Malay "kuih bakul" maker learns art from Beijing friend

KEMAMAN: "Kuih bakul" or 'Nian Gao', a type of glutinous rice cake is a must for the Chinese community during the Chinese New Year celebration, but not many will expect a Malay to be making the delicacy.
What more when the cook is wheelchair bound, but Haziqah Nurul Huda Harun, 20, managed to overcome all the odds and proved that her physical disability is not a hindrance.
Despite the many taboos which the cook has to observe when making the "kuih bakul", Haziqah Nurul Huda managed to produce hers with perfection that a few months prior to Chinese New Year, she has her hands full meeting orders, not only from individuals, but also big companies, to be given away as a gift.
The 20-year-old woman who lives in Kampung Bukit Kuang here, and known to many as "Yaya", said she learned the techniques of making "kuih bakul" two years ago from a Chinese national from Beijing who was her Facebook friend.
"At first, and also because of my disability, I did it for fun, but when friends started making orders, I did not have the heart to turn them down," she said when met by Bernama at her house.
Haziqah Nurul Huda, who became paralysed after having high fever four years ago, said the process of making "kuih bakul", from making the dough to steaming and wrapping, took three days.
Kuih bakul only uses three ingredients, comprising glutinous rice flour, sugar and water.
"The process to prepare 70kg dough mixture takes four hours. After that the mixture is poured into moulds and steamed for 12 to 15 hours depending on the size.
"The kuih bakul has to be left to cool for a day after it is cooked before it can be wrapped," she said.
The fourth of five siblings, Haziqah Nurul Huda said she receives orders for almost 2,000 pieces of "kuih bakul" every month and it doubled when the Chinese New Year approached.
There are also orders from Singapore and Qatar, she said, adding that her "kuih bakul" came in two flavours, original and with durian flavour, and sold for between RM8 and RM15 a piece depending on their size.
She said she started her "kuil bakul" business with a capital of RM300, which was her Hari Raya angpau for the ingredients and had to borrow some money from her father, Harun Che Muda, 62, to buy an oven, high capacity steamer and other necessary equipment.
"I have been able to pay back my father's money and until now, I have spent about RM50,000, including to renovate the kitchen to suit my condition," she added.
She now hopes to open a workshop and employ some workers to help her as she has also started making mooncakes, 29 flavours, which she sells for between RM6 and RM14 each depending on the size. — Bernama