Apam balik
Photo: Dr.Francostein1975 · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Apam balik, turnover pancake in Malay, is a street sweet shared by Malay and Chinese Malaysian hawkers, called min jiang kueh in Hokkien and derived from Fujianese griddle cakes. A yeasted or baking-powder batter is poured into a heavy round pan, left to bubble and set, then filled with crushed roasted peanuts, sugar and often creamed corn or margarine before being folded in half. Stalls sell it in two styles, thick and soft or thin and crisp. In Kuala Lumpur, Ah Loh's on Jalan Hang Lekir sells it off Petaling Street.

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Common allergens: Peanuts, Gluten, Egg, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 2 large pancakesHands-on 20 minTotal 1 hr 20 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 200g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp instant yeast
  • 1 egg
  • 50g sugar
  • 250ml milk or water
  • 100g roasted peanuts, crushed
  • 4 tbsp caster sugar
  • 4 tbsp creamed corn (optional)
  • 2 tbsp butter or margarine

Method

  1. Whisk the flour, baking soda, yeast, egg, sugar and milk into a smooth batter and rest it for 1 hour.
  2. Heat a heavy 20cm frying pan over medium-low heat and brush it lightly with butter.
  3. Pour in half the batter and swirl it up the sides; cover and cook 4 to 5 minutes until the top is full of holes and set.
  4. Scatter over half the peanuts, sugar and creamed corn and dot with butter.
  5. Fold the pancake in half, lift it out and cut into wedges; repeat with the remaining batter.

Tip from the editors. Keep the heat low; the base must brown slowly while the top sets, or you get a burnt skin over raw batter.

Where to eat apam balik

Apam balik in Kuala Lumpur

Ah Loh's Apom Balik ★ 4.0

$ Street foodPetaling StreetCash only

Ah Loh's Apom Balik on Jalan Hang Lekir in Kuala Lumpur folds peanut and sugar apom balik pancakes in a large pan, a sweet stop just off Petaling Street.

TryPeanut and coconut apom balik pancake

TipThe peanut pancake is the classic, but the coconut and pandan versions are worth trying at about RM1.50 a piece.

Directions

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