This is a great recipe to use up pumpkin to make this totally flavorful and delicious savory steamed pumpkin kuih. The cake has a soft texture with pieces of flavorful umami mushrooms, dried shrimps, and shallots in the kuih.
Kuih/kue or cake in English can be sweet or savory (or combination of both sometimes). This steamed pumpkin kuih is one of the savory kuih examples. The mashed pumpkin or pumpkin puree is mixed with gluten-free starch/flour and to form a wet batter and then umami ingredients such as mushrooms and dried shrimp are stir-fried and then added to the batter and then steamed. The kuih is then topped with some fried shallots, green onion, and some chopped chili. It may sound very weird if you are not familiar with this type of savory kuih, but if you grew up with one like I did, you will truly enjoy every bite of this.
HOW TO MAKE SAVORY PUMPKIN KUIH
1. Soak dried shrimp and mushrooms in water separately until they are soft. Finely chopped the dried shrimp and mushrooms. Use about 3 Tbsp of the oil you use to fry shallots and save the rest for other cooking. Stir fry dried shrimp and mushrooms
2. I used store-bought pumpkin puree.
3. Combine the rice flour, corn starch, liquid from soaking mushrooms, pumpkin, salt, and pepper
4. Stir into a smooth batter
5. Add the dried shrimp mushroom mixture and 1/2 of the fried shallots into the batter and stir to combine
6. Pour the mixture into a 7″x 7″ greased square or 8-inch round baking pan, with at least 3-inch depth. Spread the batter as smooth as possible. Wrap the lid with a cloth to prevent water dripping on top of the cake and it will make it wet. Steam cake steam for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. Refill the steamer with water during steaming if needed
7. At the end of cooking time, It may still appear to be soft and wet. Don’t panic, let it cool down completely (about 4 hours or so) before attempting to cut into slices. It will firm up nicely for you
HOW TO SERVE
I recommend to dress the kuih with green onion, chili, and fried shallot when you are ready to serve them so you can store the leftover kuih and reheat them.
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT LEFTOVER
ROOM TEMPERATURE: you can store the kuih at room temperature for about a day or two if it’s not humid where you are, otherwise they may spoil if left at room temperature with high humidity
REFRIGERATOR: leftover kuih without topping can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.
FREEZER: for longer storage, slice the cake into individual serving size. Don’t put any topping. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, not touching each other. Place in the freezer for one hour and then transfer to freezer bag
REHEAT: You can reheat in the steamer until heated through or in the microwave for a minute or less and then dress with the toppings
DID YOU MAKE THIS SAVORY STEAMED PUMPKIN KUIH RECIPE?
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You may like this orh kueh/wu tau koh
Kue Keladi/Oh Kue (Savory Steamed Taro Cake)
Savory Steamed Pumpkin Kuih
Ingredients
- 450 gr pumpkin flesh cubed
- 180 gr rice flour
- 45 gr wheat starch or use cornstarch
- 195 ml water from soaking mushrooms
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 40 gr dried shrimps
- 20 gr dried shiitake mushrooms
Fried shallots:
- 160 gr shallots thinly sliced
- Cooking oil enough to fry the shallots
Garnish:
- 1 stalk green onion finely chopped
- 2 red chilis seeded, finely chopped
Instructions
- Soak dried shrimp and mushrooms in water separately until they are soft. Finely chopped the dried shrimp and mushrooms
- Use about 3 Tbsp of the oil you use to fry shallots and save the rest for other cooking. Stir fry dried shrimp and mushrooms
- Grease the pan with oil all over and line the bottom with a parchment paper for easy removal later
Prepare fried shallots:
- Pour about 1/2 inch of oil into a pan and let it heat over medium heat. Put the shallots in and fry over medium-low heat. Control the heat so they don't get burnt. Fry until they are golden brown. Remove from the oil onto an absorbent paper towel and set aside
Steam the pumpkin:
- I used store-bought pumpkin puree. If you use fresh pumpkin, get the steamer ready. Fill with water and bring water to a boil. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes and steam over high heat for 5 minutes or until fork tender. Mash with a fork while they are still warm. You can mash it until really smooth or just roughly smooth, depending on what you prefer. You can also use the immersion blender to make it smooth.
Prepare the batter:
- Combine the rice flour, corn starch, liquid from soaking mushrooms, pumpkin, salt, and pepper and stir into a smooth batter. Add the dried shrimp mushroom mixture and 1/2 of the fried shallots into the batter and stir to combine
- Pour the mixture into a 7"x 7" greased square or 8-inch round baking pan, with at least 3-inch depth. Spread the batter as smooth as possible. Wrap the lid with a cloth to prevent water dripping on top of the cake and it will make it wet. Steam cake steam for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a tester comes out clean. Refill the steamer with water during steaming if needed
- At the end of cooking time, It may still appear to be soft and wet. Don't panic, let it cool down completely (about 4 hours or so) before attempting to cut into slices. It will firm up nicely for you
To serve:
- Loosen the edges of the cake and flip upside down and peel of the parchment paper and cut into desired size. Garnish with some chopped green onion, chili, and some fried shallots
3 comments
I was looking for unusual pumpkin recipes, I knew I will find something here. 🙂 This recipe sounds amazing! Anyway I could leave out or replace the dried shrimps? Maybe use fresh or defrosted?
Hi Adina, you can totally leave out the dried shrimp. We don’t usually use fresh/frozen shrimp for this particular recipe, but you can if you want to. Simply chop them up into smaller pieces. I hope this helps and you like it if you end up trying it 🙂
My mom used to make something very similar to this dish. She used shredded pork belly (in lieu of lap cheong) and added minced rehydrated shiitake mushroom.
I should try making your version. Thank you for sharing, Marvellina