Kuih Seri Muka (Pandan Custard on Sticky Rice)

Drain the rice and mix with the 250 ml coconut milk and salt in a 20 cm square tin lined with banana leaf or baking paper. Tuck in the knotted pandan. Steam 25 minutes until the rice is cooked and the milk absorbed.

Remove the pandan. With the back of a spoon dipped in oil, press the hot rice down hard and evenly into a flat, compact layer.

💡 Press harder than seems polite. A loose rice layer lets the custard seep down and the two layers never separate cleanly on the knife.

Blend the 8 pandan leaves with the 150 ml water and squeeze through a cloth to get about 120 ml of green juice.

Whisk the eggs and sugar, then the flour and cornstarch, then the 300 ml coconut milk and the pandan juice, until smooth. Strain.

Cook the custard in a pan over low heat, stirring, 3–4 minutes only until it thickens slightly to the consistency of thin cream — not until set. Pour it over the pressed rice.

💡 Pre-thickening the custard is the trick that stops it soaking into the rice. Pour it raw and the green sinks; cook it solid and it will not level.

Wrap the steamer lid in a cloth and steam over medium-low heat 30 minutes until the custard is set and a knife comes out clean. Cool completely — at least 2 hours — before cutting into diamonds with an oiled knife.