Destination
Singapore
The story
Kueh pie tee — literally "top hat pastry" in Peranakan patois — is one of the most photogenic bites in Singapore-Malaysian Nyonya cuisine: small deep-fried pastry cups (about 4cm across) shaped like tiny top hats or vol-au-vents, filled to the brim with a warm braised-jicama filling identical to popiah's turnip filling, topped with a halved prawn, a small dice of hard-boiled egg, a scatter of crushed peanuts and fresh coriander, and finished with a small drop of sweet-and-hot sauce. Served on trays at Peranakan wedding banquets, at Chinese New Year gatherings, and at fancy party spreads. Every Nyonya home has a kueh pie tee mould (a small pineapple-shaped brass mould on a long handle) for making the shells; you can also buy the pastry cups pre-made from an Asian bakery.
Method
Whisk plain flour, rice flour and salt in a bowl. Whisk eggs, coconut milk, water and oil in a separate bowl. Combine and whisk to a smooth thin batter (like a crepe batter). Strain if lumpy. Rest 30 minutes.
Follow the popiah filling method: sweat garlic, ginger and dried shrimp. Brown pork belly. Add mushrooms, tofu, jicama, carrot, oyster sauce, soys, salt, sugar and stock. Braise 45 minutes until jicama is soft. Keep warm.
Warm the oil in a small deep pot to 175C. Submerge the kueh pie tee mould in the oil for 30 seconds so it's screaming hot — this is essential for the batter to stick.
Working quickly: dip the hot mould into the batter — only up to just below the top of the mould (do not submerge the mould's rim, or you can't release the shell). Immediately dip the batter-coated mould into the hot oil. Fry 20 seconds until the batter sets around the mould. Shake the mould gently — the shell should release and float free. Continue frying the free shell for 30 to 45 seconds until deep golden. Lift out with tongs onto a wire rack. Repeat, re-heating the mould in the oil between each shell.
Let the fried shells cool completely on a wire rack (they crisp up as they cool). Store in an airtight tin at room temperature until ready to serve — they keep 2 days.
Have all the toppings — halved prawns, chopped egg, crushed peanuts, coriander, fried garlic — arranged in small bowls.
For each kueh pie tee: place a shell on a plate. Fill with 1 tbsp of warm turnip filling. Top with half a prawn, a pinch of chopped egg, a scatter of crushed peanuts and fried garlic, a few coriander leaves, and a small drop of the sweet-hot sauce.
Arrange 3 or 4 per plate. Serve immediately — the shells soften from the filling within 15 minutes. Eat with fingers in one or two bites.
Tips
- Hot mould, correct batter viscosity. This is the whole trick. Mould in the oil for 30 seconds; batter thin enough to coat but thick enough to stick. First 3 shells will fail; by the 10th you'll be nailing them.
- Do not submerge the mould rim. If batter coats the top of the mould, you can't release the shell. Dip only up to about 5mm below the rim.
- Use pre-made shells if you don't have a mould. Any Asian bakery or specialty grocer sells kueh pie tee shells in a tin. They're actually excellent — no shame in the shortcut.
- Assemble at the last minute. Filled kueh pie tee soften within 15 minutes. Set up an assembly station at the party and let guests build their own, or make in small batches.
- Serve on a tray at eye level. This is a photogenic dish — arrange 24 kueh pie tee on a tray in neat rows. Every Peranakan party has this exact set-up.
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