Crochet Nonya & Local Kueh Amigurumi, Part 1

Two-plus weeks ago, I posted on Instagram about a series of local food amigurumi that I had been inspired to create. Earlier this year, I took part in a crochet-along event, the Amigurumi Bake-Off (posts here), which featured some classic local foods of other countries. It inspired me to try creating a series of local food amigurumi to celebrate the rich and diverse local food heritage and food culture of my country. Our recent Sentosa staycation (part 1 and part 2) also gave me renewed appreciation of our heritage. I'm sure other local crafters have done so before. I admit I've yet to look for them, but I wanted to undertake the challenge of coming up with my own patterns. After all, isn't that also part of the fun?

So, here is the 1st set of Nonya kueh (also spelt Nyonya kuih) amigurumi made from my own patterns or modified from existing patterns in my pattern stash.

Nonya kueh amigurumi, Part 1: ang ku kueh, kueh salat, kueh lapis, and ondeh ondeh (IG).

Kueh (or kuih) are traditional pastries in our local Chinese, Malay and Nonya cuisines. I say "local", but actually they are part of a food heritage that is shared by our regional neighbours, in particular Malaysia and Indonesia, due to our shared histories as part of the Malay archipelago. Some of that was already alluded to when I posted about our recent Sentosa staycation, but to delve into how and the ways our cultures and histories are interconnected would be information overload at this time.

In Singapore, we are very fortunate to have many delicious local foods here, so it's tough to simply single out a few. I decided to make Nonya kueh amigurumi because they are great examples of our local food heritage. Also, in terms of appearance, kueh are colourful and come in basic shapes, so they generally translate into amigurumi well. I say that, but I did struggle a bit when creating the ang ku kueh amigurumi. (ᗒ_ᗣᗕ)՞

This first part consists of 4 types of kueh that are popular classics here: the ondeh ondeh, kueh lapis (aka lapis sagu), kueh salat (aka kueh seri muka), and ang ku kueh. Links to the crochet patterns for the first 3 are below.

First of the classic kueh in this series is the ondeh ondeh, a popular sweet snack in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It is called kelepon or klepon in Indonesia and is Javanese in origin. With their soft and chewy pandan flavoured glutinous rice skin, and the sweet explosion of the fragrant and flavourful gula melaka liquid filling when bitten into...ondeh ondeh are my favourite kueh, and are super addictive.

Ondeh ondeh amigurumi.

The second of these 4 classics is the kueh lapis, or lapis sagu, a 9-layered steamed kueh that is a classic Nonya kueh. Most Singaporeans who grew up on this snack will remember peeling off each layer, and eating it thus. There's no set way to eat it, really, I suppose for us it was kind of part of the fun.

Kueh salat and kueh lapis amigurumi, with their characteristic layers.

Third is the kueh salat, also called kuih seri muka, which is also very popular here. It is a 2-layered steamed kueh of a pandan custard layer and a glutinous rice layer that originated from Malaysia and/or Indonesia. I considered using the moss stitch to make the rice layer, to replicate the texture of the rice layer, but I did not pursue this in the end. Though I might try it again.

The glutinous rice layer is sometimes coloured with blue pea flower (or butterfly pea flower) which adds the characteristic purple-blue colouring. (If you're wondering why the flower sounds familiar, it's because I've mentioned it in another post before.) I did not include the blue pea colouring in my amigurumi, but I was thinking of doing so. Should I incorporate it as a yarn colour change within the pattern, or embroider it after, or use acrylic paint to "dye" it? The third option of using paint to "dye" it would probably give it a more realistic look, so I am leaning towards that. But I also like the challenge of changing yarn while crocheting, and find it interesting to try and incorporate that into the pattern design....

Finally, the ang ku kueh (紅龜粿), or "red tortoise cake". Unlike the above 3, the ang ku kueh is Chinese in origin, to be specific, from Fujian, China. Hence its Hokkien name. This one stumped me a little. The kueh is traditionally round or oval shaped, but the top has hexagonal designs to resemble a tortoise shell. Through trial-and-error, I tried to replicate this in my amigurumi, but with limited success. (More like no success.)

Ang ku kueh amigurumi, 1st prototype.

The first one was close to how I wanted it to look at the top, but not for the sides. Although I do like the look of it, and I guess I could use the idea for something else, like a crochet pin cushion or a small bag for maybe potpourri or scented items. Sometimes such creative accidents have their merits?

The second one had the round shape I desired, but the hexagonal top didn't look angular enough, despite my best efforts. My prototype also lacked the side hexagons, and so does not quite resemble the actual kueh. So it's back to the drawing table for the pattern design for this kueh. I do have an idea that I'd like to try out; the idea was drawn from the crochet prawn pattern in Ronique's crochet osechi ryouri (post here).

Ang ku kueh amigurumi, 2nd prototype.

Have a few more kueh that I would like to create, so there's a lot more still on the drawing table! As at the time of this post, I just finished making a lozenge-shaped kueh talam in gula melaka and yam flavours, but I ran out of purple yarn for the yam-flavoured one. So that will be in the next round of Nonya kueh amigurumi....

On a final note, maybe I should just say "kueh amigurumi" or "local kueh amigurumi" because it can be a little confusing to classify which kueh is Nonya and which is Malay and, in some cases, which is Chinese. There is a lot of overlap between Malay kuih and Nonya kueh, but the two are also different...as in, like...it's same, same but different. Nonya kueh includes various kueh of Chinese origins that are not included in Malay kuih, and was developed from a melding of Malay and Chinese cultures (see the Straits Chinese/Peranakan). I suppose, in this sense, traditional Malay kuih and traditional Chinese kueh are the origin or basis of many Nonya kueh. But the fusion of cultures also gave rise to kueh that are uniquely Nonya, e.g. kueh pie tee, hoon kueh, pulut tai tai. Also, for the longest time (even now), I could never figure out which spelling to use: "Nonya" or "Nyonya", and "kueh" or "kuih"? In Singapore, we tend to use the "Nonya" and "Nyonya" interchangeably. The same for "kueh" and "kuih", although some say there is a distinction between the two.

Crochet Patterns:

• Ondeh ondeh amigurumi - pattern posted here.
• Kueh lapis amigurumi - pattern posted here.
• Kueh salat amigurumi - pattern here.
• Ang ku kueh - my own pattern; it's still a wip with loads of kinks.

Materials & Tools:

• Hook: 2mm, 2.5mm and 3mm Clover Amour
• Yarn: Scheepjes Catona, Schachenmayr Catania, Sirdar Happy Cotton, Sidar Cotton DK
• Stuffing
• I used cotton stuffing. This was my first time, and I've concluded that I don't really like using it. It's so flyaway and messy. OMG. The upside is the cotton stuffing gives the amigurumi more weight than poly fiberfill, so the work feels more "solid" and substantial, if that is what you want. Unfortunately for me, the cons outweigh the merits. The only reason I am still using it is because I bought 2 bundles from Daiso early in my crochet journey and don't want to waste them.
• Stiff tapestry canvas (for the kueh lapis and kueh salat)
• Stitch markers
• Scissors
• Yarn needle

(This post was edited on Tuesday 19 October 2021, 11:25am, and again on 26 January 2022, 3:00am.)