Kuih - Chinese guo

Chinese guo

Chinese kuih, written as "guo" (粿) or sometimes as "gao" (糕), are usually made from ground rice flours. Many of the kue are made especially for important festivities such as the Qingming Festival or Chinese New Year, however many others are consumed as main meals or snack on a daily basis. Example of these kue include:

• Nian gao (年糕): Known in the Hokkien language as "Ti Kueh" (甜粿)
• Caozai Guo (草仔粿): Pronounced in Hokkien as "Tsao wa kueh" (chháu-á-ké). Also known as "Tsukak kueh" (鼠麴粿, chhú-khak-ké) from the herb it is made from.
• Turnip cake (菜頭粿, 菜頭糕): Eaten straight, panfried, or stir-fried with egg as Chai tow kway.
• Taro cake (芋粿, 芋糕)
• Chwee kueh (水粿)
• Fun guo (粉粿)
• Red Tortoise Cake (紅龜粿)

Many Chinese kue require the use of a Kue mold similar to that use in mooncakes, which is either carved out of wood or made of plastics. Kue molds with turtles are ubiquitous, though molds of peaches are usually quite common. Red coloured turtle kue are known especially as "Ang ku kueh"/"Red Tortoise Cake" (紅龜粿). Since many Chinese no longer make kue at home, these molds have become less common in many kitchens.