Hakka Orh Ku Kueh 客家粗叶黑龟糕

Two or three years ago, I organised a cook out on Heritage food in Singapore among the bloggers.  At that time I chanced upon a recipe that I remembered eating often when young.  It was Hakka Orh Ku kueh (黑龟糕) that was shared by our Hakka neighbour.  He is a very good cook and we are often blessed with him sharing all this goodies.

All was forgotten as I had trouble finding Ramie leaves (粗叶), which is a key ingredient, in Singapore.  Thanks to a friend who so kindly gave me one pot.

Anyway back to my 客家粗叶黑龟糕, for the last few months, I was worried that the ramie plant will died on me just like the mulberry plant that my aunt gave me.    Luckily after placing it under some shade, the plant flourished.  

Now it is time to try making this Hakka Orh Ku Kueh 黑龟糕 on my own.

From the internet, I only managed to come across a few bloggers who tried making this the traditional way as in the dark hue.  

Things didn’t go smoothly for this experiment.  I grew desperate when out of the 350g ramie leave puree, I only yield 12g from my 26 petal of leave.  I called my friend for help thinking that I can go to their in law’s garden to fill the remaining.  To my dismay, they actually gave me their one and only pot!  Totally touched by this gesture and totally lost too.

Asked around and either no one heard about this leaves or I have to go JB to buy them. 

If you want to know more about Ramie benefit, here is the video that explains better.

Left with no choice, I decided to just quarter the recipe and pray for the best. 

Findings: : These 5 babies didn’t turn out too badly.  The colour that came out was a deep intense green.  Due to the lack of ramie paste, thus the flavour didn't come out at all.

Next time, I make sure my plant is bushy and tall before I even think about these kueh.

This blogger is the closest to what I can recall.  

What you need:

Sweet bean fillings

300g mung bean without skin

180g fine sugar (adjust to your liking)

Method:

Soak mung bean overnight.

Steam until soft and puree to form paste.

Heat wok with 2 -3 tbsp oil.  Add in mung bean puree and sugar and cook until sugar is melted.

Cool and divide into small balls (20g)

Ramie paste

Ramie leaves (stem removed and yellow leaves removed) (I think 500g fresh ramie leaves will be sufficient) 

Method:

Wash the leaves. 

Boil water to a brisk and put in the ramie leaves .  Bring to a slow simmer and simmer for ½ hour.  The longer you cook the more fragrant.  The water will turned into golden colour, ramie leaves once soft, removed and drained. 

Rinsed with cold water and squeeze dry.

Process leaves to form a paste. 

Skin

350g Ramie paste

40g fine sugar (adjust to your liking)
150ml hot water (adjust as you mixed)
250g glutinous rice flour
50g oil for glazing

Method:

Mix all ingredients to form a smooth dough.  Cover with damp cloth for 10 mins.

Wrap fillings (skin 18g and fillings 20g) .  Press into mould and place on greased banana leaves.

Steam on medium heat for 6 mins. 

Brush with oil.



You like it?