Kuih Bakul makers have hands full

BALING, Jan 15 (Bernama) -- As nien kao or kuih bakul makes an appearance once again during the Chinese New Year, the traditional pudding makers are having their hands full.

For Ngan Chea Khong, 62, and his wife, Tan Chu Chu, 53, they relentlessly churned out nien kao for the past 30 years using two firewood stoves to steam the glutinous rice flour pudding to get the original flavours.

He said traditional nien kao makers still holdfast to the taboo, which included avoiding uttering expletives when preparing the pudding, while the recipe was a strongly guarded secret.

"We believe that to produce an excellent kuih bakul, one must be clean and hygienic while a woman having her menstruation should not prepare the pudding or else it will not cook.

"To get a golden kuih bakul, the glutinous rice flour pudding must be steamed over moderate heat for 24 hours," Ngan told Bernama here today.

Ngan said traditional nien kao makers like him still used banana leaves to wrap the pudding to give an appetising aroma compared to kuih bakul sold in supermarkets which is wrapped in plastic.

He said although the price of kuih bakul had increased over the years to RM15 per kg, the Chinese community was proud to have it on their dining table as they await the Chinese New Year.

For Ngan, he got his orders for kuih bakul since two months ago.

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