M’sian Baker Makes Beautiful Jalur Gemilang Angku Kuih to Celebrate Merdeka

By Charmaine Shaharin  •  02 Sep 2020 in Features

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Due to the sudden outbreak of coronavirus this year, every occasion and celebration has been put to a halt in order to lessen the spread of the virus.

Recently, our 63rd Merdeka celebration has been a quiet one with no parades or even fireworks. However, as long as our spirits are high, celebrating at home will still do the trick regardless if you’re in your home country or not.

Karen Chan, an executive search consultant and aspiring cook from Melbourne, Australia has decided to makeshift her Merdeka celebration this year by making Jalur Gemilang themed angku kuih.

 

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#nyonyakuih #jalurgemilangcake #angkukueh #asiandessert #nyonyafood #peranakanfood @my.blue.tea #nyonyakuih

A post shared by Baba’s Wife (@babaswife) on Aug 28, 2020 at 10:13pm PDT

Speaking to JUICE, Karen said that the reason why she chose the Jalur Gemilang design in an angku kuih form is because the treat is often served at celebrations such as birthdays and even weddings.

She also stated that making angku kuih is not difficult but the process to conceive the idea and handle the soft dough was a self-imposed challenge for her. The colours in the flag are also made from the natural colouring of beetroot, pumpkin and bunga telang.

Although Karen said that her and her family are blessed to live in Melbourne, that’s currently filled with wonderful Malaysian food served in restaurants, but the state still lacks good Nyonya food and kuih.

To make up for that absence, Karen has decided to take up the challenge to learn the Nyonya cuisine and offer catering services for it.

Karen who has been residing in Australia since 1999 now uploads various food recipes on her Youtube and Instagram under the username “Babaswife” since her husband is from a Peranakan family.

To continue with the national celebration, Karen had also made a Jalur Gemilang platter consisting of several colourful angku kuih that make up the flag’s surroundings along with rice as the blue part of the flag and angku dough for the crescent moon and star. She had even incorporated the national flag into a pineapple tart which looks too cute to eat.

As Malaysians, we love our kuih-muih to be colourful and delicious but what Karen makes is pure art, and for that, admiration is the only way to enjoy her creations.

Known as the ‘Kuih Lady’ by her friends, Karen has amazing cooking and baking skills that we’d like to see more of in the future and it’d be great if she could make more creative kuih designs that relates to our Malaysian culture for other festivities.