Layer by Layer · Steamed Rice Cake

Kueh Lapis

Photo: Shitadevi / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Traditional versions are steamed one thin layer at a time, sometimes nine or more, with each layer left to set before the next is poured on top — a single cake can take hours of steaming before it's ever sliced.

A batter of rice flour, sago, and coconut milk, tinted in alternating bands of color, is steamed in repeated thin layers to build a dense, chewy, striped cake, then cut into diamonds and sold at Peranakan kueh counters around Katong and Joo Chiat.

Why it's made this way: Steamed layer cakes like this are common across Malay and Indonesian kitchens, and Peranakan households read its tiers through Chinese numerology — nine, jiu, sounds like the word for 'long-lasting' — making it one of the fixed sweets on Katong and Joo Chiat's celebration spreads.