The author of this book, Christopher Tan wears many hats as writer, photographer, cookbook author and culinary teacher. Lucky for all Sibeiho fans, he has written one of the most definitive Kueh bible.
Kueh or 糕 (pronounced Gao in Chinese, Gei in Hokkien, Kou in Cantonese) is translated as cake. Growing up, for dessert/ snacks/ afternoon tea/ sweet things, there was Cake and there was Kueh. But its so much more than just Cake. Western cakes are generally baked and made from wheat flour/butter base.
Kueh can be steamed/ fried/ boiled/ baked/ filled/ wrapped. Many are made with rice, glutinous rice, tapioca, sweet potato or semolina. However they were made, they were always small little treats that we adored.
The best ones were made by family and close friends. During Chinese New year, even as kids, we knew which family’s house made the best versions of the different kuehs and which home to eat what during the festive visits.
We know we were lucky to have so much variety to eat growing up and it is one of the top things we missed the most when we left Singapore. We’ve also noticed going home, a lot of Kuehs these days are commercially made and families have gradually stopped making them. TBH, Kueh making is a labor of love as its actually a lot more work than a simple baked sponge cake.
Get your copy today and join us on a Kueh making journey to keep our Singapore heritage desserts alive.