Chinese New Year Special | Kuih Kapit (Love Letters) Pt 2

After getting the kuih kapit ingredients ready as described in earlier post, it is now ready to start making the crispy kuih kapit. The kuih kapit pit is quite similar to the one used for satay except no grills put on top. Also, the long rectangular pit enable more kuih kapit to be made simultaneously. The only concern is the person handling the this must keep a watchful eye or else the kuih kapit will turn darker than expected.

As kuih kapit needs constantly slow fire to make, charcoal will be the best and economical compared to conventional gas stove. However, the gas stove has its use as well in this case. To jumpstart the charcoal fire into desire condition, gas stove is used to accelerate the burning until the charcoal turns amber.

This method is definitely faster and produce less smoke compared to the fire starters that we normally use to burn the charcoal

Once the charcoal spreaded onto the pit, the kuih kapit mold will be heated up to make them ready hot enough to bake the kuih kapit later

The ready mold put in standby position. Before they are pour with the mixture, the kuih kapit mold will be brushed with cooking oil to prevent the kuih kapit from sticking to the mold when it is done

The begining process of kuih kapit; the mixture will be pour on top of one side of the mold

The process can be repeated several times as the excess will flow back to the pot. It is important to ensure the whole area of the mold has been poured with the kuih kapit mixture

Doing it again…

Once you are satisfied that the mold area is well covered with the mixture, you can put them on the pit

From here onwards, it requires the person to monitor and flipping over the mold when necessary to ensure both side are well baked. Once a while, you can open the mold to check if the kuih kapit is ready or not

This is a long process much like waiting game but making kuih kapit normally involves quite a number of person. It can be said that this is more like “gotong-royong” activity. So if you have a good company, making kuih kapit can be a good time for family bonding

Once the kuih kapit is done and ready for next process, the edges will be scrapped off so that the kuih kapit will maintain is circular, symmetry shape that helps to make the final product looks good

Caution: unless you can withstand heat, it is advisable not to use bare hands to peel the kuih kapit off the mold. The person in the picture already has years of experience doing it. For beginners in making kuih kapit, the next section may be a good training ground

Folding kuih kapit, that is. 

When the kuih kapit is still hot from the pit, it is quite solved and can be folded into any shape preferred. But the normal kuih kapit is typically folded to resemble a palm leaf fan. Perhaps this is the easiest way to fold and the shape will probably fit into a person’s mouth nicely

When the kuih kapit is no longer as hot as it was out from pit, it is time to fold them. The longer you wait to fold them, the harder the kuih kapit will be and it will eventually becomes very brittle. 

Once the kuih kapit is folded into half, it will be folded again for the second time. 

The folding job should be fairly easy, just need to make sure to follow the edges so that they will turn out well

After that, gently press the kuih kapit flat so that it is easy to store

The semi-finished kuih kapit. The process repeats as many times as possible until all the kuih kapit baked are folded. Of course, once a while, the QC failed and the children will be happily waiting to have them…

Kuih kapit is arranged in such manner so that the weight of each kuih kapit can be used to hold the shape until they harden. A container cover is used above to hold the shape

The mouth watering and deliciously crispy kuih kapit. 

After some time, the kuih kapit is ready for storage (or consumption). As mentioned, the person handling the pit must constantly monitor the fire and keep flipping the kuih kapit. Else you will either get the one above, dark brown…

…or light brown type

The kuih kapit is then arranged into containers for storage until they are ready for consumption. There you have it, the process of making kuih kapit. 

With Ngaku Chips and Kuih Kapit as two Chinese New Year cookies featured, the next article will feature something traditional as well. Stay tune to find out what we will be posting next. Any guess? Well, you can find it here