Kue

Kue

Jajan pasar (market snacks) in Java, consisting of assorted kue
Alternative names	Kueh (Hokkian), Kuih (Malaysia)
Course	Snack
Place of origin	Indonesia
Main ingredients	Various traditional snacks
Cookbook: Kue   Media: Kue

Kue is an Indonesian bite-sized snack or dessert food. Kue is a fairly broad term in Indonesian to describe a wide variety of snacks; cakes, cookies, fritters, pies, scones, and patisserie.^[1] Kue are made from a variety of ingredients in various forms, some are steamed, fried or baked.^[2] Kue are popular snacks in Indonesia, which has the largest variety of kue. Because of the countries' historical colonial ties, Koeé (kue) is also popular in the Netherlands.^[3]

Indonesian kue demonstrate local native delicacies, Chinese and Indian influences, as well as European cake and pastry influences. For example, bakpia and kue ku are Chinese Peranakan origin, kue putu is derived from Indian puttu, while kue bugis, klepon, nagasari, getuk, lupis and wajik are native origin, on the other hand lapis legit, kue cubit, kastengel, risoles and pastel are European influenced. In Java, traditional kues are categorized under jajan pasar (lit: "market buys" or "market munchies").^[4] The well-set and nicely decorated colourful assorted jajan pasar usually served as food gift, parcel or to accompany tumpeng (the main dish) during Javanese traditional ceremonies.

Indonesian fried snacks, from left to right: kue onde-onde, pastel, martabak mini, risoles. From all those kue only onde-onde are sweet, the rest are savoury.

Etymology

The term "kue" is derived from Hokkien: 粿 koé.^[5] It is also spelled as kuih in Malaysian, and kueh in Singapore. Kue are more often steamed than baked, and are thus very different in texture, flavour and appearance from Western cakes or puff pastries. Many kue are sweet, but some are savoury.

Indonesian kues are usually categorized according to its moisture. Roughly divided under two groups, kue basah (lit: "wet kue") and kue kering (lit: "dry kue"). In fact, the word kue in Indonesian language is used to refer to not only these kinds of traditional snack, but also all types of cake and some types of pastries. Most kue kering are technically pastries and many Western cakes can be considered as kue basah.^[6]

Ingredients

Making kue rangi coconut waffle

Many of the traditional Indonesian kue, either sweet or savoury, are based on rice flour and coconut.^[7] Traditionally, Indonesian sweets uses gula aren or palm sugar, yet powdered sugar or common sugar are also widely used. Rice flour and tapioca probably the most commonly used flour in Indonesian kue. However, due to foreign influences, wheat flour is commonly used. For creamy flavour and texture, traditional Indonesian cakes uses coconut milk, yet today dairy product such as milk, cream, butter, cheese and margarine are also commonly used. Popular flavouring agents and spices including coconut, peanut, green pandan, ginger, cinnamon, vanilla and chocolate.

Availability

Traditional market in Yogyakarta selling various kinds of jajan pasar kue.

Today, in urban Indonesian society, an assorted choices of kue are popular snack for brunch or afternoon break to accompany coffee or tea.^[8] Various traditional kue are often being offered alongside western pastries and cakes in cafes, coffee shops, snack stalls to humble warung kopi.

Traditionally, kue are made prior of certain celebration or events such as lebaran or natal. Indonesian households or community traditionally communally made homemade cakes for celebration and festivities. For example, Keraton Yogyakarta traditionally held Ngapem ceremony, where royal household communally cook kue apem (Javanese version of appam) as a part of Tingalan Jumenengan Dalem ceremony.^[9] Nevertheless, kue is also a lucrative business, and traditionally available in traditional pasar pagi markets as jajan pasar (market buys).

Certain markets are specialized on selling various kue, such as Pasar Kue Subuh in Senen Central Jakarta, that selling kue from dawn to early morning. Visitors can indulge in traditional cakes and cookies, as well as modern ones. Most of the buyers in the Senen purchase in large quantities.^[10]

In the Netherlands, various asoorted selection of koeé are available in Indo toko and eetcafe snack shops.

Kue basah

Indonesian kue (including dadar gulung, kue lapis and klepon) for sale in Indo Toko in Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Most of traditional Indonesian kues are kue basah (wet kue).^[4] Most are moist and soft in texture, steamed or fried instead of baked. Kue basah usually have rich coconut milk, sugar and rice flour content, and rather moist; as the result it can not last for more than a day or two,^[6] especially in hot and humid Indonesian tropical climate,^[11] in contrast to kue kering that might last longer.^[12] The examples of kue basah are:

• Kue ape, thin wheat flour batter pancake with thicker part on the middle, colloquially called kue tetek (breast cake).^[13].^[8]
• Kue apem, similar to Malay apam which ultimately derived from Indian appam. It is made of cassava tapai, coconut water, coconut sugar, rice flour, coconut milk, all mixed as a dough mixture and steamed until fluffy and cooked. Served with grated coconut.
• Kue bakpia, bean-filled Chinese pastry originally introduced by Fujianese immigrants. Today associated with Yogyakarta city.
• Kue bika Ambon, yellow porous cake made from tapioca and sago flour, eggs, sugar and coconut milk. Bika Ambon generally sold in pandan flavour, although now available also other flavors like banana, durian, cheese, chocolate.
• Kue bingka, cake made of mashed potato, flour, eggs, sugar, coconut milk, vanilla, milk and margarine, all mixed as dough and baked until golden brown and cooked. probably related to Philippines bibingka cake.
• Kue bolen, baked pastry with crust layers similar to those of croissant, baked flour with butter or margarine layers, filled with cheese and banana. Other variants uses durian fillings. The cake demonstrate European pastry influences.
• Kue bolu kukus, steamed bun made of flour, sugar, eggs, margarine, and vanilla or chocolate flavouring.
• Kue bugis, steamed glutinous rice flour and tapioca colored green with pandan, filled with grated coconut and coconut sugar, wrapped inside banana leaf.
• Kue cara bikang
• Kue cubit, Kue cubit uses flour, baking powder, sugar and milk as their primary ingredients. The liquid dough is poured inside a steel plate with several small round basins so that it will form round shape when cooked, and poured with meises (chocolate granules not unlike sprinkles) on top of it. The seller uses some kind of special hooked stick to take the cake off from the steel plate. This cake is called kue "cubit" (Indonesian: pinch) because of its small bite size, to eat it one have to pinch it.^[8]
• Kue clorot, the sticky dough of glutinous rice flour sweetened with coconut sugar filled into the cone-shaped janur (young coconut leaf), and steamed until cooked.
• Kue cucur, pancake made of fried rice flour batter and coconut sugar.
• Kue dadar gulung, grated coconut with coconut sugar wrapped inside a thin crepe made of rice flour. The dadar (crepe) is usually colored green.
• Kue gemblong, made of glutinous rice flour formed into a ball, deep fried and then coated with palm sugar.
• Kue getuk, made of cassava flour and coconut sugar, served with sweetened grated coconut
• Kue klappertaart, coconut tart, specialty of Manado city, North Sulawesi.
• Kue klepon, balls of glutinous rice flour filled with gula jawa (red coconut sugar), boiled or steamed. The balls are rolled upon grated coconut as the coconut granules stuck upon the balls. It is called "onde-onde" in Sumatra and Malay Peninsula
• Kue kroket, Indonesian version of potato croquette, introduced during the Dutch colonial rule. The kroket is made of potato and minced chicken inside a crepe-like wrapper is one of the popular snack items in Indonesia. The kroket is made by taking a potato and chicken filling and wrapping it inside a crepe-like wrapper, breaded, and fried.
• Kue ku, Chinese origin kue of sticky rice flour with sweet filling. The same as Chinese "Ang ku kueh" (Red Tortoise Cake).
• Kue lapis, layered colorful cake made of glutinous rice flour, coconut and sugar
• Kue lapis legit, also known as Kue lapis Batavia or spekkoek (layer cake) is a rich kue consisting of thin alternating layers made of butter, eggs and sugar, piled on top of each other. Each layer is laid down and then grilled separately, making the creation of a kueh lapis an extremely laborious and time-consuming process.
• Kue lapis Surabaya, similar ingredient to lapis legit but only have three layers of plain and chocolate flavour layered cake.
• Kue leker, stuffed crepe. Semicircle in shape and crusty in texture, it is generally filled with a spatter of sweetened condensed chocolate milk or grated cheese. Its name was derived from the Dutch word lekker which roughly means "delicious".^[8]
• Kue lemper, made of glutinous rice filled with chicken, fish or abon (meat floss). The meat filling is rolled inside the rice, in a fashion similar to an egg roll.
• Kue lupis, compressed glutinous rice served with grated coconut and coconut sugar syrup.
• Kue mangkok Indonesian traditional cupcake, usually sweetened with palm sugar or tapai (fermented cassava).
• Kue moci, the same recipe and derived from Japanese mochi, glutinous pounded rice flour filled with sweet peanut paste. Some variant covered with sesame seeds, other might be plain.
• Kue nagasari or kue pisang, traditional steamed cake made from rice flour, coconut milk and sugar, filled with slices of banana.
• Kue odading
• Kue onde-onde, the same as Chinese Jin deui. In Sumatra and Malay Peninsula, onde-onde refer to klepon.
• Kue ongol-ongol
• Kue pancong, rice flour and coconut milk cake.^[8]
• Kue pandan, fluffy cake made of eggs, sugar, and flour, flavoured with Pandanus extract, usually colored light green.
• Kue pastel, pie of crust made of thin pastry filled with meat (usually chicken) mixed with vegetables (chopped carrot and beans), rice vermicelli and sometimes egg, then deep-fried in vegetable oil. It is thought to be of Portuguese origin. Its shape is similar to Malaysian karipap (curry puff) but curry paste/powder is absent.
• Kue pisang molen, fried banana wrapped in stripe of wheat flour dough. The term molen refer to "mill" in Dutch, suggested its Dutch influence.
• Kue poffertjes, Dutch batter pancakes, demonstrate Dutch influences on Indonesian cuisine.
• Kue pukis
• Kue putu, rice flour with green pandan leaf coloring, cooked with palm sugar filling, steamed in bamboo pipes, and served with grated coconut.
• Kue putu ayu
• Kue putu mayang
• Kue rangi, coconut waffle, made from sago flour mixed with shredded coconut and served with a splash of palm sugar sauce.^[8]
• Kue risoles, a mixture of minced meat, beans and carrots wrapped inside thin flour omelette, covered with bread crumbs and fried.
• Kue semar mendem, variants of lemper, instead wrapped with banana leaf, the glutinous rice filled with chicken, fish or meat floss is wrapped inside thin egg omelette.
• Kue serabi, traditional pancake that is made from rice flour with coconut milk or just plain shredded coconut as an emulsifier.
• Kue sus or soes, a baked pastry filled with soft and moist cream made from the mixture of milk, sugar and flour.
• Kue talam
• Kue timphan, steamed banana and glutinous rice cake wrapped in banana leaf from Aceh.
• Kue wajik, a diamond-shaped compressed sweet glutinous rice cake.
• Kue wingko, a traditional Javanese pancake-like snack made from coconut.

Kue kering

Assorted kue kering popular during Lebaran and Natal holidays, from top, left to right: putri salju, nastar, kue kacang sabit, kaasstengels (cheese cookie), semprit coklat (choco-chip)

Kue gapit, a snack from Cirebon

In Indonesian language kue kering (dried kue) is identical to cookies, both traditional or western derived.^[14] Almost all of kue kering are baked or fried with no or minimal water content, thus they has longer shelf life compared to easily spoiled kue basah.^[6] Some variant, especially kaasstengels clearly demonstrate Dutch origin (kaas is Dutch word for cheese). Because it is dried, it last longer than kue basah. Kue kering often served during annual holidays and important festivities, popular to be offered for visiting guests during Lebaran and Natal. Examples of kue kering are:

Gallery

• 
  Kue apem at Lok Baintan Floating Market
• 
  Kue ape
• 
  Kue bagea kenari
• 
  Kue bangkit
• 
  Kue bika Ambon
• 
  Kue bugis
• 
  Kue carabikang
• 
  Kue cenil
• 
  Kue clorot or cerorot
• 
  Kue cubit
• 
  Kue dadar gulung
• 
  Kue nagasari
• 
  Kue klepon
• 
  Kue moci
• 
  Kue moho
• 
  Kue putu
• 
  Kue putu mayang
• 
  Kue pukis
• 
  Kue satu
• 
  Putri salju
• 
  Lapis legit and kue lapis
• 
  Kue lapis Surabaya
• 
  Kue semprong
• 
  Kue timphan
• 
  Kue ku, derived from Chinese Ang Ku Kueh
• 
  Kue lumpang
• 
  Kue lumpur surga
• 
  Kue ongol-ongol
• 
  Kue risoles
• 
  Kue pastel
• 
  Kue wingko babad
• 
  Serabi

See also

• Cucur
• Dodol
• Ketupat
• Kuih
• Lemang
• List of steamed foods
• Kue nagasari

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to kueh.