Putri Sarlat

Steamed Glutinous Rice topped with Coconut and Egg Custard

This quintessential Nonya dessert goes by many names: serikaya, serimuka, kueh sarlat.
I grew up knowing it as putri sarlat which one of my best friends, Karen, would jokingly
call ‘Putrid’.

The name for kaya (egg jam, page 263) stems from serikaya as these two desserts
are related. Both being egg-based, atypical of Asian sweets, there is some speculation
that these were influenced by the Portuguese who colonised parts of South East Asia.
Indeed, there is a Portuguese dessert called ‘sericaia’ which combines eggs, sugar, milk
and cinnamon of which the taste and texture resemble kaya and putri sarlat. The same
Portuguese influence lends itself to the famous tan tarts found in the former colony of
Macau, the tarts being the originator of all those we find in dimsum restaurants.

I recall my mother making the custardy kaya top in either green or yellow. The glutinous
rice base was always laced with blue rice, very much like the Nonya kueh chang. Before
serving, you need to cool the putri sarlat. To do so, you can let the tin rest on a rack. My
mother used to put the tin in a larger one filled with water (just enough not to spill into
the cake tin). This quickened the cooling process so that the rice would not overcook. More
importantly in the olden days, the moat of water also prevented ants from climbing into
the sweet tin of putri sarlat.

makes 12 servings

450 g or 1 pound glutinous rice (pulot),
to be soaked for at least 3 hours

1½ cups coconut cream
½ cup coconut milk
Corn or vegetable oil for brushing tin
¾ teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoons sugar, to add to part
of the coconut cream

3 to 4 drops blue food colouring, or
extracted from ½ cup of clitoria
(bunga telang) blossoms soaked

in hot water

8 eggs
300 g or 10½ ounces sugar
6 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
1 tablespoon rice flour
1 tablespoon plain flour
3 to 4 drops green food colouring

prepare rice

Rinse the rice three times. Place the rice in a pot and cover
with enough water, at least 2.5 cm or 1 inch above the
level of the rice. Soak for at least 3 hours before steaming
the rice, preferably overnight.

prepare coconut cream and milk

1.    Divide the cream into two portions: ½ cup for cooking
the glutinous rice, and 1 cup for the egg mixture.

2.    Set aside the ½ cup of coconut milk for the rice.

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