A traditional Malaysian delicacy, kuih cakar ayam is named as such because the finished product is reminiscent of the scratch marks of a chicken left to its own devices.
Using only three basic and affordable ingredients, whipping up a batch of these crunchy treats is really easy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups yam
- 4 tbsp sugar (read sugar options below)
- cooking oil
Equipment
- a circular/round mould, 3-4cm in diameter, preferably made of heat-proof plastic
- a slotted ladle or strainer for frying
Types of sugar
Different types of sugar produces different results:
- white sugar is the easiest to use as it is the most common;
- jaggery (gula merah) takes a while to melt and becomes somewhat clumpy;
- brown sugar results in a crispy treat with a nice caramel flavour;
- coconut sugar (gula Melaka) will completely blow your mind: it’s incredibly crispy with a lovely burnt-caramel flavour.
Method
- Peel and rinse the yams.
- Using the smallest hole on the box grater, grate the yams finely into strings. Do not use a microplane box grater as the holes are too small.
- In a medium-sized pot, heat enough oil to cover the grated yam. When you see bubbles in the pot, the oil is ready for frying.
- Add two tablespoons of sugar into the pot and stir until it melts and resembles a brown sludge.
- Add 1 cup of grated yam. Fry and stir the yam continuously until golden brown.
- Remove the fried yam, allowing excess oil to drip back into the pot, and transfer it to a tray.
- Quickly scoop a spoonful of yam into the mould, pressing it down with a bit of pressure to shape it. Do not make it too compact as this will make cookies too hard.
- Once shaped, pry the cookies out onto a tray lined with baking paper to cool and absorb excess oil.
- Repeat the process with the remaining yam. Work quickly, otherwise the sugar will cool and solidify the mass of fried yam into a big lump.
- Let the cookies cool before storing in an airtight container or enjoying straightaway!
This article first appeared in butterkicap.com, a food and culture platform and community that enables anyone to experience Malaysia through stories of her people, food and places