I came across this Southern China snack as a 3rd grader.
The bell for school dismissal rang on that one fine day. And just outside the school, an old lady stood.
She had a large pan sitting on the passenger seat of her bicycle. In the pan, was this white shapeless glob covered in crushed peanuts. And she was jabbing at that glob with a pair of scissors.
It looked somewhat like this:
Except her glob was much larger.
Selling at a dollar a serve, the other kids were crowded around her. And being a greedy, curious kid who happened to have a dollar in her pocket, i went for it, not really knowing what to expect.
Like many years ago, i used a toothpick to pick up at a bite sized glob, purposefully dredging it around the crushed peanut mixture to make sure it was generously coated.
I popped it into my mouth, and worked at a deliciously chewy glob with a crunchy, sweet peanut crumbs.
Better known as Muah Chee, this steamed, sticky dough is made from glutinous flour. If i am not wrong, it is the flour from which you make mochi from.
As mentioned, the sticky dough is then coated with a mixture of crushed peanuts and sugar.
And served with a couple of toothpicks.
The old lady of many years came back the next day. But stopped coming the day after. I bought 2 packs of muah chee 2 days in a row on the only 2 days she was selling. I bet i would have bought a third pack had she been there on the third day.
That must have said quite a bit on how much i liked this snack.
Muah Chee-Glutinous Rice Snacks With Peanuts
Taken from The Malaysian Cuisine
Ingredients
200 g Glutinous Rice Flour
300 ml Water
1 Tbsp Vegetable or Peanut Oil
A pinch of Salt
100 g Roasted Peanuts, coarsely ground
25 g Sugar
Method
Combine glutinous rice flour, water, salt, and mix until well combined. Steam the mixture on high heat for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the ground peanuts and sugar.
Pinch or cut the dough and toss into the peanut mixture. Serve immediately.
Serves 6 to 8
