Kuih Seri Muka

Kuih Seri Muka. Layers of coconut-infused glutinous sticky rice with a delicious creamy pandan coconut custard on top. A chewy and luscious dessert popular in Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Singapore for good reason! This dessert is fragrant, sweet and full of texture and it originates from Indonesia.

Aromatic and delicious!

I absolutely love this dessert so much because the taste and aroma is so incredible with that creamy pandan custard layered over top of the sticky glutinous rice. It is a dessert that takes time to make but not too long, therefore I will share how to make kuih seri muka step by step! Ttotally worth it!

Worth the time!

Above all, it is totally worth the time and effort and a great dessert to impress guests with the colourful layers. On the other hand, you can skip the colourful layers to make this easier on yourself or only colour all the rice in the natural butterfly pea flower powder.

Different Variations of Kuih

During my travels to Malaysia, this was a dessert that I would see at dessert shops or stands. In addition, there are actually different types of kuih, such as kuis lapis which is a layered cake using rice flour, not glutinous sticky rice or kuih with a layer of gula melaka in between glutinous sticky rice.

Unique texture

The glutinous rice really gives this dessert that sticky chewy texture but when you combine it with the soft creamy custard on top, it is pure heaven!  Most importantly a dessert that you must try if you enjoy custard, pandan or sticky rice!

Recipe is adapted

Now I can’t take full credit for this kuih seri muka recipe. I adapted it from Makan with Cherry who’s Kuih Seri Muka caught my eye! She did such a marvelous job at describing how to make it with ease.

Moreover, I decided to add the blue layer of glutinous sticky rice and I also reduced the salt. In addition, I’ve shared some tips on how to make it well so you don’t experience any challenges with the final result. Please check out her recipe for the original simpler version.

What does kuih mean?

It is derived from Hokkien and Teochew kueh which are bite sized foods or snacks.

How long can Kueh last?

It can last for 36-48 hours in the fridge stored in an air tight container. But I do warn that near the end of the 48 hours, the rice may go a little hard, but still good enough to eat!

Can you keep Kueh overnight?

Yes, I would recommend keeping it an airtight container in the fridge.

Can you freeze Kueh?

No, as a result the rice will go hard due to the cold.

Tips for making Kuih Seri Muka

• Use fresh pandan leaves when making this dessert because it is so much better than the extract and much better than the powdered version. Pandan leaves can be found at South-East Asian grocers in the freezer section.
• Make sure to incorporate the butterfly pea powder after the rice has been mixed with the wet ingredients. That is to say, if you add the blue powder after the rice has been steamed, it will be more difficult to evenly colour the rice.

• Steam the rice on a wide shallow plate. Do not steam in a tall deep bowl.  To clarify, by steaming the rice on a wider surface, you allow for the rice to cook evenly and faster.
• When creating the custard, heat it over low-medium heat and DO NOT bring to a boil and reduce. This will yield a custard that is not creamy. Therefore, as soon as you see chunks form at the base of your custard, then it is time to remove the custard off the heat immediately.

More tips!

• While layering, make sure the rice and the custard are still very warm. I would suggest covering the first layer of rice to keep it warm.
• Prior to adding the rice to the base of your square dish, oil it well. That is to say, this will allow for the cake it come out more easily.

• When adding your rice to the square dish, distribute it evenly for even layers. I actually found it easiest to slide the rice off the plate (wearing heat proof gloves) right into the pan versus scooping uneven chunks of the rice having to even it off later with my eye.
• During packing of the rice, pack it down hard and well using a spatula. Consequently, this will ensure the custard does not leak through any holes ruining your layers.

• Before steaming your dessert, cover the lid with a tea towel or aluminum foil. Most importantly, this will prevent any droplets of water from hitting the custard creating small holes.
• Finally to slice your Kuih Seri Muka, use a wet oiled paring knife and slice at an angle. Above all, this dessert is very sticky so the oil and water help the knife glide through the cake more easily.

Other recipes you may like!

HAWAIIAN BUTTER MOCHI
CHINESE MANGO PUDDING
GLUTINOUS RICE BALLS (TANG YUAN)
ROSE PANDAN COCONUT SAGO
VEGAN PANDAN COCONUT JELLY

For this recipe

Furthermore, you will need the following kuih seri muka ingredients:

White Glutinous Rice Layer:

200 grams Glutinous Rice
75 ml Coconut Milk
50 ml Water
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 ½ Pandan Leaves, knotted

Blue Glutinous Rice Layer:

200 grams Glutinous Rice
75 ml Coconut Milk
50 ml Water
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 ½ teaspoon Blue Butterfly Pea Powder
1 ½ Pandan Leaves, knotted

Pandan Custard Layer:

200 ml Water
10 Pandan leaves
5 Tablespoons Cornstarch
3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
3 Eggs
200 ml Coconut Milk
140 grams Sugar

Equipment:

Blender or immersion blender
Sieve
9x9 Square Pan
Steamer
Steaming Rack

How to make Kuih Seri Muka

Soak glutinous rice in water by dividing it equally (200 grams) in two separate bowls the night before or 4 hours prior. This is important, if you do not do this the rice will not be soft and sticky after steaming.

On the day of cooking, strain the water from each bowl of soaked rice. To each bowl add coconut milk, water, salt and mix.

Subsequently, grease a 9x9 square dish or pan.

To one of the bowls, add blue butterfly pea powder and mix well. You should have one bowl with white rice.

Next pour the blue rice and the liquids onto a wide shallow pot or wide bowl. Then place knotted pandan leaves into the rice.

Subsequently cover and steam the rice over medium heat for 25 minutes. Remove from steamer and keep warm. Repeat the same steps for the white rice.

Meanwhile, blend 10 pandan leaves in 200 ml of water. Pour the content into a sieve and strain the liquids, discarding the pulp. Pour this pandan extract into a medium size pot.

After that, to the same pot, add custard ingredients: cornstarch, all purpose flour, eggs, coconut milk, and sugar. Mix well and place over stove top to heat over low medium heat as you continually stir it until it thickens. Do not bring to a boil and then reduce the heat. When you stir and chunks begin to form, remove off heat.

Next stir the mixture well until the chunks have dissolved. Cover to keep warm.

Then once your white rice has finished steaming, remove pandan leaves and remove from steamer.

After that, using a heat proof glove, slide the blue rice into your well-greased square dish to create 1 even single layer. Next, use a spatula to pack the rice down very well. Most importantly, it must be packed well or the custard will seep through the cracks, affecting the layers. Smooth out the layer of rice.

Subsequently slide the white rice over the blue rice and pack down very well. Smooth it out with spatula.

After that, pour the pandan custard over top. Gently tap the pan on a surface to remove any air bubbles. Steam over medium heat for 30 minutes covered using a lid covered in aluminum foil or a clean tea towel.

Finally remove cake from steamer and allow to cool completely. Slice and serve to enjoy!

Note: This cake can last for 36-48 hours in the fridge stored in an air tight container. But I do warn that near the end of the 48 hours, the rice may go a little hard, but still good enough to eat!

Give it a try!

In short, I hope you give my Kuih Seri Muka recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes. If you enjoyed this kuih seri muka pandan, please share it with your family and friends or on social media!

Take a picture if you've made my recipe and tag me on Instagram @ChristieAtHome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!

Made this recipe and loved it?

Above all, if you could leave a star rating for my pandan kuih seri recipe, I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!

Take care,
Christie

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