Crisp, thin, deep-fried pastry cups shaped like little top hats, filled with a savoury-sweet stir-fry of finely shredded jicama and carrot, topped with omelet strips, cucumber and chili. The iconic Nyonya appetizer.
Pie tee, also kuih pai tee, is the iconic Nyonya appetizer, crisp pastry cups shaped like little top hats and filled with a savoury-sweet stir-fry of finely shredded jicama and carrot. The dish fuses European-Portuguese tart-shell technique with Chinese wok stir-fry and Malay jicama-and-chili garnish, and is one of the most frequently cited emblems of Peranakan cuisine. The cups are deep-fried in special brass molds, and the dish is served at Nyonya celebrations and tea gatherings.
A shatteringly crisp pastry shell giving way to a sweet, savoury, moist jicama filling, the omelet and cucumber cooling it, the chili adding a bright edge. Eaten in two bites, it is one of the most elegant Nyonya bites.
The pastry cups are made by dipping a brass pie-te mold into a thin rice-and-wheat flour batter, then lowering it into hot oil so the batter fries into a crisp shell that holds its hat shape. The cups are made ahead and kept dry. The filling is a dry stir-fry of finely shredded jicama and carrot with dried shrimp, garlic and shallots, seasoned sweet-savoury, and is spooned into the cups at the last minute so they stay crisp.
Variations
A prawn-topped version adds a whole cooked prawn. Some cooks add bamboo shoots to the filling.
On the Palate
Where Pie Tee sits in the Malaysian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8
How it's made
6 steps · 1 hour
- 18 min
For the cups: whisk 100g rice flour, 50g plain flour, 1 egg, 200ml water and a pinch of salt into a thin batter; rest 30 minutes.
- 212 min
Heat oil to 170C; dip a brass pie-tee mold into the batter, then lower it into the oil and fry 30 seconds until the cup is golden; tap it out and repeat to make 24 cups.
Watch outHeat the mould in the oil before dipping, then submerge the batter-coated mould so the shell fries loose — a cold mould makes the cup stick and tear.
- 38 min
For the filling: soak 30g dried shrimp, drain, and chop; finely shred 400g jicama and 100g carrot.
- 48 min
In 3 tbsp oil, fry 5 sliced shallots and 3 cloves garlic 2 minutes; add the dried shrimp, then the jicama and carrot; season with 1 tbsp light soy, 1 tsp sugar and pepper.
- 510 min
Cook uncovered 10 minutes until the jicama is tender and the filling is fairly dry.
Watch outCook the filling until it's fairly dry before spooning it in — a wet filling sogs the crisp cups the moment it lands.
- 64 min
Spoon the filling into the cups just before serving; top with shredded omelet, cucumber matchsticks and a dab of chili sauce.
