September 7, 2021

Mee Jiang Kueh

This Hawker eats series is in collaboration with my friend, Em, who’s the mastermind + owner of Dabao Singapore.

I’ve never had a Mee Jiang Kueh before but Em had shared this video of a 72 year old Singaporean uncle who started his Mee Jiang Kueh business after being let go from his job. This was around the same time that were brainstorming what to make for this Hawker series and it felt like Mee Jiang Kueh was the one.

If, like me, you’ve never had a a Mee Jiang Kueh before, it’s a yeasted pancake that’s filled with things like red bean paste or peanut butter, and then folded up, cut into pieces, and served. I also thought it was similar to dorayaki in terms of its flavor profile. From what I can tell, Mee Jiang Kueh come in different sizes + shapes. Some are thicker, other thinner. Some are wider, other smaller. Toppings also vary. We make ours smaller-and-thicker-than-usual using a nonstick 4-inch personal pan and filled ours with red bean paste and crushed peanuts with sugar, I really liked the texture and crunch that the crushed peanuts brought.

This recipe was adapted from Singapore Noodles‘ blog. We measured out most of the ingredients in grams to ensure accuracy but I’ve shared measurements as well because I know not everyone has a scale.

Ingredients (makes ~6):

  • 1.5 cups all-purpose flour (180g)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup warm water, +1/4 cup water (220g warm water +80g water)
  • 2 tbsp sugar (30g)
  • 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 cup red bean paste
  • 1/2 cup ground roasted, unsalted peanuts mixed with 1/4 cup sugar
  • Neutral cooking oil to grease pan

To make:

  • Whisk together flour, egg, warm water, sugar and yeast. Allow to stand at room temperature (or in your oven with the light on if your kitchen is chilly) to ferment for 1-2 hours or until the surface is dappled with bubbles and the batter appears slightly domed. Mix the baking soda, salt and baking powder in the remaining water and fold mixture into the batter.
  • Heat a pan over low heat (we used a small 4-inch pan) until a drop of water evaporates almost instantly. Grease the base of the pan with oil, spreading it with a paper towel. Pour the batter into the pan and and spread the batter to the sides of the pan to form a rim.
  • Cover with lid and cook over low heat, bubbles should cover the surface of the pancake. One the top is firm, remove from heat and fill with red bean paste and crushed peanuts. Fold the pancake in half and cut into wedges.