PEANUT MOCHI

Muah chee is a sweet-savoury snack made with glutinous rice flour that is very similar to Japanese mochi (rice cakes). In Penang, it is usually served with fried shallots for texture and added depth of flavour.

Serves 4

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon cornflour
120 g glutinous rice flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
crispy fried shallots, to serve (optional)

Roasted peanut-sesame mix
25 g ground dry-roasted peanuts
25 g sesame seeds, lightly toasted
25 g caster sugar

Method
To make the roasted peanut-sesame mix, combine all the ingredients and store in an airtight container until needed. It will keep for up to 2 weeks.

Place the cornflour, rice flour, oil, salt and 200 ml water in a bowl and mix well.

Pour the dough into a lined steamer basket and steam for about 15 minutes or until a toothpick poked into the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a bowl.

Using a pair of chopsticks or a fork, stir the muah chee dough until it is springy in texture. Cut it into bite-sized pieces and toss in the roasted peanut-sesame mix to coat.

If you'd like to enhance the sweet-savoury flavour, sprinkle with fried shallots before serving.

Extracted from Penang Local by Aim Aris & Ahmad Salim, out now from Smith Street Books, RRP $39.99.