Cassava Pancakes

This is another recipe from Julau.

1. First, grate the ubi kayu, a.k.a cassava ( tuberous root of Manihot esculenta )

Ubi kayu is an exotic foodstuff, usually not commonly found in KL supermarkets.  But it is a very easily found in markets all over Malaya's small towns.  In a typical KL homes, it is very hard to find a kitchen grate for grating ubi kayu,  

So, one way to grate the cassava is via a food processor.   Just cut the cassava into small pieces, and blend it with a a bit of water in a food processor.

2. MIx 1 portion of the grated cassava with ½ portion of grated coconut, and ¼  portion of sugar.

note : the ratio is merely my own rough estimation.  It can be proportioned according to own liking.

3. Scoop and flattened a spoon of the cassava-coconut mixture on a non-stick pan.  Fry with a gentle flame until it turns golden colour.  Apply margarine if necessary.

4. Turn to another side and fry to golden colour.  Fry longer if you want more caramelization.

 5. The whiteness of cassava will turn to translucent sticky form when its cooked.  

6. Serve hot with a typical Malaysian kopi 'o'

Cassava Cake木薯糕 Kuih Ubi Kayu

Ingredients :

A1 fresh cassava 1kg ( ≈ 3pc ), grated

A2 fresh coconut 200g ( 1/4 pc ), grated
A3 sugar 白糖5 tbsp

A4 corn flour 薯粉4 tsp

A5 pandan flavoring

A6 margarine 植物油 for frying

Instructions

1. grate the cassava with a grater.

This is a very tedious job. Dangerous at times. It will spoil the mood if one carelessly grated own hand

I prefer the modern way using a food processor instead. Only need to cut the cassava into small pieces before putting into the food processor. A push of the button will do. May need to add a little bit of water to smoothen the grinding though.

2. Add in the grated coconut, corn flour, sugar and a pandan flavouring

Fresh grated coconut is not easily available in big cities, therefore can replace with coconut milk. packed coconut milk can be readily available in almost all supermarkets and hypermarkets, whether in liquid or powder form.

Sugar is optional as freshly harvested cassava is sweet by itself.
Corn flour too is just another ingredient can be omitted. However adding some will help make the cake more sticky and voluminous.

3. Steam the dough in steamer for around 15 – 20 minutes

The cake can be kept in refrigerator for days. Can be heated over frying pan.

To heat over frying pan, put some margerine in the pan over small flame. Wait till the margerine melted and spread it over the pan. After frying , its a bit yellowish, crispy outside, with a nice fragrant. The taste is as good, if not better.

I like to have it with a nice spread of kaya. Yum yum !

Ubi Kayu Rebus

Cassava, or Ubi Karyu (Malay), or 木薯（华语）, was a poor-man’s staple food during the yester years, especially during WW II.

Steamed Cassava is best with a cup of coffee or Milo. It’s served for morning breakfast or afternoon tea, often with grated coconut, Nipah syrup, sugar, sweetened milk, kaya or can even eat it on its own.




Fresh Cassava is cream-white in colour. After steamed for 10-15 minutes, the colour turns to a transparent-white, with a delicate flavour. Its sticky a bit, yet easily breaks, and melts in the mouth.

Cassava roots and leaves cannot be consumed raw because they contain two cyanogenic glucosides :- linamarin and lotaustralin. These are decomposed by linamarase, a naturally occurring enzyme in cassava, liberating hydrogen cyanide (HCN).

It had to be properly de-skinned and cooked prior to consumption