[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/during-the-circuit-breaker-i-chose-to-make-ang-ku-kueh-instead-of-anything-viral-heres-why\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/during-the-circuit-breaker-i-chose-to-make-ang-ku-kueh-instead-of-anything-viral-heres-why\/","headline":"During The Circuit Breaker, I Chose To Make Ang Ku Kueh Instead Of Anything Viral. Here’s Why.","name":"During The Circuit Breaker, I Chose To Make Ang Ku Kueh Instead Of Anything Viral. Here’s Why.","description":"If you\u2019ve been actively following the common Instagram hashtags such as #baking, #homemade, and #cookingathome, you\u2019ll know that it\u2019s mostly saturated with viral trends, such as the Basque burnt cheesecake, Levain cookies or Dalgona coffee. There is nothing wrong with attempting to make those, don\u2019t get me wrong, but why aren\u2019t Singaporean hobby bakers or […]","datePublished":"2020-08-04","dateModified":"2021-03-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/justyn-toh\/#Person","name":"Justyn Toh","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/justyn-toh\/","identifier":75,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0a9523b305890e57c2d66c863abc175fc41f2c6b93216fee6790b348eac71b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f0a9523b305890e57c2d66c863abc175fc41f2c6b93216fee6790b348eac71b2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1597826988825_ang_ku_kueh-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/1597826988825_ang_ku_kueh-scaled.jpg","height":1200,"width":1600},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/during-the-circuit-breaker-i-chose-to-make-ang-ku-kueh-instead-of-anything-viral-heres-why\/","about":["Asia","Food","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":688,"articleBody":"If you\u2019ve been actively following the common Instagram hashtags such as #baking, #homemade, and #cookingathome, you\u2019ll know that it\u2019s mostly saturated with viral trends, such as the Basque burnt cheesecake, Levain cookies or Dalgona coffee. There is nothing wrong with attempting to make those, don\u2019t get me wrong, but why aren\u2019t Singaporean hobby bakers or chefs creating things that showcase our local culture and tradition?\u00a0Singapore is a well-known foodie heaven because of its vast variety of food offerings. You can get a taste of every culture and cuisine in Singapore at any price range \u2014 from the very affordable hawker centres to three-starred Michelin restaurants that promises the spectacular view of the Singapore skyline as you wine and dine.\u00a0This wouldn\u2019t have been possible if not for globalisation. However, globalisation has eroded much of our local culture too.\u00a0With the rise of the generation Zs, everyone is more interconnected on a global scale. Trends and culture from other regions gets washed up onto our sunny shores, and is adopted and recreated by local gen Zs, who then republish what they think would get them the highest views or most number of likes.\u00a0And these trends and cultures are usually adaptations of what has gained popularity in the West.\u00a0Think along the lines of Levain cookies, Basque cheesecake or even the classic cinnamon rolls. All these sweet treats emerged from the West. Even though many Singaporeans may not have tried what an actual Levain cookie or Basque burnt cheesecake may taste like, they start to emulate and recreate them, using shared recipes easily found with a quick Google search.\u00a0I\u2019m not against local Singaporeans baking stuff like cookies or cheesecake (I do bake crispy chocolate chip cookies whenever I have the time), nor am I against Singaporeans baking stuff that they find popular or trendy. I\u2019m just curious why Singaporeans do not make anything that\u2019s tied to our local culture.\u00a0I am a hobby-cook and an avid baker. I do bake quite a bit of cookies, cakes, and scones, but I do like to indulge in making a good ol\u2019 Ang Ku Kueh (red tortoise kueh) or Gao Ding Kueh (seven layer rainbow kueh) as an homage to my culture and tradition.\u00a0Yes, comparing kuehs to cookies and cakes is akin to comparing apples with oranges. Furthermore it\u2019s not hard to get a piece of kueh from the nearby hawker centre nor is it as expensive as compared to getting a cookie or cake from a cafe. However the effort required in making the kueh is almost as much or even more than whipping up a cookie dough.I speak from experience as I\u2019ve done both. Although I do enjoy eating cookies and cakes, the sense of satisfaction and gratification I get when making kuehs is definitely more. And I can\u2019t pinpoint as to why that is so.\u00a0Maybe it\u2019s from the nods of approval I get from my grandparents and granduncles. Many of them lament that the kuehs done and sold commercially do not have the taste of nostalgia anymore, and I managed to recreate it at home.\u00a0Or maybe it\u2019s from the lack of ubiquity it has on social media. A quick search with the hashtag #homecookingsg shows the same old cookies and cakes, but my colourful rainbow Ang Ku Kueh stands out like a rose among the weeds.\u00a0I think it\u2019ll be great if more Singaporeans started venturing into recreating snacks that are a part of their culture. Many of us like to eat them, but don\u2019t want to make them. We leave it to the older generations to make them, but if we don\u2019t learn, how are we going to carry on such traditions? I guess my concern is that there will be a loss of such traditions in the near future, when the generations before us are long gone and where our culture would be remodelled into something that is reflective of what we are currently going through, and not what our past ancestors have brought down."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"During The Circuit Breaker, I Chose To Make Ang Ku Kueh Instead Of Anything Viral. Here’s Why.","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/during-the-circuit-breaker-i-chose-to-make-ang-ku-kueh-instead-of-anything-viral-heres-why\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]