out to celebrate the Chinese New Year for the first time in years.They used sugarcanes as their offering to give thanks to the Emperor of Heaven and to honour him on his birthday on the ninth day of the lunar new year.This tradition is still closely observed by the Hokkiens families in Singapore until today.

How to make Ang Ku Kuih aka Kim Ku Kuih

The Kim Ku Kuih aka Ang Ku Kuih was made in our kitchen with the help of a couple of friends, last month. We named them “Kim Ku” which means golden tortoise in Hokkien because it derives this golden hue from the mashed Kumara (orange-coloured sweet potato) which we kneaded in when making the dough. We were very pleased with our variation from what is normal “ang ku” that we were talking about how to patent the kim ku kuih. Of course, we were joking. Traditionally, they are coloured red, hence the name “Ang Ku Kuih” (red tortoise cake).The dough of the "red tortoise cake" is dyed red, because red colour is a sign of happiness in Chinese culture. And it is molded to shape like a tortoise which signifies longevity in Chinese traditional belief.

We always question the use of food colouring in our food. We may be given the assurance that certain food colorings have been banned after many years on the market because they were found to be carcinogenic. I am still cynical about certified food colours used today. But if you removed food coloring, wouldn’t the food taste the same? I am sure it does, but for commercial reasons, food manufacturers are adding toxic food colorings so that their highly processed and artificially colored foods beckon you to buy.

Here is the homemade and naturally coloured Kim Ku aka Ang Ku Recipe:

Filling:
300g split mung beans, soaked overnight
300g sugar
4 tbsp oil





Pastry Skin:
500g glutinous rice powder
250g kumara (orange sweet potato) peeled, steamed and mashed.
5 tbsp sugar
3tbsp oil

1 pc banana leaf, (if unavailable, use grease proof paper) cut into size to fit mould.
1 tbsp oil for greasing cooked angku.

To prepare filling,steam mung beans over boiling water for 30 minutes. Combined steamed mung beans and oil in a pan and stir continuously over a medium heat until beans and sugar form a smooth texture and does not stick to hand. Set aside to cool.

To make the pastry skin:
Combine all the ingredients together and adding a small amount of water each time to knead until a smooth dough is obtained. Form dough into balls to fit the size of the mould.




Flatten a piece of dough to ½ cm thick with hand and put a ball of filling in the centre and wrap the pastry skin around the filling to cover it completely. Roll it lightly in the palms to smoothen the surface.
Dust the mould lightly with glutinous rice powder and press the ball into the mould. Dislodge the uncooked angku from the mould by tapping the side of the mould on the table. Place the Angku on a lightly greased banana leaf or grease proof paper and steam over medium heat for 15 minutes.

Lightly brush steamed angku with oil to prevent sticking. When cooled, trim the banana leaf neatly around the base of cooked angku,