Seems like news just gets worse and worse at my firm. Many warning letters were given out. My friend was one of the unlucky ones. I heard news that I was on the list too, but somehow managed to avoid it. At friday’s town hall, the boss painted an unrealistically rosy picture. Only until the Q & A session, when the truth came out. No retrenchments but 
yes there are warning letters given out. No promotion freeze but please get full marks for appraisal and a recommendation before getting promoted this round. By the way, no more encashment of leave if you want to quit. I wished they were honest with us. Don’t candy coat the truth. Don’t give me crap that things will get better. I don’t want to work in such a firm. I don’t like to have a threat of getting warning letters hanging above my head. Hates. I am now officially looking for a job. Wish me luck, everyone!
Today’s recipe is for an asian kueh (pronounced as ‘ku-eh’). According to Wikipedia, a kueh is a term given to various manners of bite-sized food items in the Malay Archipelago. To a certain extent, I agree with this description. Kuehs come in all shapes, both savoury and sweet. They are mostly steamed, and many of the sweet types use glutinous rice and coconut milk. We have many shops here in Singapore that sells these tasty treats. Bengawan Solo is probably the most well known, selling quite a variety. I made this steamed kueh lapis because it is one of my mom’s favourite. The multicolored layers are so pretty, just like a rainbow. I will be introducing more of these steam kueh recipes to you peeps in time to come. Bengawan Solo, watch out. 
Steamed Kueh Lapis
150g rice flour
30g green bean flour (lek tau hoon)
150ml water
For the Syrup:
180g castor sugar
280ml water
2–3 pandan leaves (screwpine leaves), knotted
250ml thick coconut milk (squeezed from 1 grated coconut)
1/4 tsp. salt
Various food colorings.
1. Knot the pandan leaves and lightly scrunch it to let the juices out. Combine sugar, water and pandan leaves in a saucepan. Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar. Strain and leave it to cool.
2. Weigh out rice flour and green bean flour and put it in a large mixing bowl. Pour in water gradually and leave aside to soak for 40–45 minutes.
3. Add coconut milk and salt to the rice flour and mix well. Stir in syrup. Strain the batter to ensure it is free from lumps.
4. Get ready a few bowls. Divide batter into four or five (depending on number of colorings used). Leave one portion white and add coloring to the other bowls of liquid.
5. Place a greased 8 inch square tray in the steamer and heat up for 4–5 minutes. Pour half the portion of red batter into the try. Cover and steam over medium heat for 5–6 minutes or until set. Repeat with other colored batter until all the batter is used up, starting and ending with a red layer.
6. After the final layer is set, steam the kueh for a further 12–15 minutes. Halfway through open the lid to release the steam, then cover again until the end of the steaming process.
7. Cool the kueh thoroughly before cutting into desired shapes.
