Busy time for kuih kapit maker with secret recipe

MACHANG, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- While kuih bakul or nian kao is a must for the Chinese New Year, kuih kapit or love letter is probably another popular item not to be missed in Malaysian Chinese homes during the festival.

Therefore, it is no surprise that as the celebration approaches, makers of the paper thin crispy biscuit will have their hands full to meet orders for traditionally made kuih kapit which is baked over charcoal fire.

Kua Bee Kiok, 58, who has been baking kuih kapit for more than 20 years said even though the process of making the delicacy is quite simple, but one must be quick to flip the hot metal mould or the biscuit would get burnt.

“It is a process of getting the batter cooked just right before one removes the hot and pliable biscuit from the mould and it is then folded in a few seconds before storing in an air-tight container to keep it fresh,” said the housewife when met at her home in Kampung Mata Ayer near Kemubu here.

Kua said to prepare the kuih kapit batter, she would mix flour, eggs, coconut milk and a bit of sugar well before it is ready for baking but the recipe is well-kept secret.

“I can bake up to six plastic containers of kuih kapit daily, each one filled with 70 pieces of love letters...since last month, I have been working non-stop as orders poured in from villagers and people from other places,” she said.

Kua who has been churning out the biscuit with her husband, Chong Loe See, 66, said despite the good demand during each festive season, not many are willing to pick up her way of baking kuih kapit.

She said she learned how to make the biscuit the traditional way from her elders in Pulau Chongdong here, in fact she even inherited the metal kuih kapit moulds from them.

“The present generation loves the biscuit but not many know how to make them as it takes a long time to acquire the finer skills to bake really good kuih kapit,” she said in fluent bahasa Malaysia.

The mother of four children and a grandmother of 13 grandchildren said apart from serving the delicacy to guests during the Chinese New Year, it is also a popular item as gift during the festival.

  – BERNAMA