Malay Sweets

Though desserts are not common in Malaysia, there are sweets made out of rice flour, coconut milk, palm sugar, and other flavorings. They are called kueh. These local cakes are steamed to create a type of sweet rice pastry eaten as a midday snack. Most kueh are steamed, though some are cooked on thin waffle irons, and others are deep-fried. Palm sugar (called gula melacca or melaka), coconut milk, and bananas are some flavorings used in kueh. Leaves from the pandanus plant (sometimes referred to as screw-pine) perfume and tint green versions of kueh. In lieu of rice flour, which is most common, Malays also make kueh with glutinious rice flour, tapioca starch, and sweet potato starch. They seldom use wheat flour.