Malaysian Peanut Pancake Turnover (Apam Balik)

When I was six…

Instead of going home like I was supposed to, I sneakily left my school back pack hidden away near the front door of my house and went to the neighbor’s house to play until my mom came looking for me.

I’d put sand on my fellow kindergartener not because I had planned to, but because the teacher was so adamant on us not doing exactly that… that it aroused my curiosity as to what would happen if I really did it.

I convinced everyone in class that my phone number had 20 digits because I was special. In truth, I didn’t even have a phone then and the 20 digit number was made up because I didn’t know that phone numbers only had 7 digits.

I’d hide behind walls just to scare the crap out of whoever happened to walk pass by and then proceeded to laugh my butt off.

I’d beg my dad to bring me along when he goes to the market claiming I’d be of help but in reality I only had one solid goal. To get him to buy me some Apam Balik.

Aah, yes. The life of a six year old.

Apam Balik is a sweet Malaysian peanut pancake turnover stuffed with a sugary, buttery peanut filling. It gets its name from the way the pancake is folded or ‘turned over’. It’s a popular street food freshly made in rows of brass pans in the late afternoons when hungry Malaysian would scour for food for tea time.

There are generally two versions of this pancake – the thick and the thin. The thin version is thin and crispy while the thick version (which is what this post is all about) looks like a thick honeycomb pancake. It’s soft and fluffy yet moist with a delicious sweet buttery filling inside. Both the thick and thin are my favorite. Both are equally delicious.

I grew up calling Apam Balik “Mang Jeng Kueh”. Others call it Ban Jian Kuih or Min Jiang Kueh. You get the gist. I can’t wrap my head around why Malaysians love to give different names to the same thing. I suppose it doesn’t matter as long as it taste good. So good.

Tips:

1. Yeast is used to get the honeycomb texture of the pancake.

2. The baking powder helps make the pancake slightly light and fluffy while the baking soda helps in browning. If you like yours a springy texture, you could do without the baking powder. The oil in the batter helps give the pancake some moisture.

3. Replace half or all the milk with a mixture of coconut milk and water. You’ll be surprised how good this taste.

4. Instead of or along with peanut, you can fill the pancake with cream corn, chocolate, jam, sesame seeds or even cheese.

5. You can make two 1″ thick pancake or three to four thinner ones. That would be up to you. Just note that cooking time and amount of filling should be adjusted.

6. Different people have different level of ‘sweet toothness’. If you like things sweeet, go with the higher amount of sugar. And if you’re the opposite, go with lesser amount of sugar.

Oh one last thing. If you haven’t already, check out my last post Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Ultra crispy fried marinated chicken with a bomb salt pepper seasoning stuffed between buttered bread and ooey gooey melting cheese.

What were you up to when you were six?

Malaysian Peanut Pancake Turnover (Apam Balik)

 

Save Print

Apam Balik is a soft fluffy & moist sweet Malaysian peanut pancake turnover stuffed with a sugary, buttery peanut filling.

Author: AiPing | Curious Nut

Recipe type: Snack; Breakfast

Cuisine: Malaysian

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• Batter
• 8.5 oz all purpose flour (2 cups scoop and sweep)
• 4-6 tbs sugar
• 1 tsp instant yeast
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ⅛ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ cup warm milk (115 F)
• 2 tbs oil
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 
  
• Filling
• 1½ cups ground roasted peanuts (coarse or fine is up to you)
• 3-4 tbs brown sugar
• 3-4 tbs cane sugar
• Unsalted butter

Directions

1. In a bowl, add all the ingredients for the batter and whisk until smooth.
2. Cover the bowl and let proof for 2-3 hours (or overnight in the refrigerator). Batter will increase in volume and the surface will start to bubble. If you had chilled the batter overnight, let it sit in room temperature for 30 minutes.
3. Brush some oil on a 12" pan. Use a paper towel to wipe off the excess. Heat the pan over medium low heat. Give the batter a stir.
4. Once the pan is hot, pour ½ or ⅓ or ¼ of the batter depending on how thick or thick you want the pancake to be and spread it evenly. If you like your pancake edges a little crusty, swivel the pan so that some batter coats the side of the pan. Let the pancake cook until you see bubbles appearing on the surface and the pancake has started to set. To speed up this process, cover the pan with a lid.
5. Once the surface has start to set, add small dollops of butter all around the surface. Sprinkle ½, 1/3 or ¼ of the peanuts and sugar.
6. Let it continue to cook (again cover to speed up the process). If there are dry parts of peanuts on the pancake remaining, add more butter to that area. When the bottom has a golden brown color to it and pancake has completely set, fold the pancake in half like a moon shape (Yes, no need to flip) and remove from the pan. Do not overcook or it will dry out. Repeat with the remaining batter. Slice and serve immediately.... with tea of course. It's best to eat this fresh as leftover and reheated pancakes will become tough and dry.

3.5.3208