by Say Yes to a wedding ring for a happy life, say Yes to Kuih Cincin (Ring Cookie or Ring Biscuit) for a happy food for life. Kuih Cincin is a traditional snack of Brunei-Malay and Bajau people in Sabah State of Malaysia. This sweet and crunchy cookie is enjoyed by many Sabahans as a yummy complement for coffee or tea break.
Kuih cincin literally translates to “ring cake”, but I think it’s more suitable to be categorized as a cookie / biscuit. The distinct shape of kuih cincin is its resemblance with the round outline of a flower drawing. The cookie has a pleasing sugary aroma with a hint of coconut.
Kuih Cincin has a crispy coating with dense and chewy sweet nutty and chocolaty filling inside. It’s so crunchy that the person next table can hear you eating it. The sound is so delightful that someone even made an ASMR videos for Kuih Cincin.
As shown in my pictures, Kuih Cincin has different types and flavours. In general, Kuih Cincin has hard (Iranun style) and soft (Brunei-Malay style) versions. The soft type is also crunchy but have softer texture and is usually sweeter. Compared with the yellowish color of original Kuih Cincin, dark-brown Kuih Cincin contains more brown or red sugar. My favourite is the brown and soft Kuih Cincin. You also can find mini Kuih Cincin made in Papar.
The ingredients of Kuih Cincin are readily available. Basically, it’s a mixture of wheat and rice flour, brown, red palm (coconut-based) and white sugar, fine salt, and cooking oil. The batter is deep-fried twice to create two layers of texture and flavours, for more richness in tastes. The recipe is fairly simple so you can make kuih cincin yourself.
You can buy Kuih Cincin from tamu (weekly open-air market in countryside) and some local markets, for about RM5 for a pack of 15 to 20 cookies. Some souvenir shops such as KadaiKu also sells Kuih Cincin in boxes with nice packing. It’s available in online malls such as Shopee and Lazada too.
Kuih Cincin is commonly served in wedding ceremony and high in demand during festive time like Aidilfitri and Ramadan. It’s also exported to Peninsular Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore and China.
People may reject cookies from a website but they would accept ring cookie. Now go make some friends with Kuih Cincin.
Photos taken in Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
