Ang ku kueh 红龟粿 or literally "red tortoise cake" in Hokkien Chinese is ubiquitous in Singapore and Malaysia, and is also common in Indonesia and Thailand. Often listed among Nyonya kueh, the glutinous rice cake with mung bean paste filling originated in China.
The Chinese consider tortoises and turtles as auspicious animals symbolising longevity and good fortune since the Shang dynasty (1600 BC - 1046 BC) - that's nearly 4,000 years ago.
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| Tortoise shell used for divination during the Shang dynasty |
As live tortoises and turtles were not always available, they were represented by tortoise shaped food, hence the creation of ang ku kueh, red tortoise cake.
Traditional ang ku kueh is like a tortoise shaped mochi with mung bean paste or crushed peanut filling.
The glutinous rice ball with mung bean paste filling is pressed into a tortoise shaped mould. Ang ku kueh moulds are traditionally made of wood but plastic moulds are common nowadays.
The tortoise shaped glutinous rice kueh filled with mung bean paste or crushed peanut is cooked by steaming. In Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, ang ku kueh usually sits on top of a small square of banana leaf during steaming to prevent it from sticking to the pan and to impart a subtle sweet banana fragrance to the snack.
Red tortoise cake is traditionally red in colour (with food colouring) as red is an auspicious colour in Chinese culture symbolising good fortune and happiness.
Today, there are many different colour skin and different types of fillings from yam to grated coconut, and even durian.
(For Qing Ming grave sweeping festival, the ang ku kueh offering is white in colour, the mourning colour in Chinese culture.)
Ang ku kueh is also given as gifts to celebrate a child's one month old birthday and birthdays of seniors. In Singapore and Malaysia, ang ku kueh is commonly enjoyed as a sweet snack at anytime and easily available at pastry shops and bakeries like Ji Xiang in Everton Park.
They came by junk bringing silk and porcelain during the Northeast Monsoon (Jan - Feb) and returned to Guangdong & Fujian during the Southwest Monsoon (Jun - Aug) with spices, aromatic wood, and hornbill casques. During the interval between the Monsoons, while waiting for the change of wind to take them home to China, the traders mingled with locals and some married local women.
The offsprings of Chinese trader and local Malay women marriages are known as Peranakan which means "local born" in Malay. The males are known as Baba and the ladies addressed as Nyonya.
The Peranakans created Peranakan cuisine which combined the ingredients and techniques of Chinese and Malay culinary traditions. Within Peranakan cuisine there is Nyonya kueh which consists of over a hundred cakes, sweets, and snacks of Chinese and Malay / Javanese origin.
Ang ku kueh is one of the Chinese origin snacks seen as part of Nyonya kueh where it is known as "kue ku" or "angkoo". The ang ku kueh common in Singapore and Malaysia came from the Hokkien side of early Peranakan families.
Besides the dainty bite size ang ku kueh ubiquitous in Singapore and Malaysia, there are some fascinating variations of "red tortoise cake".
In Taichung city, Taiwan, on the last day of Chinese New Year, people of 東勢 Dongshi district celebrate 新丁粄節 Newborn Son Cake Festival. On this day, Hakka families who have a newborn son the preceding year will offer cakes to the Jade Emperor to thank him for his blessings. There are many varieties of cakes made by new mothers, including ang ku kueh, of course.
Among the many cakes offered to the Jade Emperor are giant ang ku kueh weighing over 70 kilograms (120 Taiwanese catty) each. There's friendly "competition" on who comes up with the biggest ang ku kueh. Many people flock from all over Taiwan to Dongshi on the last day of Chinese New Year to join the festivities and marvel at the giant ang ku kueh.
In Phuket city, southern Thailand, the Peranakan community celebrate the Hungry Ghost festival (also known as Por Tor) with red turtle cakes. It is believed that wandering souls can ride on the red turtles to cross over to the other side. The Hungry Ghost festival is celebrated on the seventh month of the lunar calendar (similar to Singapore and Malaysia). Por Tor is held on the first day of the seventh month.
In Phuket, the Por Tor festival red turtle cakes are large, up to 1.5 metre by 1.2 metre in size. They are spongy cakes made of wheat flour and cooked by steaming. (There are also smaller red turtle cakes made with glutinous rice.) Names of the deceased, auspicious words and well wishes are written on the red turtle cake's back before they are offered to wandering souls.
Next time when we enjoy an ang ku kueh, remember that beyond the delicious layers of sweetness and nice squeaky QQ bite of mochi-like skin, we are partaking in a millennium old tradition. The humble ang ku kueh is an edible (and tasty) artefact of our precious intangible cultural heritage from the dawn of human civilisation.
Written by Tony Boey on 20 May 2021