This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my privacy policy.
Yam Cake (Or Kuih) - Steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns and rice flour, and usually served with a chilli dipping sauce.
Or Kuih
Whenever I visit Malaysia, I always indulge in a variety of kuih, the local sweet or savory cakes. One of my favorites is yam cake “Or Kuih” made from yam (known as taro in the US). Despite my love for it, I’ve never tried making kuih in the US.
This recipe is contributed by Bread et Butter.
Yam cake or “or kuih” literally means yam and “kuih” means snack or cake. This popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore is a steamed cake made from yam pieces, dried prawns, and rice flour. It’s often topped with crispy fried shallots, spring onions, chilies, and more dried prawns, and served with a spicy chili dipping sauce.
You know, I don’t know why I never tried making yam cake before, because it’s actually pretty simple! There’s some prep work involved in dicing the yam, but overall it’s quite easy.
The best part of the recipe is that it uses rice bowls for measuring. The ratio is straightforward: 2 bowls of water, 1 bowl of flour, and 1½ bowls of yam. This method is flexible—slight variations in the measurements won’t affect the final product much.
The size of your bowl doesn’t need to be exact, as long as it’s a Chinese rice bowl (not a wide, shallow cereal bowl). Just stick to the 2:1:1½ ratio, and you’re good to go.
Recipe Ingredients
- Yam
- Rice flour
- Wheat starch
- Water
- Shallots
- Dried shrimps
- White pepper
- Salt
- Five-spice powder
- Spring onion
- Red chillies
- Deep fried shallots
How to Make Yam Cake
Step 1: Heat a pan over medium-high heat and fry the onions and dried shrimp until aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Add the cubed yam to the pan and fry it with the onion and dried shrimp mixture until browned.
Step 2: In a separate bowl, mix the rice flour, wheat starch, and water, stirring until it forms a smooth paste, making sure there are no lumps. Slowly add the flour mixture to the pan, stirring until everything forms a thick paste. Add the salt, pepper, and five-spice powder, and mix well.
Step 3: Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl or plate and steam over high heat for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.
Step 4: To serve, sprinkle with deep-fried shallots, chopped spring onions, sliced chilies, and chopped dried shrimp. A side of chili sauce is also highly recommended.
What To Serve With Yam Cake
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Yam Cake Recipe (Or Kuih)
Ingredients
For the kuih:
- 1½ bowls yam, diced into 1-2cm cubes
- 1 bowl rice flour
- 2 tablespoons wheat starch
- 2 bowls water
- ½ – ¾ bowl dried shrimps, heh bee – I used ¾ bowl because I cannot express how much I love an abundance of it in or kuih
- 5 shallots, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon five-spice powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
For the topping:
- deep fried shallots, I buy mine ready fried from Chinatown
- spring onions, sliced finely
- red chillies, sliced finely
- dried shrimps, heh bee, chopped finely and fried (optional – you can just put more heh bee in the actual cake)
Instructions
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat and fry the onions and dried shrimp until aromatic, about 3-5 minutes. Add the cubed yam to the pan and fry it with the onion and dried shrimp mixture until browned.
- In a separate bowl, mix the rice flour, wheat starch, and water, stirring until it forms a smooth paste, making sure there are no lumps. Slowly add the flour mixture to the pan, stirring until everything forms a thick paste. Add the salt, pepper, and five-spice powder, and mix well.
- Pour the mixture into a heatproof bowl or plate and steam over high heat for 45 minutes, or until cooked through.
- To serve, sprinkle with deep-fried shallots, chopped spring onions, sliced chilies, and chopped dried shrimp. A side of chili sauce is also highly recommended.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for sharing the recipe. It was a simple and easy to follow recipe. However i couldn’t figure out where to buy the wheat starch hence I skip it. The yamcake turn out fine without wheat starch.
Good to know.
For the yam steam cake what of bowl u use to measure the ingredients
Hi Melissa, this recipe is from a guest blogger and I have personally tried it. It worked fine and no soggy and gooey result.
A bowl equals to how many cups?
You can use two cups.
Hi I tried this recipe twice. Came out nice but my husband thinks that there is a faint cocroach taste/smell. Is this caused by rice flour that I used? They are fresh flour though. Any idea? Thanks.
Yes, it might be that your rice flour is stale.
This recipe can fit in what size of try?
Thanks for the recipe
i will try to make it :D
Hi Bee Yin,
Reading the posts, it seems that the bowl measurements of ingredients are kind of tricky for many. Will u pls consider to convert them to the standard measuring cup measurements?
Thanks,
This recipe was contributed by a guest blogger. The bowl measurement works I had tried this recipe before.
I found frozen yam at the Indian grocery. The regular grocery stores keep labeling sweet potato as yam which isn’t right. Raw yam is toxic, so I was careful not to touch them with bare fingers as they may get a burning sensation.
Thanks for the recipe! It turned out very well. Sure satisfied my cravings.. :)
Hi Bee may i suggest instead of bowl measurment, what if you pour any form of liquid in the measurement cups and this will be easy for your readers or participants interest. Hope my suggestion is useful.
Asian cakes is flexible, whereas western cakes must have the accurate ratio.
Thanks Lizzie.