Kueh Mekar
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Food design, 2018
Thinking through Making module by Professor Hans Tan, National University of Singapore, Industrial Design
Project brief
You are tasked to arrive at a fascinating piece of cooked flour with the use of steam as its shaping tool. You will be limited to the process of steaming as the main fabrication method, and any type of flour as the key ingredient. Additional processes are allowed, and edible additives are allowed.
About Kueh Mekar
Kueh Mekar is a ficticious sweet snack usually prepared before the day of the grand wedding in the Peranakan culture. Mekar means Bloom in Malay. This flower-shaped cake is commonly associated with marriage and fertility.
On the eve of her wedding, the young Nyonya will prepare the cake and thread a long piece of red string through it. The red thread holds the cake in the shape of a flower. The bloom of the flower is likened to the young Nyonya. Being in the most prominent and beautiful stage of her life
Colours are usually used in the preparation of the cake. The fusion between the colours expresses the joyous union of the male Baba and female Nyonya.
Once the shape of the cake has formed, it is placed on the family altar. This is a plea to the ancestors to watch over the couple and create an everlasting marriage. The Nyonya will then cut the red string and consume a small piece of it with her Bibik (Mother) as a token of blessing.
Recipe
Ingredients
25g Potato Starch
20g Water
10g Sugar
Flat rectangular pan or container approximately 10cm by 18cm
An Ice Cube Tray
2 Types of Food Colouring
A Stringe
A piece of Thread (traditionally red in colour)
Bookbinding Needle (or any thick needle)
Yield: 1 Serving
Time: Estimated 15 Mins
Storage Hours: 8 Hours
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Special Requirements: Steamer, refridgerator
Steps:
1. Add the Potato Starch and Sugar to the flat rectangular pan
2. Add Water and stir well
3. Use an Ice Cube Tray to prepare your food colourings. Approximately 2 drops with 3ml of water per colour
4. You will make use of the stringe to add colours to the flour mixture. Fill up half of the mixture with one colour (as shown in 4.1)
5. Add in another colour on the opposite side
6. Tilt the pan gently left and right to create a gradation of colours
7. Prepare the steamer and steam the mixture for 6 minutes
8. Once the mixture has been steamed, immediately place it in the freezer for 6 minutes. This will ensure that the surface is cool enough for handling.
9. Your cake should be ready for the threading process. Peel off the cake gently from the pan.
10. Thread the needle and begin sewing the cake as shown in 10.1 to 10.6. Repeat the same steps on the other side of the cake. It should form a flower shape.
11. Tie a knot at the end and refridgerate it for an hour.
