STORY BEHIND THE RECIPE
When my eldest daughter got married, I prepared this steamed tapioca cake to welcome the bridal party. They loved it so much that they wasted no time at all in gobbling everything down! Never have they eaten such soft and moist steamed tapioca cake before.
TRICK OF THE TRADE
The secret to this recipe is in using fresh ingredients. In the old days, you would have to grate both the coconut and and the tapioca by hand. Nowadays, with freshly grated tapioca and coconut available, you can actually save loads of time when making this snack – can you believe that it only takes 30 minutes to prepare?
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WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THIS DISH
- It’s really fast, easy and fuss free to make! Just a few ingredients needed to make this dish, and it can be done in 30 minutes.
- It’s a very fresh and fragrant snack! The fragrance comes from the coating of grated coconut, which give off a sweet, nutty smell.
HOW TO MAKE STEAMED TAPIOCA CAKE?
Wash the pandan leaves and bundle it together.
In a pot, boil 600 ml of water, 12 TBsp of sugar and the pandan leaves until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove and discard the pandan leaves.
Pour the mixture over the tapioca and give it a stir until well incorporated.
Add in the coconut milk to the tapioca and continue stirring to incorporate coconut milk.
Transfer the tapioca mixture into a 20cm (8″) baking tin and spread it out evenly.
Add water to a pot and bring to a boil. Place the tapioca on the steaming rack and steam for 20 mins over medium high heat with cover on.
Remove the tapioca and let it cool completely before cutting.
Once the tapioca is cooled completely, use a plastic spatula to cut the tapioca into either diamond or square shapes.
Meanwhile, place the white grated coconut in a plate and add in 1/4 tsp salt and mix well.
Place the grated coconut in the wok and steam for about 10-15 mins. Remove and let it cool.
Place the cut sections of tapioca onto the plate of grated coconut and coat each piece evenly.
Transfer the steamed tapioca cake to a platter. Best serve when it is chilled.
MARKETING TIPS
- You can buy readily grated tapioca from the wet market in the same stores that sell grated coconut. Do note: only certain markets sell grated tapioca. They usually grate it before hand and place it in the fridge, so you won’t see it on display. Ask if they sell it.
COOKING TIPS
- Remove the remnant of the centre core of the grated tapioca if there is any.
- Alter the texture of the tapioca to be softer or harder by adding less or more water accordingly.
- Add some colour to liven up the presentation! Divide the tapioca into 2 equal portions and place them in 2 smaller tins for steaming. Add 1/2 tsp red or green food colouring to the tapioca and mix well before steaming.
- To see if it’s cooked, use a chopstick to poke through the centre of the tapioca. It the chopstick comes out clean and sticky, it is done.
- As the tapioca is sticky and gets stuck to the bottom of the tin, you need to use the spatula to go right under the tapioca and scrape it to lift it up.
STORAGE TIPS
- If there is too much tapioca kueh left, you can leave in the fridge for a couple of days, but do not to cut or coat it with grated coconut yet. This way, you can steam the tapioca kueh again to soften it before cutting and coating.
- Add some salt to the grated coconut before steaming so that it can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days without turning rancid.
- Make sure that the grated coconut is completely cooled before coating the tapioca kueh.
DIETARY MODIFICATIONS
- Egg-Free: No modifications needed.
- Fish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Gluten-Free: No modifications needed.
- Nut-Free: No modifications needed.
- Shellfish-Free: No modifications needed.
- Vegan: No modifications needed.
- Vegetarian: No modifications needed
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Steamed Tapioca/Cassava Cake (蒸木薯糕 / Kueh Ubi Kayu)
Ingredients
- 1 kg Grated Tapioca/Cassava
- 200 ml Coconut Cream (Santan)
- 600 ml Water
- 12 TBsp Sugar
- 5 leaves Pandan
- 1/2 tsp Red food colouring optional
- 1/2 tsp Green food colouring optional
OUTER COATING
- 1/2 kg White Grated Coconut Brown Skin of the coconut removed
- 1/2 tsp Salt
Instructions
PREPARATION METHOD
- Wash the pandan leaves and bundle it together.
COOKING METHOD
- In a pot, boil 600 ml of water, 12 TBsp of sugar and the pandan leaves until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove and discard the pandan leaves.
- Pour the mixture over the tapioca and give it a stir until well incorporated.
- Add in the coconut milk to the tapioca and continue stirring to incorporate coconut milk.
- Transfer the tapioca mixture into a 20cm (8") baking tin and spread it out evenly.
- Add water to a wok and bring to a boil. Place the tapioca on the steaming rack and steam for 20 mins over medium high heat with cover on.
- Remove the tapioca and let it cool completely before cutting.
- Once the tapioca is cooled completely, use a plastic spatula to cut the tapioca into either diamond or square shapes.
- Meanwhile, place the white grated coconut in a plate and add in 1/4 tsp salt and mix well.
- Place the grated coconut in the wok and steam for about 10-15 mins. Remove and let it cool.
- Place the cut sections of tapioca onto the plate of grated coconut and coat each piece evenly.
- Transfer the steamed tapioca cake to a platter. Best serve when it is chilled.
Notes
MARKETING TIPS
- You can buy readily grated tapioca from the wet market in the same stores that sell grated coconut. Do note: only certain markets sell grated tapioca. They usually grate it before hand and place it in the fridge, so you won't see it on display. Ask if they sell it.
COOKING TIPS
- Remove the remnant of the centre core of the grated tapioca if there is any.
- Alter the texture of the tapioca to be softer or harder by adding less or more water accordingly.
- Add some colour to liven up the presentation! Divide the tapioca into 2 equal portions and place them in 2 smaller tins for steaming. Add 1/2 tsp red or green food colouring to the tapioca and mix well before steaming.
- To see if it's cooked, use a chopstick to poke through the centre of the tapioca. It the chopstick comes out clean and sticky, it is done.
- As the tapioca is sticky and gets stuck to the bottom of the tin, you need to use the spatula to go right under the tapioca and scrape it to lift it up.
STORAGE TIPS
- If there is too much tapioca kueh left, you can leave in the fridge for a couple of days, but do not to cut or coat it with grated coconut yet. This way, you can steam the tapioca kueh again to soften it before cutting and coating.
- Add some salt to the grated coconut before steaming so that it can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days without turning rancid.
- Make sure that the grated coconut is completely cooled before coating the tapioca kueh.
Nutrition
Update Notes:
First published Aug 24, 2017 . Re-published on Sep 17, 2018 with new recipe video tutorial.
Dear Mdm Bee Leng
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. in your recipe, there was no tapioca starch added as in other recipe i came across. will the kueh be soft without this tapioca starch?
Regards
Gina
Hi Gina,you are not the only one who ask me this question.The answer I gave was,’try it and give me the feedback. A few tried and they gave me thumb up as the texture was soft and spongy to their likings. I encourage you to try it and let me know the result with photos post in my FB. Enjoy!
Hi bee lent
I try n it was really yummy… the texture I want n also easy…thanks for sharing…
Tks again
Angie
Hi Angie, Thanks so much for the great review! So glad that the recipe turned out well and your family got to enjoy the yummy tapioca kueh!
I love to eat Kueh Ubi Kayu and it is difficult to find good ones these days. So glad to find it on your website and I would like to try making it soon. May I know where can I buy both the grated tapioca and grated coconut?
Dear Bee Leng,
I love Kueh Ubi Kayu and I am glad to find the recipe on your website. I plan to make it soon. May I know where can I find both the grated tapioca and the grated coconut?
Hi Giselle,
This Kueh Ubi Kayu, like I mentioned, does not need any tapioca flour.
You can buy the grated Ubi Kayu from certain wet markets, usually those stalls that sell grated coconut and they are fast selling. So you need to go to the market very early in the morning.
I bought mine from Fengshan Market and food Cenrtre at Bedok North Road Blk 85.
You can also get it from Geylang Serai market or Tekka market at Serangoon Road.
Don’t forget to post to my blog, the result of your kueh, ok?
where in the East can I buy grated Tapioca
Hi Brigette, I usually buy mine from from Fengshan Market and Food Centre at Bedok North Road Blk 85. I believe you can also get it from Geylang Serai market or Tekka market at Serangoon Road. Please give it a try and post here again to let me know how it went!
Hi, can I steam the tapioca kueh and grated coconut together in 2 tier steamer?
Mdm Bee Leng .. I stumbled onto ur recipe as I wanted to try making this to “impress” (ha! Ha!) my guests for afternoon tea. Thank you for the clear and precise recipe. I let my helper watch the video and its easier for her versus reading the recipe. I reduced the sugar .. and for colours I used Dragon fruit for the red and the blue pea flower for the blue. So so delighted that my guests like it. As we did not mix the colours in well enough, so the colours were only on the top. Well there… Read more »
Hi Lyn, thank you for your kind compliment. In fact I have already reduced sugar in this recipe. Yes I did it with Pandan juice and blue pea flowers for its green and blue colours respectively too. The colours are very vibrant and look very pretty and palatable..Pl try our other recipes n post, share, like and comment our on FB page. Thank you. Happy cooking!!!
Very well demonstrated on how to make this sedap tapioca kueh…all the steps are clearly demonstrated & easy to follow for “cooking idiot” like me…can you also show us how to make yam/pumpkin kueh step by step like your tapioca kueh demo…Thank you!😊☺😊