Muah Chee
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.
Remove the glutinous rice mixture from the steamer and let cool briefly, about 5 minutes. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic for about 5 minutes.
Pinch or cut the dough and toss into the peanut mixture. Serve immediately.
Serves 6 to 8
PS: i am also submitting this to Aspiring Bakers 12, with the theme Traditional kueh
you can check all about it HERE
Of course, not to mention my thanks to Small Small Baker for hosting the event!






Those look wonderful, simple and exotic at the same time.
i had not taken this snack for ages!
This is our family all time favourite snacks …. very yummy!
Hi Crustabakes, this looks like a simple but really tasty snack! Just wanted to let you know that I’ve nominated your blog for an award – the Liebster Blog Award, awards for and by bloggers to help spread the word. Hope you like it….
http://www.sweetgumbakery.com/2011/10/liebster-blog-award-nomination-for.html
love muah chee very very much! it’s quite common here!
That’s interesting you coat it with peanuts and sugar!!
We would use, if it were to be a sweet snack similar to yours, “kinako”, finely ground soy beans mixed with sugar.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinako