Kueh Lapis Kukus
Ingredients:
300g starch flour
150g rice flour
450g sugar
1200ml coconut milk
3 pandan leaves, knotted
red and green food colouring
1/2 tsp salt
Method:
1. Boil coconut milk with sugar, salt and pandan leaves till sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
2. Sieve starch flour with rice flour into a mixing bowl, add in warm coconut milk and mix well. Sieve flour mixture to get a smooth batter.
3. Divide batter into 3 portions, colour 1 portion green, 1 portion red, leave remaining portion uncoloured.
4. Steam batter layer by layer beginning with white batter followed by green and red batter.
5. Pour 200ml of plain batter into a greased and preheated 8″x8″ square tin. Steam over boiling water for about 5 minutes till layer is transparent. Repeat the layering and steaming till all batter is used up.
6. After pouring in the last layer, steam for 15 minutes to cook through. Uncover the steamer during the last 5 minutes for the kueh surface to dry up. Leave to cool for a few hours before cutting into serving pieces.





Hi Rose
I am ignorant of terms used in recipes.
When there is a recipe that asks for sago flour or starch flour, I am always stumped.
I can’t get sago flour usually. Is there any substitute?
As for starch flour, is it tapioca starch or corn starch or something else?
Also do you have any recipe for Ku-chai kueh (chinese chives), please?
Thank you very much for your time in advance.
Hope you are in good health. And thank you for this website. Living overseas, it is wonderful to be able to look out for recipes that I used to eat when I was a kid.
hiang,
I’ve posted the recipe for Koo-chai kueh under heading ‘desserts and snacks’. You can subsitute sago flour with tapioca flour also known as starch flour. I used to use it to starch our uniforms during our school days. It gives a crisp and shiny appearance.
Regards.
Rose
Hi Rose,
I was looking at the Kueh Lapis Kukus recipe and don’t quite understand steps 3-5. When we divide the batter, should we roll it first then cut it or how should we divide it? Then step 4 says that to steam the batter layer by layer, how to make it into layer? Pardon me for my poor understanding this. Appreciate if you can enlighten. THanks.
Felicia,
The batter is very watery. To each portion, you again divide it into about three portions each. Steam each portion for about 5 minutes till cooked, repeat the steps till all batter has been used up.
Regards.
Rose
Hi Rose,
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I don’t have to wait until I go to Indonesia to have kueh lapis kukus, I can make it now in Finland. The taste was perfect.
Regards.
Swadia
hi rose, thx a lot for your website. i live in usa by myself.. i really miss home food. i will try to make it by myself then. thx again.
Hi Rose
I was looking for Kueh Lapis Kukus. I am happy to have found it in your website with a bonus of many local recipies. I am Singaporean. Hope that you will remain well and continue to share the recipies.
Soodendra
Thanks Soodendra, I will.
Blessings!
Rose
Hi Rose, my kuih lapis kukus the layers are seperated. Do u know y? is it because my coconut milk too hot when pour to flours or i steamed the layers too long?
Hi Rose,
I was wondering if I could substitute the starch flour with corn flour? I do not have starch flour..?
Dear Ling,Hello to u too Rose.The answer to your question is because we steam it to long,kueh lapis is very sensitive so timing is important.If Rose stated 5min steaming for each layer…then 5 min it is.Too short the time it will mix into the bottom layer.Good luck to you,do not stop trying.God Bless you Rose and hope you are in good health.Thank you for sharing your recipes with us.
Hi Bree,
Thanks for sharing. Thank God my knees have healed and my wrist is recovering. I should be able to get back to putting up more recipes soon. Cheerio!
Blessings!
Rose
Dear Rose,
Thanks alot for that recipe and the sharing. I would like to ask, can I replaced the starch flour with glutinous flour??
I really love this kuih but always failed to make it.
Dear Rose,
Thanks, I succeeded this time round after applying your recipe. The kueh kueh tasted good and the texture was right. The kueh kueh I made previously were dry and the layers peeled off easily by itself. However, I spent a long time cutting the kueh kueh. May I know if there is a proper way of cutting the kueh?
God bless you
Gwem
Dear Gwen,
Glad you got it right this time. You can try using a plastic knife to cut the kueh. Every success!
God bless!