How Kueh Evolved From Savoury To Sweet Through Cross-Cultural Fusion | Southeast Asia On A Plate

Join Chef Justin Foo as he uncovers how Kueh are a testament to Southeast Asia’s colourful history of cross-cultural fusion sparked by migration and war! Digging into the origins of the Ang Ku Kueh, Chef Justin discovers how Malay culinary traditions, through the hands of Peranakan ladies of the past, transformed the imported Chinese creation into a dessert bursting with Southeast Asian flavours.

He learns that the people’s love for many forms of Kueh didn’t dim even through the darkest years of Japanese Occupation. Instead, some sweet delights even became a necessary staple of the wartime diet, thanks to their readily available ingredients. Diving even further into the region’s past, Chef Justin discovers that the Kueh Lapis Legit is truly a product of Southeast Asia’s history as the epicenter of the once lucrative global spice trade.

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00:00 Introduction
03:03 Selling thousands of ang ku kueh for the coming festival
06:41 Significance of kuehs at the Jade Emperor's birthday
11:18 Different ang ku kuehs from different cultures
14:15 Making traditional Peranakan kueh koo
21:04 Where did tutu kueh come from?
24:52 Putu piring, a rice flour kueh sold by street vendors
28:51 Why people ate kuehs during the Japanese Occupation
30:08 Making kueh bingka, a tapioca-based kueh eaten during war time
35:06 European demand for spices from Southeast Asia
38:18 How cookbooks show the origin of kueh lapis
43:22 Meet one of the first sellers of kueh lapis in Singapore

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About the show: Join our chefs as they embark on a journey to uncover the untold stories and unexpected twists in the genesis of some of Southeast Asia’s most beloved culinary treasures.
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