Motorpedia – What Is “Kacang Putih”?
July 6, 2011 | 26,783 views
“Here Comes the Kacang Putih Man!” A very generic; instantly recognizable tray of Indian snacks displayed on the green-painted compartments on the back of his motorcycle.
MotorWHAT?! Don’t throw rotten tomatoes, brickbats, durians or slippers please … Just a very random phrase that sprang to mind when I was contemplating on a catchy title. Plus, aren’t you curious on what ‘kacang putih’ really is?
If you’re a Malaysian baby, then guaran-damn-teed you would have heard of, tasted, loved or abhorred (why should you?!) the classic Indian snacks usually sold by the roadside, or in school canteens.
But any idea WHY they’re named as such?
For more than two decades, Mr Rajan has been parked at this same spot on a daily basis selling his brand of homemade ‘kacang putih’ … prepared freshly on a day to day basis from his house in Kampung Simee.
Main character for this screenplay? Mr Rajan and his makeshift ‘kacang putih’ stall parked under a huge tree in front of the Ipoh Garden post office daily; except Sundays.
Walk up to any ‘kacang putih’ seller, and predictably, you can expect what’s the array of snacks on display. Unless there’s some creative soul willing to take daredevil chances and conjure up fusion (fruity-flavoured murukku, anyone?) varieties, I highly doubt this age-old tradition will be shaken up by immense commercialization.
But you’ll never know, with the revival of cupcakes, sudden surge and fizzled craze for doughnuts and the epitome of success in commercialization; renaissance of the humble Ipoh white coffee.
Anyway, let Motormouth walks you through the common range of ‘kacang putih’ sold at most stalls; and bear with this rather lengthy tutorial. Unless of course, I fall asleep halfway and decide to skip the ramblings ….after all, it’s almost midnight at this time of writing.
#1 – Kacang Kuda is NOT a horse’s nuts (don’t laugh) …but chickpeas boiled until soft, and this was what I had in mind when I thought of the original ‘kacang putih’. WRONG. This ain’t the culprit that started this unassuming trend that’s slowly taking over lives (okay …. VERY slowly).
#2 – Star Murukku (read about Murukku from Wikipedia) are essentially twisted design of the classic boring murukku; a crispy deep fried snack made from urda (black lentil) and rice flour, with salt, chili and various spices. Mr Rajan takes things a step further by incorporating garlic into the flour mix; lending the snacks a robust hint.
#3 – Tapioca Chips (Kerepek Ubi Kayu) – One of the more common ones that have been since lifted off the ‘kacang putih’ only shelf, tapioca chips are essentially …. thinly-sliced tapioca deep-fried until golden perfection, then sprinkled lightly with salt for flavour.
#4 – Murukku Campur (Bombay Mix might be the glamourous name befitting this) – Thinner strands of murukku seasoned with chili powder and deep fried with curry leaves for a heavier flavour.
#5 – Kacang Parang (Fried Broad/Fava Bean, NOT Sword Bean or Machete Bean!) – Come in a dark brown shells, the beans are also lightly seasoned with salt for extra flavour. Personally, I find this rather cumbersome though.
#6 – Garlic Murukku – Harder than the normal ones, with slightly rougher edges and predominantly tasting of rich garlic flavour. A favourite of mine, with just a very faint nuance of spiciness.
#7 – Pagoda (Not Pagoda brand groundnuts); Mr Rajan fries up a very crunchy version with the right balance of spiciness, saltiness and not overwhelming hint of spices. And no worries, you won’t lose your dentures biting into these.
#8 – Close enough, but just ain’t the same. What do you call THIS in English (or Malay, for that matter)? Is this ‘Parapu’?
#9 – The REAL Kacang Putih. Seldom seen on the racks nowadays, the beans are roasted lightly without oil or salt. The flavours come from the natural characteristics of the very tiny beans.
Of course, you have the green peas, spicy murukku, the wheelie-like snacks children love, and various nuts from the ‘kacang putih’ stall, but the ones listed above are but some of the more prominent fixtures.
Storytime : Back in my primary school days, a packet of ‘kacang putih’ would only set us back from 10 cents to 50 cents at most. And when Mum came over to fetch us home, she would buy RM1.00 worth of kacang putih, and we would be elated as RM1.00 = a darn BIG packet enough to be shared between brother and myself.
How time and inflation go in tandem. The same 50 cents pack costs RM2.00 now. I was still surprised as it’s been some time since I bought my own ‘kacang putih’ from vendors peddling the streets of Ipoh; the last few times were from the major retail outlets in Kampung Kacang Putih in Buntong.
We don’t usually pay attention to these ‘warriors’ on the streets; adamantly preserving the eroding tradition that is good street food …. And what a shame, since you can never order ‘kacang putih’ in swanky restaurants on a plate and enjoy them like you really should. But instead, you brace the sun and the rain, like how the ‘kacang putih’ man does, walk over to plethora of temptations laid out in front of you, then conduct free-tasting session (definitely allowed) before settling for a packet or two of your favourite snacks. And take pride that you have made your contribution to this dying tradition.
Mr Rajan has been plying the same route for 22 years now. And he himself admitted that his ‘sifu’ (mentor) is the infamously proclaimed ‘Wong Fei Hung’ (another Indian man) who used to sell from his stall in Ipoh Garden too; but now his sons take over his business in front of Public Bank Ipoh Garden and another in front of Sun Marpoh Restaurant near to Maybank Ipoh Garden.
KACANG PUTIH STALL @ IPOH GARDEN POST OFFICE
Jalan Dato Lau Pak Khuan,
31400 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Opens from 12.00pm – 7.00pm daily.
Closed on Sundays.
*Near to Ipoh Garden roundabout, the post office is next to Courts.
Google Map to this ‘kacang putih’ stall
GPS Coordinates : 4.612583,101.10929
*Want more ‘Kacang Putih’ stories? Follow this link. And seek out the enclave in Buntong named Kampung Kacang Putih with houses-cum-retail outlets selling fresh ‘kacang putih’ from the wok !!!
Thats kacang dhal.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2011 at 9:12 am
Thanks Anam. But kacang dhal not bigger than that?
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Vellan Reply:
December 6th, 2013 at 12:38 am
nwdays can buy online directly from one of the manufacturer
http://www.ctskacangputih.com.my
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gprix Reply:
June 30th, 2014 at 7:12 pm
Here also got online store SPECIALLY for Kacang Puteh
http://kacangputeh.com
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i miss having kacang putih.. used to have it alot during school days..
they are just crunchy and delicious! 😀
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2011 at 9:13 am
Yeah, remember back then when we used to line up in the canteen, surrounding the kacang putih man just before recess was over. Then in a stealth mode, carry them in pockets to the classroom for further snacking. Only to be caught on most days.
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gprix Reply:
June 30th, 2014 at 7:09 pm
Check kacangputeh.com to buy Kacang Puteh Online.
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Ah, the one in front of Sun Marpoh… used to buy my KP fix there. When we were still very young (maybe pre-primary school), my mom only buys us chickpeas as it was the only non-crunchy KP available. During my primary school days, RM0.50 can get a whopping big packet of the tapioca chips… those were the days… 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2011 at 10:44 pm
Yeahloh, now RM0.50 gets you maybe 10 pieces only …
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I go straight to the source, Kampung Kacang Putih, Buntong 🙂
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Haha .. yeah, but when you’re far from Buntong, have to make do.
Plus, even in Buntong you can’t find garlic murukku like his, at least as far as I know.
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Knowledge gained, thanks 🙂
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I know this chap! He’s my favourite snack person when I was working in Ipoh. I love the tapioca chips and pagoda. In fact, I still look out for my favourite tapioca chips and pagoda from the various asian grocery stores here in a kwai-loh country.
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2011 at 10:48 pm
Just not the same huh? Yeah, can understand that. His pagoda is very addictive, as well as the very thin tapioca chips. Just a little salty the other day.
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Kacang Putih as movie-snack.. Nice
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still remember a time in secondary school when we had kacang putih and vadai ONLY during our recess.
and we nicknamed pagoda, our favourite, “The Rock” due to its hardness and appearance
(and yep…that was also the high time for WWF…haha).
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J2Kfm Reply:
July 7th, 2011 at 11:31 pm
Haha … The ROCK? For the hardness of it all eh?
High time was the Attitude era no doubt. Austin, Rock, DX.
How time flies and things changed ….
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What a brilliant post! We used to sneak kacang in our pockets back to class and have a little afternoon snack! Isn’t it true there’s always a faithful kacang lady/man selling them come rain or shine?
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great post!bring back all the memories 🙂
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this is the famouse kacang putih at ipoh…one of the most old kacang putih…
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Ah I always thought that first one as kacang putih, just like you! 😛 I LOVE pagoda! But they’re extremely heaty.. can get sorethroat after finishing one pack 😛
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Childhood memories …. 10 sen could get me a huge bag of kacang back then! My faves are the tapioca chips and pagoda… with lots of shallots & dried chillies pieces embedded!
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Hahha, kacang puteh, i never been facing so many of these in my life after I back to Ipoh, as our factory munufacture and supplying machines for the kacang puteh makers, so generally we have many chances to taste different kacang putih from different makers oso, and sometime when I go to KL, I will bring the cripsy kacang putih for my friends too, especially the Pagoda ^_^
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Actually whole malaysia including (singapore) we may c & able to buy kacang puteh ,the thing s -s it nice(ow sek!) banyak sedap? custumer service? i saw some smoking while handle this kacang puteh ,some on roadside with car/lorry smoke! so my suggestion look -taste- buy, me mike balan once sell kacang puteh at caurefour (johor bahru) from 2001–2005 ,currently at ipoh doing whole sale kacang puteh with reasonable price–may call me anytime 0165345338
IN SINGAPORE I SAW THEY SELL AT TEKA MALL & WOODLANDS SUPERMARKET -CAN GET DOLLAR 1!
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Anonymous Reply:
January 26th, 2012 at 2:16 pm
anyone there? malaysians like to start kacang puteh biz?call me at 0165345338–tqvm
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yeah ‘Wong Fei Hung’ I used to buy Kacang Putih there in front of the Chinese drug store at Ipoh Garden when I was still a kid. His kacang putih is very fresh and crunchy!!
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We would like to advertise all type of Indians Kacang Putih . The highlight on Newspapers, Tvs , Social Networks will update soonest . For more enquiries and orders , Our lovely Customer can contact me to this side , Emails .We will promote and work hard for sponcer some Tv programs , Football Clubs , some of the income we make will truly share with needed ppl such as Homeless , ppl …..alots of activities such as Kacang Putih Football Tounaments , for youngsters …so , Hurry up to support us ……
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peacetaiping_2009@yahoo.com
facebook – mistarayram
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we are wholesale of kacang puteh from ipoh ,send to ur biz area –1kg rm5.50 only….0165345338
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[…] a “healthy snack”, but they ARE addictive. The beans is much smaller than the local “kacang putehs” , making it easier to unknowingly consume more than […]
tolong beri semu malumat nama kacang putih ayau makanan ringan
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Hi, i have a Q here,
Is Mr. Rajan owned Wong Fei Hung Kacang Puteh Stall?
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Nowadays can buy online directly from Kampung Kacang Putih..
One of the manufacturer from there making the business online.
http://www.ctskacangputih.com.my
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kindly pls call or whatsapp if anyone would like to buy full set muruku forming machine(all kind): sival,omapodi,pakoda,star,mixer…0165345338 selling at low price (new set) i just want clear it ( 1st come 1st serve)
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