Red Tortoise Cake

Red Tortoise Cake

Ang Ku Kueh, or Kue Ku, sold in Jakarta
Alternative names	Ang Ku Kueh
Type	Pastry
Course	Snack
Place of origin	China
Region or state	China and Southeast Asia
Main ingredients	Glutinous rice flour

Red tortoise cake (Chinese: 紅龜粿; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Âng-ku-kóe) is a small round or oval shaped Chinese pastry with soft sticky glutinous rice flour skin wrapped around a sweet filling in the centre. It is molded to resemble a tortoise shell and is presented resting on a square piece of banana leaf. As suggested by its name, red tortoise cakes are traditionally red in color and has a sticky chewy texture when eaten. Red tortoise cakes are shaped like tortoise shells because the Chinese traditionally believed that eating tortoises would bring longevity to those who are eating it and bring about good fortune and prosperity. Considered to be auspicious items, these sweet pastries are especially prepared during important festivals such as Chinese New Year as offerings to the Chinese deities.

Red tortoise cakes are also prepared for occasions that are culturally important to the Chinese such as a newborn baby's first month or birthdays of the elderly. Eating red tortoise cakes during these times is meant to represent blessings for the child and longevity for the elderly. In modern times, red tortoise cakes continue to be important food items during Chinese festivals in many countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Taiwan and southern Thailand provinces such as Phuket,Phang-Nga and Trang. However, eating red tortoise cakes in these countries is no longer restricted to special occasions for red tortoise cakes are also commercially available in many pastry shops and bakeries.

There are two main components in red tortoise cakes, the skin and the filling. The skin is made mostly from glutinous rice flour and sweet potato whereas the fillings are made from precooked ingredients such as mung bean or ground peanuts and sugar. After kneading and molding the ingredients together, the red tortoise cakes are steamed on a piece of banana leaf. In countries such as Singapore, these pastries are popular snack items and are especially popular with children because of their sweet and savory taste. In fact, many bakeries in Singapore have created red tortoise cakes in a variety of assorted flavors, including jelly and red bean, to cater to all tastes and preferences.