A must-have kuih to usher in Chinese New Year. Kuih bakul is often abundantly found in supermarkets during this time of the year. This glutinous rice cake is soft, sticky and delicious.https://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/kuih-bakulThere is an interesting story behind this Glutinous Rice Cake which is a must have especially during Chinese New Year. Rumours has it that it is used to “seal” the lips of the “Kitchen God”, a deity installed in some Chinese homes. He meets up with the Jade Emperor to give his yearly report on the family. Before that, the family would offer prayers and this sticky kuih would be one of the offerings to seal his lips since it is sticky. This is to ensure he would not be able to tell on the family, especially the negative aspects like bickerings and misunderstandings. Thus, the family would be in the good books of the Jade Emperor.There is another reason as to why kuih bakul is a must-have during Chinese New Year. Since it is called “nin gou” in Chinese, it literally means high year! The Chinese love using these meaningful symbolics in the hope that each year's achievements surpass those of the year before.Kuih bakul is often abundantly found in supermarkets during this time of the year. It is given to relatives and friends as gifts for its auspicious meanings. I especially love those which are home made compared to those that are made commercially. These kuih keeps very well if refrigerated. You can then process this kuih further and make it into fried Kuih Bakul or steamed Kuih Bakul.The steps to prepare are rather simple. However, one would question the time needed to steam the kuih bakul for it takes **about 10 to 12 hours** for the sugar in the mixture to caramelize. Other recipes call for the sugar to be cooked till it browns or just use brown sugar instead! Stubbornly, I prefer to cook it the traditional way.Lots of patience is needed here and there is no shortcut to it. I heard of some taboos associated with the making of kuih bakul. Women having their menses would fail to churn out a perfect kuih bakul. Also, there should be no bickerings or quarrels when cooking it for that will also caused the kuih to fail. Well, so much for superstitions but who knows, right?Steamed Glutinous Rice Cake with Coconuthttps://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/steamed-kuih-bakulFried Glutinous Rice Cakehttps://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/fried-kuih-bakulTaiwanese Pineapple Cakehttps://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/taiwanese-pineapple-cakeDurian Swiss Roll Cakehttps://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/durian-swiss-rollKuih Seri Mukahttps://www.nyonyacooking.com/recipes/kuih-seri-mukaNyonya Cooking: http://nyonya.tv/nyonyacookingFacebook: http://nyonya.tv/facebookInstagram: http://nyonya.tv/instagramTwitter: http://nyonya.tv/twitterPinterest: http://nyonya.tv/pinterest #nyonyacooking
