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Monday, April 28, 2008

Sak Ke Mah




i don't read chinese and i wonder why this snack is called 'sak ke mah'. Mah in cantonese, i know is horse but this snack don't look anything like a horse. Ke , to me , it sounded like riding, put the two words together, it means 'riding a horse'. What is 'sak' and how is this name associated to this delicious snack. Does anyone know the story to this name?, correct me if you please and excuse my ignorance.

Ingredients:
A:
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
4 eggs
6 cups oil for frying
B:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup maltose
1/4 cup water
1/2 tbsp lemon juice or vinegar


Method:
Sieve ingredients A:, add eggs and knead into a smooth dough , let stand for 20 minutes.
Cut dough into half and roll one half into a rectangle 1/6 inch thick. Cut into 1 inch strips and shred into fine strips.
Heat oil and fry the shredded strips until golden brown. Remove and place into a large bowl.
Cook B: for 2 minutes in medium heat(sugar should be dissolved), pour mixture into the fried noodles and toss to coat.
Pour coated noodles onto a greased cookie sheet pan and press noodles into a compact rectangle, i inch in height.
Let it cool, cut into square pieces.

Serves

38 comments:

  1. Would this happen to be Sachima?
    Thanks for the recipe.:) Will be making this soon, mom loves its.^^

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  2. my colleague told me that "sak ke mah" means "kill flag horse"...i still cant figure out the name of this snack is such...

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  3. ti

    however you call it, if sachima looks like what is in my picture, then it must be it.

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  4. anonymous

    thanks to your colleague for the translation. so 'sak' is to kill and 'ke' is for flag and not riding as i have presumed.

    thanks again, it will be interesting to know how this name came about.

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  5. Dear Aunt Lily,

    Been following your blog for more than 2yrs and so impressed with your cooking. You are a JEWEL in the family. Keep up the good job:)

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  6. Dear Aunty Lily,

    I found SaJiMa (沙琪玛)on wikipedia, http://tinyurl.com/4eednc

    SaJiMa was Manchurian's food offered at rituals, in particular, ancestors rememberance. The legend was a general who rode on a horse requested a snack from a chef. The chef hated this general, hence the name of this dessert, kill (the person) riding the horse. Sa is kill and JiMa is riding horse in Mandarin. I had my husband roughly translate the first legend for me. I think Wikipedia listed 3 legends related to the origin of this sweet snack.

    Interestingly, when this snack was introduced in Hong Kong, the gamblers would eat this snack for good luck before they bet on their horses.

    p/s I am also your fan. Thanks for sharing the recipe...

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  7. Dear Lily,

    I just happened to stumble upon your blog when I was searching for a recipe for pau. Am using your pau skin recipe to attempt ling yong pau so will see how that turns out.

    I absolutely LOVE your blog and had thought you were writing locally (i.e. in Singapore) when I realised you were far far away!! and so resourceful...and even more obviously, A GREAT COOK!

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  8. lee ping

    i am glad you are back blogging.

    Thanks you and hubby for translating the legend. So, i was not so wrong when i thought that 'ke' was riding.

    i think i will start selling this snack in las vegas, bet you it will be very popular with the asians if they know the legend.

    thanks

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  9. Aunty Lily,
    I always use short cut way to so this snack.I used fried noodle in soup from chinese restaurant and costed with sugar oil.What do you think?.Maybe it's slighty different from your home made,Of course taste much better!.Thanks for the recipe:)

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  10. Hi Lily,
    I really like your blog. I hope you don't mind that I share with others. I listed your blog in this directory.

    Your readers and fans also can vote for you by giving you a star here.

    Thanks, Khunying

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  11. beachlover

    the noodles in this recipe have alot of eggs and that gives this snack it's signature. I don't think the fried noodle has that eggy fragrance but it sure make life very much easier.

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  12. hi Lily,
    Sak ke ma (cantonese) or sak qi ma in mandarin is actually a transalation from manchurian dialets. sak qi means cut in manju / manchurian language, while ma is means after it cut and rearrange. so sak qi mah is named likes this.
    Wow, so nice and tasty. Now can do it at home, no need buy from chinatown again---- very expensive!! a small cut likes in your photos cost 1 euro already from chinese bakery. hahahhah....
    thanks for sharing!!!!!!!

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  13. qq red apple

    thanks for the explanation.

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  14. what is that, never heard & see it, but seem delicious...

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  15. I used to make fun of the name. It sounded like Sakit Mak.... in malay...

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  16. flower

    it does sound like that

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  17. Hi Lily, I used to love eating this whatever you call it, ha ha, but never knew the name, only point to it.
    But its nice, and have not eaten it past 25 years now.
    Your pic sure brings back memories.
    You stay easy and have a nice Sunday, best regards, Lee.

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  18. lee

    i missed your comments and must visit your blog again - love your stories.

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  19. lee

    i missed your comments and must visit your blog again - love your stories.

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  20. Hello Lily,

    do you know a recipe for curry puff dough?
    thank you
    chrissy

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  21. i am in love with you now! i was google-ing around for mee siam recipe and i found you! will let you know how my first mee siam go! i am so excited now since i saw so many other recipes here!

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  22. chrissy

    here is a curry puff which i like to make http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2006/08/spiral-curry-puffs.html

    if you are looking for the plain ones, just use the outer layer and add 50 g more margarine but decrease the water.

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  23. gaiety xy ann

    what a coincidence, our group of cooking ladies just cooked mee siam yesterday too.

    hope your mee siam meet your taste

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  24. :) heheh.. will update you when i find the time to do it sometime this week! :) and i really like your blog..

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  25. The first word in Cantonese is Sah. It means sand.

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  26. anonymous

    not only do i not read chinese, i am not pronoucing it correctly, so it should be 'sah' then.

    thanks

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  27. Hello Lily,

    What is maltose? Is there a substitute for it??

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  28. anonymous

    Maltose is malt sugar and it is readily available in the asian stores. Ask for mak nga tong in cantonese.

    perhaps you could sub with corn syrup or honey

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  29. Hello Lily,

    Thank you for the information. I am actually trying to look for a coconut candy recipe that is wrapped in transparent cellophane paper. It is sold in Malaysia. Do you by any chance have the recipe that I can share?

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  30. anonymous

    i know the coconut candy, they were my childhood favorite.

    i do not have the recipe but if i get one, will try to make some.

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  31. Hi Lily,

    My ex-colleague bought Coffee Sak Ke Ma from Malaysia and the taste was fantastic.

    Any idea how to make that?

    Thanks!

    Regards,
    Lynn

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  32. lynn

    i have not tasted coffee sak ke ma but if i am to make it, i would add 1 or 2 tsp of instant coffee to the dough ingredients.

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  33. what do you mean by shred? are we suppost to fry the 1 inch pieces or shred the 1 inch pieces further then fry?

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  34. anonymous

    yes, shred the 1 inch pieces into 1/4 inch shreds like 1 inch long noodles, then deep fry them

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  35. I searched for sachima recipe and found yours to be more real. The other recipe calls for 3 eggs and 1 cup flour, which is impossible to make to a dough. Thanks for the recipe, I made it and it turns out nice and yummy...only I did not press it hard enough so it breaks loose a bit. I will try again and maybe can give away as special Christmas gift.

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  36. here is an attempt at etymology -
    http://www.best-dessert-recipes.com/sweet-egg-squares.html

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  37. Hi,
    I've tried the recipe a few times w/o success!The flour is very tough after frying and I can't get the syrup right!Please advise cos it's my dying favourite!Thanks in advance.I also can't get the koong tong right!The syrup turn out too gluey, so the cake is very messy and can't be cut into square.

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  38. ancella

    i am sorry that you have no success, when you said that your crispies are very tough after frying, i am not sure how they are tough as this dough is made with only eggs and it should be puffy when fried. Cooking the sugar to the right consistency is crucial, if you own a candy thermometer that will help cos the sugar has to be cooked just under the soft ball stage 235 f or 118c.

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