oh, sweet letters of love
My family (on my Mom’s side) has been making love letters, or locally known as kuih kapit, for as long as I could remember. The recipe is one which we’ve used year after year since my great grandmother’s days. Even the stove and the moulds we use are older than me by at least 10 to 20 years. Yes, they are that old! Maybe someday they’ll become the family heirloom of sorts, but not just yet. Still a long way to go before we put them away for good.
The recipe is half standard and half by feel and experience. 1 kg of flour, 1 kg of sugar. That’s the standard portion. The other half is measured by “holding up a wet finger in the air”. 15 to 20 eggs, depending on how tasty (or heong) you want the love letters to be. Milk from 4 coconuts or more, depending on how old the coconuts are. The older they are, the more milk they produce, the less you need.
The amount of coconut milk added to the batter of flour, sugar and eggs is another thing that’s based on feel. My uncles who are pro at this always go by the consistency of the batter when they mix and stir it around a little. Too thick, just add a bit more milk. Too runny, and you’ll be in trouble.
While the batter is being prepared in the kitchen — it takes about 2 hours to get it just right — outside at the indoor garden, the stove is prepared. Charcoal pieces are placed into the stove (see how rusty it is? Now, that’s a really well-used ka-chang!), and left to burn till they smoulder nicely on their own. The perfect “fire” for barbecue.
The moulds are heated up to melt the layer of coconut oil that was applied the year before to keep them from rusting. Now, this is the “secret” — only use coconut oil to coat the moulds before, during and after making those love letters. We’ve tried all sorts of other cooking oils, but they don’t preserve the moulds well enough compared to coconut oil.
Once the moulds are cleaned off of the old oil and recoated with a new layer, the love-letter making begins!
Now, this is one thing I admit I’ve never really tried. Handling the moulds themselves over the stove. I’ve beaten the flour, sugar and eggs, squeezed the milk from the coconuts, mixed with a spring beater till my arms are all tired, folded the thin biscuits till my fingers are almost blistered from the hot oil. Those things, I’m good at.
Cooking the love letters themselves, no. One needs to pour batter onto the mould, put it over the stove to cook for awhile, scrape and clean the edges halfway through, put on the stove again till biscuit turns golden brown, peel off from the edge and toss to the designated letter folder (which is usually me). I’m ok with burning my fingers on the folding, but too chicken shit to try the actual cooking which probably might be less taxing on my fingertips. I’m afraid that I might burn half of the biscuits before they even reach the folding stage. Maybe next year, eh? Or the year after that… Or I’ll just stick to folding…
Even though we make these almost every year, it’s only my uncles and my aunt who really put a lot of effort into getting it done. There’s no one else except my brothers and I to so-called carry on the tradition, but I somehow doubt that it’ll happen. From the days where my great grandmother and family would make them by the dozens of tins to sell, to the significantly fewer tins for home consumption now, I think that tradition might fade with my generation…
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If your family is selling, I’ll buy 2 tins. Boleh tak?
Hi again and hey look .. am the first! Aren’t I supposed to be in slumber? My bad but what the heck.
Drool…my favorite love letters..reminds me of my childhood days helping my grans folding them..eerr I actuaaly ate more than I fold…hehehe…but no more homemade ones after grans passing. Nowadays we resort to buying them but it’s just not the same.
Hi littlemiss may,
First time commenting here, though I have been a reader for quite a while.
Don’t these kinds of family things seem more precious as you’re about to leave home?
Are the love letters only available during CNY? cos I see the template’s got Kung Hei Fat choi on it.
hey hey, i last time got do also la wei hehhe…
nw u can eat the word kung hei fat choi also la.. all the fatt choi go in ur stomach
oooo….I haven’t eaten love letters in a very, very long time! those look so good since they are homemade!
Ah! I miss that! My grandma and relatives used to make it back in the old days… Now they only continue the tong yuen making tradition. I still remembered I had my hands on the making process! It was very enjoyable and interesting!
aaaahh…
kuih kapit..
really admire the process itself..
but never had a chance to have a ‘hands on’..
So kewt, must use claypot to mix the batter? Look like flower pot liddat! And those old-fashioned rojak mixing bowl! I always associate that big yellowish mixing bowl with rojak! And that knife.. as old as the moulds??
Mmmm.. baked over charcoal.. sure tastes marvellous!! Everything cooked over charcoal tastes exceptionally good in my book!
I’ve never attempted to bake any of these traditional CNY cookies like kuih kapit or kuih bangkit. The only one I’ve tried is fah sang paeng. Finished making kuih kapit for the year? Otherwise I’d like to show my ger what it’s all about!
I like that back garden! It’s like almost a movie set from Imperial China ~ The Last Concubine.. The red tiles, the stone walls, those intricate love letter wheels, the forge iron monastry. I could almost hear Yo Yo Ma in the background. The House of Flying Love Letters.. just need a couple of bamboo pots.. and Ziyi.
yummy…
seems like there’s really a lot of work in making those love letters
Will you Fedex one Milo tin over here for me? *piggy eyes*
I’ve only seen my aunt’s mum making nin-kou but never saw anyone making kuih kapit. It’s getting more and more expensive now too!
I’m missing the melt-in-the-mouth kuih bangkit too!
yummy …. one of my favorite CNY biscuits …
Looks so yummy, my mom don’t do any kuih anymore coz no energy and I’m not around to help her. So miss the moment whole family members bz doing kuih for CNY.
fishtail - 5 HUGS… long time no see! how have you been? glad to have you here once again. we don’t make to sell anymore, it’s too back-breaking sitting there over the stove for a few days, heheh. but you’re most welcome to come over for some. *grin*
Pamela - 3 HUGS… waaaa, you stalker! LOL! I hope you had a good night’s rest after this late-nighter.
strangely, we don’t — well, at least I don’t — eat as much as I used to when I was younger. we’re sure to have some spoilt ones whenever we made some, and we usually eat those up… leave no evidence of bad biscuits! hahaha! yea, it’s just not the same when you buy them, hor? just not the right texture or flavour…
Kikare - 1 HUG… HELLO and WELCOME! so nice of you to drop by, and by commenting third, you’re now part of T H E H U G H U G C L U B™! I’ve added your link to my sidebar, if you don’t mind.
technically speaking, love letters could be made any time of the year. ingredients are found at almost any supermarket, and the moulds are always there for use. but because it’s somehow coined as a CNY biscuit, I guess it’s become a novelty of sorts to eat love letters only during CNY and not any other time. plus, it takes a full day to make a few tins, so that kinda puts off making it more than once in 12 months! *grin*
raychin - hahaha, such a joker, you! ya hor, all the fatt choy end up in my tummy, I fatt fatt FATT liao! this year got make any anot?
consuela - I think it’s time to plan a trip back home during CNY, yea? you just have to have some of these love letters on your next return, even if it’s not CNY! ask your mom to save you a tin…
Ever wonder why I disliked CNY. Just like you, I have to used the spring beater to mix the mixture to the consistency that Dad wants. Then have to help to make love letters taking turns with my sisters either folding, rolling or cooking them. We do not make them for ourselves only but also to give away to relatives. What were my parents thinking?
I think the love letter is made out of rice flour. Correct me if I am wrong.
I used to get up early, carry a pot of rice which was soak overnight, catch a bus to Chow Kit Road market to “Mor” the rice into a fine powdery mixture. I hate to do that especially travelling in a crowded bus. This was also use to make a deep fried cake (cannot remember what is called). The flower mould is dipped 3/4 way into the mixture and then into hot oil. The cooked cake come off the mould and the cake is removed as it turn light brown. It was an art that took me some time to master.
My parents also make other cookies or cakes. While my parents enjoyed doing it, to us kids it was torturous.
Though my sisters and I were taught the skill we all did not continue the tradition. I guess it is too troublesome and we got better things to do. hahahaha.
It look so delicious & lots of effort needed to make those. Large portion of the money we pay goes to the labour work.
kyh - I think a lot of our older generation folks had had a hand in making these last time, hor? now it’s done by that awful machine, so not nice wan! too thick, and too slow. does your family make tong yuen with filling? or plain?
yenchiew - come come, we recruit you to be my replacement next year! since I’m not around, you could help out and learn the secret recipe. want? *grin*
凯西 - don’t really have to use claypot, it’s just that it’s the biggest pot in the house, and you need a fairly big one to do the mixing. I guess if you half the recipe, you could use a smaller “pot”. dunno about the knives around the house, I don’t think they’re that old kwa…
yea, we’re done for the year, only one day every 356 days or so. the next time I’m back, if ever during CNY season and we happen to make some, we’ll record it on video and send to your daughter, ok? heheh!
L B - haha, what imagination! the bamboo plants are there, in the corners of the indoor garden! doesn’t quite show in these photos, but they’re in all 4 corners, tall, right up to the ceiling. no flowers yet. no Ziyi either. Yo Yo Ma must be playing in the garden next door. it’s a charming garden to play some Chinese chess too, and sip some tea while a light breeze blows…
Will - heck, yeah!! one whole day just on making these biscuits. at least four people at any one time, and replacements on second shift so that we could take turns to rest. and that is why we only make them once a year, too much effort!
I don’t think I have even helped if I remembered correctly, unless it was those years where my memories have faded
I have lessen my consumptions on many festive delicacies over the years, however this love letter is still one that I take the most out of all those that I have
my grandma used to make tins and tins of them!! but now its impossible for her to sit on the stool for so long..
my mom know how to make it as well.. but there’s just too little time for so much preparations! *excuse excuse*
sigh.. i’ll just have to make do with the cookies my mom bought from her fren =( so cham! *get the hint yet? =D*
I helped my mom make some of those long long time ago.. i was still in primary school then. The mould have been gathering dust for decades now.
Wow… u posted this at almost 3 am in the early morning?
u didn’t sleep geh yesterday night?
*kaypoh mode is on*
hard work, hard work..
& time consuming hoh?
u know lah, I’m lazy
atcherly thought of popping by your place to makan the shavings from the edges. yummmm…
ahh…i can smell CNY around the corner with such postings…
now all i need is my bahulu and my kuih “mat fung tao” (bee hive biskuit) gero gero gero~
waa waa waa… last time mom’s family used to come to our place to do this ritual but as the years go by, everyone became lazy, so now, no more liao… aiyooo, i hate folding the love letters! i have low pain tolerance haha… i just told nyonya this yesterday
but sure nice, hor the kuih kapit? May I have 2 pieces, please?
You just need some courage to continue the family tradition. Hey, look! There’s an aeroplane. *steal a piece of kueh kapit from May* *ngek
the charcoal stove is so the cool. can i hv it. no i dont wanna get a new one, there is no rust on it! lol. the ‘kapit’ are also cool. perhaps i should start a collection of ‘kapit’s huh?
no fillings one~ i dont think they hv so much time to do the fillings haha… and i dont eat tong yuen one~
maybe they oso got make dumplings~ well, that was then la, now dunno still got or not… i think no dy…
Has been ages since I last tried Kuih Kapit, hmmmm…I can almost taste the sweet and crunchy kuih kapit from the pictures. You sure take some great pictures.
wow! love letters!
*waits at my mail box everyday anticipating love letters from may…*..
2 pages long can?
I miss those cookies
wow!
sounds very interesting!
i have heard that it IS hard to fold the hot hot biscuit lor…hmmm well at least you’ve tried it b4…and u know the recipe etc etc…
im sure you can make it for your children nxt time
as for me,i only know how to eat it
May I link to this post? I want to write about love letters making.
But you have written on it….so I think I shall link to your post instead. The post I wanted to write is intended to be a heritage-related post, with reference made to an exhibit that I have seen at one of the museums.
I’ve never seen how to make it… nice
We called it in Indonesia: Kue Semprong.
And would you mind if I use one or two of the photos here, and credit it to you? Please?
Din make any la May.. Dunno when can go home also.. Now Industrial Training la, holiday have to get stuck in this place. No fun le.. I give u address u post to me la…. hahhahha
now, where did I pause this morning? ahhh…
moopig - can, cannn… small baby Milo tin, boleh? I can’t guarantee that the Fedex boys are any better than the DHL ones, these might disappear on transit too. I’ve been told that my great-grandma used to make nin-kou too, but that tradition never carried on to our generation. kuih bangkit, ooooh! absolute lip smackers!
sbanboy - join the club, quite a lot of fans of love letters out there!
Kenny Ng - I don’t really miss it, and I’m so cheeky to say that I’m glad I’ll be missing it this year, LOL! I guess it’s because I help out every year and it’s quite tiring getting those tins and containers filled with goodies. I’m gonna take a break from it now for a year, or two.
The Silent Reader - oh wow, that’s really making the flour from scratch! I’m not sure if rice flour is part of the original recipe, but we use normal all-purpose flour which works just fine. off the shelf, and no need to take it for grounding. I think the cake you’re referring to might be kuih bahulu. the taste is almost the same as love letters, except in a cake-like form.
I know what you mean by feeling “tortured” with making all these cookies, LOL! I was also the kitchen helper every year, except when I was away. it’s tiring baking up tray after tray of cookies, and sometimes that puts me off eating them too! oh well, it’s only once a year…
Jo - very very true! these days, a 3/4-filled Milo tin costs about RM18, which is more than enough to pay for all the ingredients for at least 4 to 5 tins’ worth of love letters. but it’s a lot of hard work, and hard work needs to be rewarded with ka-chingggggg$$… kekeke!
zeroimpact - all you need is just one day’s experience, and you’ll remember it for a very, very long time! wanna volunteer for next year’s batch? payment could be negotiated. 1 Milo tin full of love letters? 2? *wink*
ChristinE - ya lah, all the excuses coming out like no tomorrow, hahahahaha! it’s tough for anyone to sit there for hours, bent over the stove. kaki dan belakang sakit ohhh… I need a massage from all that love letter-making… *hints back to ya*
ubisetela - wow, did you? that’s like… ages and ages ago! those moulds could become part of the house decoration now, eh? that’s what we were thinking of doing to ours when we retire from it, heheh!
Chen - actually hor, I wanted to post early, but fell asleep towards the end, woke up in the middle of the night (or morning), and decided to finish it before I fell asleep again. gotta finish what I started. just like those love letters. kenot do halfway wan. savvy?
nyonyapenang - and I thought of popping over to J&R for a quick brunch with you all instead! by that time I think we were cleaning the moulds for the first batch liao. no shavings yet. come back later.
Monkticon - matt fung tao biscuit? hmmmm… oh, I think I know which one you’re referring to. looks a bit like a flower? or am I mistaken? oh well, at least I understand kuih bahulu!
I’ve never had the opportunity to witness the hard work that goes into the making of each love letter… me is very the banana *blush*. But now I know since May has posted this entry!
Btw, are you going to bring a Milo tin of love letters to Sydney? Bring along a little home lovin’… … …
princess a - yea, actually we’re getting lazier and lazier too, and skipped making them a couple of years. but because I won’t be around for a long time, I think my family chan kei wei (take opportunity) and make use of my free labour, wakakakaka!
here, have 2 pieces… have 5! *puts out a plate of love letters*
Hijackqueen - hahahahaha! neat lil’ trick! you must’ve learnt that from your kids. and I almost fell for it too! I guess I’ll have to master the art of cooking it the next time, hor. if next time comes lah.
wat de - this stove is almost seeing the end of its useful life, shaking unsteadily whenever we poke and prod the charcoal pieces around inside. the ‘kapits’ could make pretty decoration pieces, hor? I’ll let you have one, seriously! all you need is ask…
kyh - it’s easy to make tong yuen, actually. I’ve made some before too, though I’ve taken a liking to the black sesame-filled ones you could get from supermarkets. and the peanut-filled ones too! so yummy. what dumplings ar? siew loong pau?
TUX - how long since your last crunchy love letter? I wonder if you could get some in Chinatown… any luck? thanks for your compliment on my photos! *prouds*
Winn - 2 pages long, no problem! I’ll get 2 pieces of A4-sized paper, stick all the love letters on it, and post to you tomorrow. but then hor, I think all crushed to crumbs by the time I put into the post box… surat cinta hancur… *sigh*
Emily - I don’t miss them now, but I think I just might, next year.
phew, seems like a major “construction” (’gong chen’)..needs lot of efforts, far more difficult than pineapple tarts!
long time never eat love letters of those you’ve made…more common here are those rounded ones!
look tasty!!! yummy!
Chup some, can ah? Oh…yummy, yummy!
At least the tradition is still alive in your family. For most of us, we can only place our orders, and collect those big Milo tins when they are ready.
Pink Cotton - it’s darn hot, almost scalding even, those biscuits when they come off the moulds! especially the ones with too much coconut oil on it. that’s when we use a blunt knife to help press on the edges, though they go a little too flat after that.
make for my children? next time my children make for me, you mean! hahaha!
py - sure, link up! it’s always flattering and a real pleasure to have someone mention my posts or blog… *grin* the photos are yours to use, just right click on them, ‘Save As…’ to your computer and post away.
Selby - ahhh, so that’s what they’re known as in indonesia. I wonder if they make these anywhere else around the world? I don’t even know if they make these in China!
raychin - got 2 more weekends before CNY, still got time to make. one day’s work, kao tim. alamak, another one who wants love letters posted? those Fedex / DHL / Pos Malaysia boys would surely have a fun time eating up all my biscuits instead!
rinnah - I wouldn’t say you’re ‘banana’. I’ve eaten lots of kuih and biscuits which I’ve no idea how they’re made either! it’s so easy to just place orders with cookie-makers these days. no need to sweat it out in our own kitchen.
nah, won’t be bringing any food items to Sydney, they’re so very strict on those things. they’d probably confiscate my tin at customs, boo-hoo!
Leonard - oh gosh, pineapple tarts! we make those at home too. tried all sorts of shapes before as well, till we settled for the latest and easiest way of making them — by little rolls instead of the actual pineapple-shaped tart.
we used to do rolls for love letters, but it’s easier to stack when they’re flat… *grin*
king’s wife - can, can! sometimes I don’t mind just buying a tin off someone else, but then hor… I’d feel guilty, ‘cos we could’ve made them ourselves, LOL! and the taste just isn’t quite there. or maybe I’m just biased.
Thank you very much. I will send you a link to my post once I have put it up. I am also hoping to link that post to Yesterday.sg
Hi May, thanks again. Here’s the link of the post I have just written on love-letters.
Here’s the link of the post I have put up. Basically, it was to share about one of my museum’s visit, and about the making of love-letters.
Thank you very much for giving me permission to use some of the photos. The photos help to make the post more interesting and closer to life.
hi may, i love kuih kapit, i did it once, and my hand red red after i did the kuih kapit but very satisfy… hehe ..:D eat more because u cannot bring it to aussie? can i have one? hehe
dumplings as in bak zhang!
got the big big bak zhang and the small small yellowish ki zhang which u dip in brown sugar syrup~ but i prefer bak zhang, cos the ki zhang tastes bitter…i dun like.
ooooooooooooo~ kuih sipit~ or something` kakakakakkakaka
pandai hor` save some for me wor!
maybe after u graduated from the folding department u will be promoted as the official cook..
You know what, I learn to do that since I was at the age of 9!
My aunty teach me ~
I believe I have clicked on the submit button, but what the heck, I’ll try again.
aisay!! I would say over 20 years since I never go back for chinese new year. You know, I think this is a Malaysian thingy, and I have never seen it in DC or Philly Chinatown. Same goes for petai, belacan, asam peel, and much more…I am sure someone can name a few more. I am sure Sydney has more Malaysian food right???
Food Again!
*growl growl growl
BRB need to go munch something ^_^
psstt…tai kar cher pass some here can or not *wink wink
I like kuih kapit … but I get really fat really quick when I do eat them lots in the past few years. That’s why I’ve been reducing my consumption … which is a pity.
I guess metabolism does slow down … =(
mum used to make but retired liao. this entry brought back a lot of nice memory for me. making chinese goodies is always tradition until we replace it with shopping etc
Errr….where do i place my order?
till now I still think this is one of the most difficult stuff to do!
Ahem, for you, let’s make it 2 in the double
I bet it will be an experience not to be forgotten
*wink wink*
yeah may, that’s the one…like flowery type…now my office already berlambak “yok kon”, “kum” and cookies!
food! food! *salivating* come back onli see so much makan
py - you’re most welcome! always glad to help wherever I can. and thank you very much too, for linking me up!
sin ling - yea, my fingers looked as if they were lobsters on the grill! all reddish at the tips. luckily didn’t get overcooked, kekeke! you can have more than one, help yourself. I think I just might pinch a couple of those for breakfast tomorrow…
kyh - ahhhhh, bak zhang!! I like! I used to like the yellowish ki zhang (I think they’re also called kan sui zhong in Cantonese) with lots of kaya. these days I prefer the small nyonya zhang instead, where they’re filled with bits of fried sambal instead. aiseh, now make me lau hau sui in the middle of the night for one!
ben - kuih sipit? are they called that, too? if you drop by my place when you’re here in KL later in Feb, I’ll let you try some, mmmkayyyy.
sengkor - I think hor, I won’t ever graduate from the folding department. I only know how to fold one pattern wor. haven’t learnt how to fold the flower-flower kind yet. s’ok lah, not in a hurry to graduate anyway… *blek*
~TheAngel~ - ah, brilliant! do you still make them these days with your family?
TUX - I checked the Spam Bin, and you’re not there. must’ve been a glitch in the connection kwa… hmmm, maybe it IS a Malaysian thingy. I don’t recall seeing any of these in Sydney while I was there. then again, I only spent 1 CNY there which I didn’t bother hunting down any sort of cookies lah. I’ll watch out for them this year. Malaysian food’s a-plenty, but whether nice or not, that’s a different story!
Well at least you have it documented in your blog for the future generations to see. Sad sort of. But that is the way of the world.
JL - of course must be food! what else could it be?
sai lou, I think you must come here and learn the art of love-letter making. “family” tradition mah, you’re also “family”, ngam mou? *grin*
moz - I think I would too, if I ate them by the tins. all that sugar and coconut milk! and I just found out that although my BMI is normal, I still have a little too much… errrr, “padding” which could be reduced slightly…
seefei - I wouldn’t be surprised if this would all fade in the next 10 or 20 years too. *sigh* only the three of us siblings to carry on the tradition, and none of us really interested in doing that. we’d better appreciate it whilst it lasts.
tired_man - the queue just got a tad shorter on this side. here, have a magazine to read while you wait…
velverse - among all the cookies and biscuits I’ve made, you’re right — this IS the most difficult and mahfan to do! but darn rewarding, seeing all those tins filled up with love letters.
zeroimpact - waaahhhh, negotiator! ok ok, that’s 2 Milo tins, plus you’ll need to mix the batter, squeeze out the coconut milk, set up the stove, heat and clean the moulds, clean up after, oil all the moulds properly for storage… you sure you wanna do this? LOL!
Monkticon - yoke kon!! that’s something I want to have quite a bit of before I go. those sticky, sweet slices of dried meat… ooooh, and the chee yoke si too, sprinkled on bread with butter. yummmmmm.
fantasyflier - you always know when to drop by, eh? right when I post about food! your nose must be in pristine working condition, haha!
SA - it may be here now, but nothing lasts forever, and certainly not my subscription for this blog! I’ll definitely remember it most here… *points to head…* and here… *points to heart*
Oh darn. So you cannot take it woth you? Bummer.
ooooh, they look so wonderful!!! i wish i could take one out of the computer:D. My mom’s favorite cookie is kuih kapit. But unfortunately without the traditional moulds and charcoal it’s hard to make them. I do however make kuih bangkit and most of the time, my mom can’t wait for them to cool off and when there are cold enough to eat, half of the cookies are already gone. it makes me smile every time she does that
the box spit me out last night. must be all these love letters’ tasting way better.
This is something that every year I wanted to try out.. but every year, some how, it never happened.
You shouldn’t let the tradition die off.. at least make it for your own consumption! Aisay. For us, this die off at my mum’s generation. So sad. We were too young to be interested to learn this from my mum and now she’s gone. *sigh*
Btw, you sure it’s flour and not rice flour? Because I thought love letters uses rice flour? I’m going to print this out and try it one of these days.
*giggle giggle*
69!!!!! *thanks to everyliuliu who didn’t grab this one!*
mayliu, you sound like you will stop this blog one day..
will miss you then. but i can always bug you elsewhere! hehe.
Hmmmm, you drive an even harder bargain eh
Well, may be for this time I will try my best
LOL
Provided you do it with me
Heh heh heh
Lead the way…
Pssst! Pssst! I’ll be in town this weekend. When can I come and sample it? Shhh!!! don’t tell the rest,k!
See you some day may! all the best!
Hey May. I have anudda Blue Star for you. Where you want me to stick it?
*brings color pencils and markers* *wink*
testing one two three *hehehe* checking whether my im not deaf … hahah thanks so much ..
have a good break-a-way in ‘no-one-knows where’ mmuuahhh
pssstt where is my share of kuih kapit??
can send some love letters to me? hehe
It would be nice to see that some interesting tradition like this will be carried on to the next generation.. the significance of CNY has changed over the years..
SA - nope, unfortunately not. though I think if I’m a good girl and declare it, I just might get it through. but because the biscuits are so crisp, I’d just be bringing crumbs over at the end of the day. ish.
Poeh - WELCOME! it’s always great to have new visitors. I thank you for your patronage and taking the time to comment! do come back for more, yes?
they have those electric moulds now you could use, but the taste of the kuih kapit just isn’t as fragrant and nice as the charcoal-cooked ones, and not as crunchy. urgh!
we used to make kuih bangkit too, when I was a little girl. unfortunately those were one of the traditional cookies we no longer make these days; we just buy them from the shops now. I remember pressing the dough into the moulds, turning the block over, and *POP* hit the edge onto the table for the patterned dough to come out. sweet!
misti - I searched for you in the box after your comment, but there weren’t any traces of you. hmmm… it really must’ve eaten you up nice and clean that time, huh? glad you made it through this time!
zara’s mama - it’s quite a hassle to make it for my own consumption on my own, I’ll need at least two other people to help out, especially with the cooking! can’t handle those moulds myself and fold at the same time, I’d burn most if not all of them, heheh.
I’m quite sure it’s flour, because my Mom did the ingredients shopping for it the day before and I was with her. hmmmm, maybe there’s some rice flour mixed into it, I’m not too sure. I should ask again just to be sure, otherwise we might end up having really tough biscuits to chew on!
misti - 69 is yours!! kakakakaka! I was waiting and waiting and wondering if you’d turn up just in time, and you did! whee!!
well, nothing really is forever, this blog included. but not to worry, I won’t be stopping it so soon, it’s got a few more years to go… I hope! by that time, maybe some new online phenomena might take over instead…
zeroimpact - of course must work for your 2 tins of love letters! kenot simply simply wan. ok, I’ve signed you up for next year’s Kuih Kapit 101 course with my aunt and uncles. I’ll be the invigilator. no cheating, ya!
Cocka Doodle - *hands over a tin…* ooops, I didn’t realise it was empty! the dog must’ve eaten your share liao. how? you make summore for me, ok?
Wingz - all the best to you too, and keep smiling always!
SA - another Bluey? whee!! you can stick it right here… *points to chest* watch that pin now, ok… *squeezes eyes shut*
misti - yippee! *brings out lots of drawing paper* *and scissors and glue too*
cp1 - testing 4… 5… 6… boleh dengar tak? ok!! hahaha! thank goodness you could still hear me. having a wonderful break time! when are you gonna come here too, huh? and bring along a tin of kuih kapit, I forgot to pack some over! *muaks*
_butt - sure, sure! I think there’s still some left. what’s your address?
yea, so many things have changed, it’s inevitable. traditions change too, through time. that’s evolution, modernisation, advancement. I wonder what’s next to go… I hope nothing yet, and not too soon!
Kuih Kapit; is always the local favourite…my Mum really loves them too!
I always find them unique and fascinating; a true art of culinary; such thin fragments of flour and cooking and they are really as light as letters!