Apam balik

Origin

It is believed that the invention apam balik or 曼煎粿 is related to General Tso, who was a Chinese statesman and military leader of the late Qing dynasty. In 1855, the army of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom invaded the Fujian region and General Tso was appointed to lead an army to crush the rebels. To provide the soldiers with food without interfering the life of local people, General Tso decided to switch from the flatbread which was eaten together with spring onion and chilli sauce, to the pancake that used locally-sourced and mass-produced ground cane sugar and peanut as filling. The recipe for the pancake was spread throughout the Fujian region, especially in places around Quanzhou and later on throughout the whole Southeast China. It was also brought into countries in Southeast Asia by the Chinese Hokkien immigrants.

Other names

The dessert is also known by various names in different languages, depending on the region.

Indonesia

• Terang Bulan, (lit.:"bright moon") refer to the big round pancake, prior to folding, resembling the shape of a full moon, (in most of Indonesia)
• Martabak Manis, lit: sweet murtabak (in Jakarta, Bandung including their surrounding areas; South Sumatra);
• Kue Bandung (in Semarang, Central Java and its surrounding areas)
• Martabak Bangka (in Medan, North Sumatra and its surrounding areas)
• Apam Pinang (in West Kalimantan)
• Hok Lo Pan (in Bangka);

Malaysia and Singapore

• Ban Jian Kueh (Hokkien)
• Min Chiang Kueh (Mandarin, in Johor and Singapore)
• Dai Gau Min (Cantonese, in Perak)
• Chin Loong Pau (Cantonese, in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor)
• Kap Biang (Hakka, in Sabah)
• Apam Pulau Pinang (Malay, in Penang);
• Kuih Haji (Malay, in certain areas)
• Apong (Kelantan)
• Peanut Pancake (Singapore)

Brunei

• Kuih Malaya (Malay, in Brunei), named after the place where it came from when it was still known as Malaya.

Hong Kong

• 冷糕 (Cantonese)
• 砂糖夾餅 (Cantonese)

Taiwan

• 曼煎粿 (Hokkien)
• 麥仔煎 (Hokkien)

Description

The pancake's batter is made from a mixture of flour, eggs, sugar, baking soda, coconut milk and water. The batter is cooked upon a thick round iron frying pan in plenty of palm margarine to avoid it sticking to the pan. Then other ingredients are sprinkled as filling; the most common or traditional is crushed peanut granules with sugar and sweetcorn kernels (available from cans), but modern innovations such as chocolate sprinkles and cheddar cheese are also available. Then, the pancake is folded (hence the name: "turnover pancake") and cut into several pieces.

In Indonesia there is a smaller version made with smaller pan, they are called martabak mini or terang bulan mini.

The texture of the apam balik can vary depending on the amount of batter and type of pan used, from one that is akin to a crispier form of crumpets to small thin light pancake shells that break when bitten (the latter is usually called apam balik nipis, 'thin apam balik').

There is a Peranakan variant, the apom balik, that closely resembles the Indonesian Serabi.