They are wrapped in a sweet pot and stuffed with grated coconut seasoned with turmeric, lemongrass, red chiles, and dried shrimp.

I adore Cucur Badak, a traditional Malay sweet pastry.

As with many other Malaysian dishes, the secret of Cucur Badak’s flavor is in the cooking procedure for the simple ingredients—sweet potatoes, flour, and grated coconut.

It’s easy to imagine what Cucur Badak tastes like if you’ve ever had Pulut Udang.

Instead of sticky rice, the fillings are grated coconut seasoned with turmeric, lemongrass, red chiles, and dried shrimp.

They’re deep-fried to a golden brown perfection rather than grilled over the fire…

Well, that’s all I can say.

Every time I see a new kuih-muih recipe, I am amazed by the ingenuity and craftsmanship of producing it.

I’m getting the hang of producing these sweets, and I hope to create more soon.

What is the average number of calories in one serving?

• Each serving of this recipe contains only 628 calories.

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DOUGH

• Small shrimps for garnishing, with shells and heads on
• 1 lb. boiled sweet potatoes, mashed
• 10 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 pinch salt

FOR THE FILLING

• 1 garlic
• 1 lemongrass, use only the white part*
• 6 fresh red chilies or dried red chilies
• Sugar to taste, palm sugar preferred
• 4 cups grated coconut*
• 3 shallots
• 1/2 cup dried shrimps*
• 5 slices peeled fresh ginger
• Salt to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE DOUGH

1. For 15 minutes, bring the sweet potatoes to a boil in salted water.
2. Cooked sweet potatoes are ready to be mashed in a large basin by peeling off their skins.
3. Add flour, sugar, and salt to the mashed sweet potatoes and mix until a soft dough is formed. If the dough is too wet or goopy, it will be challenging to roll out. Add extra flour if the mixture is too wet.

FOR THE FILLING

1. All (*) ingredients should be pounded together in a food processor or blender.
2. For 15 minutes, soak the dried shrimp in boiling water and then pound them. Set away for later use.
3. Add the pounded ingredients and the pounded dried shrimps to a hot pan with 2 teaspoons of cooking oil. Fry until the aroma of the food fills the air.
4. Add the grated coconut and stir it in thoroughly.
5. Salt and sugar can be added to taste.
6. Set it aside and let it cool.

FOR THE WRAPPING

1. Dusk flour on your hands and flatten a piece of dough (the size of a small ball) before adding the filling to its center.
2. A small shrimp should be pressed into the top of the dough to cover the filling.
3. Fry until golden brown in hot oil.

NOTES

• I couldn’t find any small shrimps with their shells on, so I used peeled small shrimps in place of them.