Kueh Lapis

As a little girl, I loved kueh lapis. I grew up with the rainbow coloured sticky version as a breakfast or tea time treat.  It was a game to me, peeling layer after layer of the soft, stretchy sweet dessert, folding each layer to bite holes in the centre creating patterns. Yeah, I played with my food more than I ate it as a kid.

As I grew older, the nonya version appealed more to my tastes. Each in typical, elaborate nonya style comprised of fine layers of cake baked one on top of the other. The composite cake is sliced to expose the thin yellow and brown layers of cake.

At a reunion dinner, an old friend brought the nonya version of kueh lapis. Tried it, loved it.

Nonya chap chye recipe

I must confess. Mom made this dish , not me.

I remember how my late grandpa used to share his recipes with me. Though we spoke English , when it came to food, he'd explain it all in Malay . Typically the amounts were estimated , like a pinch of the, a handful of that , just enough of this etc.

The secret to great food was always stir frying pounded shallots and garlic or rempah in oil til brown then adding in the meat, then everything else.

Here's a simple way to prepare chap chye.

1. Soak dried black fungus , rice vermicelli and dried tau kee on water to hydrate these.


2. Dry with a paper towel.


3. Peel fresh prawn


4. Slice belly pork finely


5. Peel and slice a carrot or two


6. Slice a cabbage


7. Peel and Pound a clove of garlic and five shallots.


8. Stir fry the garlic and shallots til brown


9. Add the pork and prawns and let it cook


10. Add in the cabbage, carrots, black fungus, tau kee and vermicelli


11. Season with sea salt


12. Serve hot