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2006.03.02

Comments

shiewie

Yum - I love kuih baulu (sometimes spelt bahulu) too. You can get them in KL, sold at roadside stalls, pasar malams or even at some supermarkets. They're similar to the Chinese egg sponges (gai dan go in Cantonese ... guess this translates to ji dan gao in Mandarin) - you can get these baked or steamed.

foodcrazee

yummy.....u sure have a pleasant job of travelling...or r u on a hols ?

Must try all those on my next trip to Tanah Merah...visit my Aunt in Law....thanx for the tips

Robyn

Hmmm, have I ever eaten jidan gao? I don't believe I have. Available in Chinatown?

foodcrazee, we were on holiday. If someone were paying me for this kind of 'work' I'd think I'd died and gone to heaven!

slurp!

jian gao is quite similiar to french madeleines but texturs is heavier and of coz shape is not the same.

strange, those stuffs on her hand doesn't seem to look like palm sugar. the palm sugar (called gula meleka) I saw are much darker in colors, and it's sticky when melted

Robyn

slurp, those are the fenugreek seeds that she mixes into her palm sugar (ground, I'm assuming). I changed the text to make that a little clearer. I love it when I get free copywriting services!

Christopher

The term "herba" that goes into the putu would seem to be a corruption of "hulba" or "halba", which is the Arabic word for fenugreek. The term "hulba" is also used in Malay. The Kelantanese also use it in nasi dagang I think.
Interestingly, the Arabic-derived term indicates that the Malays first acquired the spice from the Middle East. Arabs use the spice far less than the Indians, whose influence on Malaysian cuisine is massive, but who call the spice "methi".

kuno kuno

PUTO is the philippine counterpart of the malaysian PUTU. there are several varieties. some recipies are baked, but most recipe are steamed. the standard ingredient is rice flour (occassionally mixed with sticky rice flour). in the southern part of the philippines (bicol region), puto is steamed in tiny coconut shells with candied coconut meat filling. market vendors steam it fresh then wrap in banana leaves. PUTO LANSON are plain white puto (sometimes color added for presentation), often served with fresh grated coconut dusted with sugar & toasted sesame seeds. PUTO BUMBONG when steamed in bamboo tubes (about an inch in diameter & 6 inches long) the recipe calls for a mixture of grated purple yam - giving it a distinct purple color with different texture & flavor. another variety is PUTO KUCHINTA - the rice flour is cured in cooking lye giving it an almost crystaline effect once steamed. PUTO BINYANG originated from the town of Biñang (Laguna region). years back, the puto batter is poured over slices of salted duck eggs & native carabao cheese, then steamed in recycled oval sardine cans. the recipe did not changed much except the small oval pans are now specially made of aluminum and readily purchased at public markets.

Robyn

kuno kuno - thanks for the info! Puto binyang sounds a bit like bibingka (the duck egg and cheese) ... and puto kuchinta sounds particularly intriguing. We will keep our eye out for these treats when we get a chance to do some exploring around the PHI.

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