GEORGE TOWN: This time every year, septuagenarian Khoo Khay Guan endures sleepless nights as he puts his granite stone miller to work to make thnee kuih (Hokkien for sticky glutinous rice cake) for Chinese New Year.

       With the help of his wife Ch’ng Wew Wew, 66, who prepares the containers that hold the rice cake batter, the couple will spend most of their days and nights in a shack in Jelutong near here to slow-cook the cakes in large steamers.

       Khoo, 73, said the traditional practice was dying due to their laborious demands, but he was still very passionate even after 35 years of practising the art of making the glutinous rice cakes.

       “The stone miller, which was inherited from a relative to extract the starch from the glutinous rice, is over 60 years old and still running strong.

       “After grinding the soaked glutinous rice, the wet starch is packed in cotton bags to be hung to allow water to drip out. They are left to dry until they turn powdery.

       “Then, this dough is mixed with sugar, poured into containers, stacked over big bamboo trays and steamed in woks for about 20 hours until they become caramelised. They will appear brown with a shiny sheen on the surface once ready.

       “In the day, I make all the preparations, then watch over the fire as they steam overnight,” said Khoo.

       As for Ch’ng, she would line the tin containers with banana leaves that were softened over fire earlier.

       “We are able to produce about 500 cakes a day but not all will turn out well as some might be overcooked or rejected due to surface unevenness.

       “That’s why heat control is so important when cooking and we only get to take short naps during this two-week period before Chinese New Year,” she said.

       Ch’ng said in the past, people would make their own thnee kuih at home before festivals.

       “Nowadays, many do not want to go through the hassle anymore.

       “By Chinese New Year, we would have produced about 10,000 rice cakes in a variety of sizes to be sold,” she said.

       Thnee kuih, also known as nian gao in Mandarin or kuih bakul in Malay, is among some traditional cake offerings at the altar during Chinese New Year.

       Nian gao is customary for the annual sending-off of the Kitchen God a week before Chinese New Year, when the deity ascends to heaven to present a yearly report on the households to the Jade Emperor.