The inventor of this 'Yuan Yang' Muah Chee is none other than Mr.Andy Tan the stall owner located at Block 79A Circuit Road Food Centre, 01-106.
He tips a tin of Muah Chee into a wooden tray, deftly cuts it into roughly 1cm-wide cubes and tosses them in ground , roasted sesame seeds.
The first time I come across the unassuming Muah Chee stall, tucked in a corner of Circuit Road Food Centre, I am struck by how intently he prepares each serving of the chewy snack, which is made of glutinous rice flour.
The 'Yuan Yang' Muah Chee - a mix of both black and white sesame Muah Chee - is served in a boat-shaped dish with decorative tooth picks. If you order it to go , it comes in a ptetty paper gift box.
It costs $2.80 per dish.
The Muah Chee is cut into smaller piece and the larger surface is coated with ground sesame, but to get more bite and flavour , eat two pieces at a time.
Mr.Andy cuts the pieces small so they are easier for children and the elderly to chew.
It is evident that much thought has gone into his Muah Chee.
The black sesame version, my favourite , comes with a Muah Chee dough that is infused with black sesame flavour . The glutinous rice dough is less sticky and less oily than most local versions.But it is not like Japanese mochi either, as it has quite a bit more bounce to it.
The sesame coating is fragrant but not too sweet, and there is a light crunch.
It is perfect and not so sinful ending to lunch at the hawker centre, but the fancy presentation seems more appropriate for a tea house than a hawker centre.
Mr.Andy also added a new flavour of muah Chee . His pandan Muah Chee with grated coconut topping costs $3.00 per dish is even more chewier than the sesame version and has a light pandan aroma that comes from real pandan leaves.
The coconut topping is his own - a mix of toasted and untoasted coconut flakes and a blend of five different types of sugar. To add a dash of glamour, he sprinkles some silver mini balls on them. It is unconventional, but moreish.
Mr.Andy Tan has been a hawker for only about a year. Before that he works as a car-parts manufacturer until the business failed in few years ago. He says he wanted a taste of his childhood and bought some muah chee at a pasar malam, but found it to be terrible. That was when he began channelling his skill for machining car parts into engineering muah chee.
It took him 40 attempts to get the correct sesame muah chee favor and about 20 times to perfect the pandan muah chee flavor.
He believes his version is an improvement of traditional muah chee, while retaining its Singapore roots.
"Japan , South Korea and Taiwan are known for their mochi, but we have our own Singapore muah chee ," he said."I don't want people to say our muah chee is the pasar malam version/standard."
The flipside of his passion for handmaking every portion is that every order takes at least five minutes to prepare and a queue of three means a 15-minute wait. But for me , it is definitely worth it.
(The Sunday Times , dated 21st Feb 2016)
Location : Block 79A Circuit Road Food Centre,
#01-106 ,
opening hours : 11.30am to 10pm daily.
Rating : 4 stars
You may also try to make muah chee at home:
Ingredients:
(serves about 4 persons)
200g glutinous rice flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon shallot oil
250ml water
1 teaspoon shallot oil for brushing
150g roasted peanut powder (I used ready made ones)
40g toasted sesame
75g granulated sugar
The Method:
- To make shallot oil, thinly slice 2 shallots, fry with 4 tablespoons oil (about two parts of oil to 1 part of shallot) till golden brown. Leave to cool.
- Mix glutinous rice flour, sugar, salt, shallot oil and water in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine, make sure flour mixture is completed dissolved.
- Pour the mixture into a deep dish (suggest to use a 8" Corelle dinner plate). Steam over medium heat for about 25 mins. Test the center to ensure it is cooked through. Brush the surface with shallot oil and leave to cool.
- Mix peanut powder, toasted sesame and granulated sugar in a plate. (to taste: I only used up half the portion of the peanut mixture).
- When ready to serve, scoop small pieces of muah chee with a spoon and toss them in the peanut powder mixture.
Home made muah chee is ready to be served.
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