Yam Cake (Woo Tow Koe)

Yam Cake, a popular local savoury kuih 'snack' made from cubed yam steamed with rice flour is a favourite in many local homes. The truth is, it is so popular that you can get it just almost anywhere from a little stall on a busy street to a cafe in an elegant shopping mall. Moreover, it can be eaten as breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or even supper. Making a yam cake is actually not difficult at all, just a few simple steps to follow.

1 small yam (rinsed, skin peeled and cubed) 3 shallots, sliced 2 Tbsp dried shrimps (washed, soaked in hot water to soften) 100 gm rice flour 3 Tbsp tapioca flour 550 ml filtered water sea salt 1 tsp five spice powder white pepper

Steps to follow Steam cube yam for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Heat wok, drizzle in some oil, stir-fry shallots till slightly brown. Add in the cube yam, salt, five spice powder, pepper and stir for approximately 2 minutes. Combine rice flour, tapioca flour, salt and filtered water in a saucepan until mixture is smooth (lumps free), place over low heat, stirring continuously with a fork until it thickens like light custard. Remove saucepan from heat and add in all the yam, mix evenly. Transfer yam mixture into a 20 cm square cake tin and steam for 25 minutes. Leave to cool and garnish with chopped spring onions, chili and crispy fried shallots (as preferred). Served with sweet chili sauce of your choice.

Note : Most yam cake recipes call for alkali water which give this dish a gelatin texture but I have omitted it altogether. Instead, I keep my yam cake cling wrapped overnight in the refrigerator to firm up the texture. As for the tapioca flour (tapioca starch), it gives the dish an attractive glistening look.