I am not sure whether you folks
out there know about the delicious simple traditional kueh that is made of
leftover rice. We call it Kepal but maybe others may have another name for it.
Anyhow it the period before the coming of the refrigerator where it difficult
to keep leftover rice overnight. It would go stale or Basi in Malay. Nothing
could be done about leftover rice that is left overnight except to feed the
chicken in the early morning. Since steamed rice cannot be kept overnight and
carry forward like we do now by putting it in the fridge and reheat it the next
day, folks during that period came out with an ingenious way of turning the
leftover rice into cake before it goes stale. When I was growing up at my
father’s restaurant in Kuantan before we had the fridge, the restaurant at time
has left over rice, so with ingenuity they found a way to turn the leftover
rice into other food that could consumed later. They turn the leftover rice
into Kepal. At individual home housewife do that too and enjoy it at teatime.
What folks at that time did was to dry in the Sun the leftover rice that is yet
to go stale. It may take hours or days before the leftover rice is completely
dried. It is then fry lightly; then shred coconut and palm sugar are added. The
mixture is then pound into rough pulps using lesong. It is then mold by hands
and turned into a small kueh that we call Kepal. Ready to eat. Voila! you got there a delicious kueh made of
leftover rice. Nowadays I no longer see such cakes since folks no longer need
to turn it into Kepal. Leftover rice can now be kept fresh for a long time in
the fridge. Now I do miss the Kepal. Anyone out there who still makes this
Kepal, would love to have some. My two cents.
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