Ang Ku Kueh (Red Tortoise Cake) is a traditional Southeast Asian pastry made from a soft, chewy glutinous rice skin wrapped around a sweet mung bean paste.

What is Ang ku Kueh?

Ang ku kueh, Angku kuih (common spelling in Malaysia), or Kue Ku (term used in Indonesia), is a timeless delicacy in Chinese (Hokkien) and Nyonya culture.
Made from soft, chewy dough wrapped around sweet mung bean paste, it comes in little tortoise-shaped cakes.

Traditionally prepared for auspicious occasions like birthdays, newborn first-month celebration (moon yit), or for just everyday tea time.

Why is Ang Ku Kueh red in colour and in the shape of tortoise?

Also known as Red tortoise cake or Ang ku Kueh, it comes in vibrant colours, either red or orange.
In Chinese culture, red represents prosperity and tortoises represent longevity.

Ingredients for Ang ku Kueh?

With only a few ingredients, you can make ang ku kueh at home.
The ingredients are:
Glutinous rice flour
Sweet potato
Split mung beans
Sugar
Salt
and water (of course!)

Step-by-step on how to make Ang ku Kueh?

Prepare mung bean paste

It is best to prepare mung beans paste a day earlier.


Step 1: Wash and soak split mung beans overnight.
Step 2: Drain off the water, rinse, and add mung beans into a medium-sized pot.
Add water to just cover the beans.


Step 3: Add knotted pandan leaves.
Step 4: Cook mung beans until soft and mushy.


Step 5: Using a stick blender, blend till smooth
Step 6: Add sugar and cook until the paste thickens and is able to hold shape
Step 7: Set aside to cool

Prepare the ang ku kueh dough.

Step 1: Sweet Potatoes


Peel and wash the sweet potato, then steam until soft.
Mash and sieve.
Leave them to cool down.

Note: Why did I mash and sieve the soft sweet potatoes?
My homegrown Japanese sweet potatoes were left for a bit too long in the ground; they aged a bit and have fibres.

Step 2: Add glutinous rice flour, sugar, and oil into the cool mashed sweet potato and mix into a soft dough.


Step 3: Add red food colouring (if using orange sweet potato, then omit this step), mix to form a homogenous red/ pink dough.
Step 4: Cover the dough with cling film or a bowl (to avoid the dough from drying out)

How to make Ang ku kueh?

Note that I used a small mould (pictured above, the bright red colour plastic mould) that only requires 20g of dough and mung bean paste.



Step 1: Weigh 10g of dough and 10g of mung bean paste.
Roll into balls.

Step 2: Flatten the dough and place the mung bean in the middle.
Step 3: Wrap to enclose the mung bean paste
Step 4: Lightly dust your ang ku kueh mould with glutinous rice flour.
Step 5: Press the stuffed ball firmly into the mould, then whack the side against the table to pop it out
Step 6: Brush the cut up banana leaves with oil.


Step 7: Place the ang ku kueh on the banana leaves
Step 8: Steam for 10 minutes
Step 9: Remove from steamer and brush with oil for that signature glossy shine.

FAQ on Ang ku Kueh

Why is my Ang ku kueh hard and rubbery?

The secret to a soft and smooth ang ku kueh is sweet potato.
Just like Onde-onde (another Malaysian favourite kuih), mashed sweet potato is added to make the skin soft.

Why did my ang ku kueh flatten out during cooking?

1) Use low to medium heat during steaming; avoid a roaring boil
2) Steamer lid captures too much moisture. Use a bamboo steamer instead.

How do I keep ang ku kueh?

Ang ku kueh is best to eat on the day.
If refrigerating, re-steam for 3 minutes.
If kept in the freezer, re-steam for 8 to 10 minutes.

What I wrote and posted on 26th June 2010

It has been a tradition or a culture among Chinese families... to celebrate the baby's reaching his/her 1st month... the parents will prepare (nowadays ~ just order) and celebrate with other members of their extended families, friends, and neighbours... everyone gets to feast on yellow glutinous rice served with Chicken Curry, red hard-boiled eggs, and ang ku. 
Why Angku??? Angku or Tortoise Cakes... Tortoise represents longevity... and the colour Red represents Good Luck... wonderful tradition to celebrate and bless the baby ...

And I still have some leftover split mung beans from last week (lap chup).... so this week Sweet Saturday ~ I am sharing with you...Angku
Add food colouring to water. Combine the mashed sweet potatoes with glutinous rice flour. Knead. Add water bit by bit until a smooth dough is achieved.

Take a bit of the dough... maybe slightly bigger than the size of the rolled-up split mung beans above... Flatten into a disc on your palm... add the mung beans ball ... wrap the ball with the dough.
Make sure that the split beans ball is fully enclosed. Roll gently to smooth.

Prepare steamer.

Cut up banana leaves and lightly oiled it. Place the uncooked angku in the steamer and steam for 10 minutes. Once it is cooked... lightly oil the angku surface (to prevent it from sticking to one another!!)... enjoy...