Category: Chinese

Chinese Sesame Candy

7/17/2020

While all my memories of this candy are very fond - drawn as they are from a childhood of mahjong parties, when the adults would lay out trays of snacks and candies for easy munching while they played and the kids would gleefully filch more from the stashes than the adults did - I hadn't thought of them in literally decades. But a couple weeks ago while I was escorting my mother at 99 Ranch Market, I happened to glimpse some very pretty packaging for black sesame candy and had a sudden craving for them. Except, of course, why not make my own?

I tried this recipe and it was not only an amazingly fast and easy assembly, earning the easy-peasy rating, but the candy was honestly more delicious than any store-bought one from my memories and each batch disappeared literally within an hour or two of making. I ended up making double-batches three times in one week!

Bonus points - my boyfriend had a truly inspired suggestion and the crumbled bits of semi-smoky slightly-sweet sesame seed turned out to be an amazing topping for vanilla bean ice cream. ^_^ Yum!

1/2 cup black sesame seeds
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons honey *
1/3 cup sugar

Additional equipment:

2 silicone mats
rolling pin

Lay a silicone mat on your work surface. You will use this for rolling out the sesame candy.
Pour the black sesame seeds into a large pan and toast them on medium-high heat for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Because of their black color, it may be difficult to tell when the sesame seeds are done toasting. The sesame seeds usually release a faint aroma when they are ready. You can also see wisps of smoke coming from the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and transfer the sesame seeds to a bowl.
Next, toast the plain sesame seeds for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the toasted seeds to the bowl with the black sesame seeds. Mix the two types of seeds together.
In a large stainless steel pan, add the oil, honey, and sugar over medium-high heat. Stir everything together and wait for the sugar to dissolve completely and the resulting syrup takes on a golden color and is runny. Make sure to stir frequently to keep the sugar from burning.
Once the sugar dissolves, turn off the heat. Add the sesame seeds and stir to coat the seeds with the syrup.
Working quickly, pour the sesame seeds onto the silicone mat. Try to pile all the seeds into one mass. Lay the other silicone mat over the seeds and press down gently. Use a rolling pin to roll out the sesame candy. You want to make sure to be quick here so that you can roll out the candy into a thin layer.
Take off the top silicone mat and lay a chopping board over the candy. Carefully flip the candy onto the chopping board. Remove the second silicone mat.
Use a sharp knife to trim the sides of the sheet of sesame candy so that you get straight edges. Cut the candy sheet into 1-inch strips of candy. Cut each strip into candies about 1 1/2 to 2 inches long. Don’t worry if your candy isn’t uniform in size. Mine are never perfect.
You can enjoy the candy immediately. The candy will continue to harden as it cools to room temperature. Once cooled, store the candy in an airtight container for several weeks. (A ziploc baggie is sufficient - if it is not stored in a container, the candy will soften into a crumbly mess.)

* Note: The honey helps to keep the candy soft enough to roll as it cools, and also provides some chewiness after it has cooled completely. Depending on your preferences, you can reduce the honey by as much as a half if you'd like the final candy to be crisper.

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Plain Mochi

12/8/2015

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To continue my recent obsession of experimenting with Chinese treats, I recall eating one memorable "new style" mooncake that had a ball of mochi in the center instead of the traditional salty yolk, which was a win-win in my book since I love mochi and hate salty yolks. A bit of research implied that the recipe for mochi was just as deceptively "simple" as that for mooncakes ... except, this time, it really was that simple! Apparently, mochi is quite forgiving as a recipe, though obviously, some mochi will taste/feel/look better than others.

This recipe is intended to make several mochi balls without fillings, as these were intended to be embedded inside other desserts such as mooncakes. While I had perused many sites for tips and techniques, most of the below recipe was adapted from Just One Cookbook.

115 g Mochiko (sweet rice flour)
50 g sugar
180 mL water (or substitute half with coconut milk)

Whisk together the mochiko and sugar. Pour in the liquid and whisk until everything is completely blended.
Cover the bowl with a plate and microwave on high for 1 minute. Using a rubber or silicone spatula, mix up the contents (making sure to scrape down the sides), then microwave for another minute. Scrape down and mix, then microwave for 30 seconds. Mix the now-pasty contents one more time to ensure everything is blended.
Lay parchment paper down on a work surface and keep half a cup of corn or potato starch nearby. Using two spoons, measure out about 20 g of the mochi paste onto a scale. Coating your fingertips and palms with the starch, pick up the measured mochi paste and roll into a ball, then dip directly into the starch to cover the surface more thoroughly, brushing off the excess and ensuring that it is no longer sticky to handle. Repeat until the mochi paste has been used up.
Can be eaten plain, or stored in an air-tight container.

Note: This is one of the few times where I didn't adjust the sugar levels. Not only was it already pretty mild in sweetness, but the sugar is apparently important in maintaining the pliability of the mochi, so cutting it out unduly would have adverse affects on the texture. Also, my instructions on how to handle the dough is simply my personal preference for how to get a VERY sticky paste into a prettier-looking ball. You can certainly feel free to experiment with your own techniques.

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Mooncake (Yue Bing)

12/6/2015

Two weeks ago, I received a Black Friday advertisement from a baking site with some deals on mooncake molds and mooncake recipe books. I laughed to myself, wondering who would actually make them at home, because I've always felt that Chinese baking was extraordinarily finicky - the recipes always seemed like the TRUE science that people keep claiming baking to be, as opposed to the pies and cookies I usually do, which are quite tolerant of experimentation and sloppy measurements.

But then curiosity sat like the devil on my shoulder and I started looking up what it actually took to make your own mooncakes ... and wow, it looked so SIMPLE. Only 3 ingredients, of which the one exotic ingredient (golden syrup) could be substituted with plain ol' honey, and no arcane techniques involved! One thing led to another, I found myself suddenly in possession of a set of plastic mooncake plunger molds, and I found that, yes ... Chinese baking is extraordinarily finicky. This is probably the first and only recipe I have where the notes section is longer than the actual instructions, and I have never made so many batches of the same thing in as many days, (accidentally) figuring out every failure case possible in order to get things just right.

Take the following with a grain of salt; I have a feeling that things may be slightly different with other people's kitchen appliances and I had to do a lot of guesswork reading between badly translated lines. Make sure to read all the notes beforehand so that you can learn from my mistakes!

This recipe was mostly adapted from the China Si Chuan Food site.

flour for dusting
filling (such as one portion of red bean paste, lotus seed paste, and/or sandwiching a mochi in it)

Wrapper (makes about 12 large mooncakes):

112 g vegetable oil
300 g honey
8 g water
460 g flour

Egg wash:

1 egg

Honey wash (optional):

1/3 cup water
2 tbsp honey

To make the wrapper: Pour the vegetable oil, honey, and water into a large mixing bowl. Whisk well until they are all completely blended and emulsified. Sift in a third of the flour and whisk. Sift in the rest of the flour and use a spatula to fold the flour in - as you work, the dough will start to become shaggy. Be patient - as you fold, you may notice that the flour slowly "soaks in". When there is very little loose flour left, set aside the spatula and use your hands to knead the dough together into one mass. Roll into a ball - most of the dry flour should by now be absorbed, but if you still see uneven bits, knead the ball a few more times. Once everything is evenly mixed, wrap well with saran wrap, and let rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
(For the proportions of filling and dough, see the notes section below.) Measure the filling out into separate portions according to weight and roll each portion into a ball. (If you are inserting a mochi in the center, wrap the filling around the mochi until it is completely covered, then roll into a ball.) If you are working with a filling that is more moist (such as lotus seed) you can keep it chilled in either the refrigerator or the freezer before using.
Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Set the oven to 350 F. While my current oven bakes the cakes fine when the rack is in the middle, you may need to adjust your oven rack to the upper third of the oven if you find that the bottoms of your cakes tend to burn.
Measure out the appropriate amounts for the dough, rolling each portion into a ball. Because it is easy for the dough to dry out, keep all the dough balls lightly covered under a sheet of saran wrap. To shape a mooncake, take one of the dough balls and start to flatten the dough by pinching gently in the center, forming a disc with thicker edges and a thinner center (if you are wrapping a large mooncake, make it more of a long oblong rather than a circle). Place the ball of filling in the center of the dough, then continue gently pressing and thinning the dough down the sides of the filling until the edges wrap over and can meet each other in the middle. Gently massage together the seam and any other holes in the dough, so that the filling is completely covered - don't worry if there are cracks, as the dough very easily blends with itself. Roll the whole ball between your palms, and the dough will start to smooth itself. It doesn't have to be perfectly smooth, but you should feel secure that there are no seams that may fall open. (Note that you can even pinch off thicker sections of dough to move them into gaps elsewhere in the dough ball - the dough melts into itself very easily and is forgiving of being torn and moved around this way.)
Lightly dust your hands with flour and then roll the finished ball between your hands, lightly coating it. The mold I am using are the plastic plunger types (ordered right from Amazon), not the traditional wooden ones, which have a different technique for filling and loosening the cake from. To fill these plastic molds, I lightly squeeze the ball into an oblong shape so that I'm sure I can fit it inside the mold without catching the dough on the edges. Once inside the mold completely (don't worry if some of the dough still sticks out), push the mold down onto the work surface and let the work surface push the excess dough completely into the mold (the pressure will deform the cake so that it fills the interior of the mold without tearing). Then, I give the plunger several hard, vigorous pushes (don't worry, the cake can take it), then lift the mold while slowly pushing down on the plunger one more time, releasing the cake from the mold. (See note 4 below for additional tips)
Arrange the cakes on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 6 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, make the egg wash by whisking the egg. It's important to pre-bake the cakes, because the dough is very absorbent - if you try to give them an egg wash before they have cooked a little, the stamped designs will simply melt back into the cake.
Take out the half-baked mooncakes and brush a thin layer of the egg wash over them, then return them to the oven and continue baking for 10-12 minutes or until the mooncakes become golden brown.
(Optional) I sometimes add a honey wash after the cakes cool down a little bit, which not only helps the baked dough become moist and soft faster, but can help put a nice sweet-ish glaze on the skin. Whisk together the honey and water until the honey is dissolved, then brush over the baked mooncakes. Return the mooncakes to the oven for about 3-4 minutes, or until they feel tacky but not actually wet.
Remove from the oven and let cool. The mooncake wrapping will be stiffer than the retail kind, almost like a shell - some people may prefer this texture and can eat it right away. For the softer, more moist version that is more common in bakeries, wrap in film or place in an airtight container and wait for 1-2 days, and it will continue to soften as it absorbs moisture.

Notes:

The proportions for the wrapper are VERY important! Do not try to convert to cups and tablespoons - I tried and they failed miserably. The only way I was able to get a reliable dough was to use weighing. The resultant ball of dough should be slightly oily, pliable, and a consistent amber throughout, with no hints of dry flour at all. Too much flour, and the dough became too dry and would break up when handled. Too much oil, and the dough wouldn't stretch - pressing and kneading for mooncake wrappers would result in the dough starting to separate.

Also be aware that you may be leaving behind as much as a teaspoon of oil or honey behind if you are using another bowl for measuring and then pouring into the mixing bowl. To make it easy on myself, I've simply poured them directly into the mixing bowl, zeroing out the value in between each ingredient, though be careful, if you overpour, you'll have a tough time walking back the extra portion! If using multiple bowls, make sure to use a spatula to scrape down the bowl.
For small mooncakes: 22g filling, 32g dough
For large mooncakes: 60g filling, 65g dough (you will want a thicker wrapping for the large cake to help it keep its shape). If using a mochi center, divide the filling into 20g mochi, 40g filling.
The goal is to "roll" the dough down and around the ball of filling, and this step is why it's important to have a filling that is dry enough to have some "resistance" - otherwise, pressing will simply squeeze the filling out too. The trick is to press the center of the dough disc into the approximate thickness you want, leaving the thicker dough around the outer rim, then once the filling is in place, using your thumbs to continue "pressing" the thicker dough so that the excess is squeezed up, NOT pushed up - pushing the dough upwards may create tears in the wrapper. If your filling is too soft to push against, you can pinch the dough edges to the desired thickness while continuing to mold it around the filling, or you can roll the filling into balls on a baking sheet and put it in the freezer for 10 minutes or so.
Don't be afraid to use a little more strength than you think you need on the plunger - being too gentle can result in the design and shape softening and disappearing when the cake starts cooking. The force will also help to compact the filling and dough, and there is little chance that anything will "squeeze" out. I tend to just slap my hand down on the plunger 3 or 4 times rather than trying to do a single press.

Lotus Seed Paste

11/28/2015

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I browsed a good half dozen sites on how to make lotus seed paste and tried to adapt a balance between convenience and tastiness. As much as I would love to have "traditional" or "most flavorful", a complex recipe usually means it never gets made, and I like my lotus seed-flavor way too much to miss out on a chance of having it in homemade mooncakes.

12 oz dried lotus seeds
for a softer paste: 1/4 cup neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola
for a stiffer paste (such as for mooncakes filling): 1/4 cup butter
1/2 to 3/4 cups sugar

Rinse lotus seeds and soak in a bowl of water until softened, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Split each seed in half and remove the small bitter sprout/germ in the center. (Note: Some dried seed packets will have already done this for you - the ones I got had been pretty thorough. There had been only a handful of seeds in which I found the germ still inside. I went through all of the seeds for the sake of thoroughness, but it's not clear to me that the few that still remained would have made that much difference.)
In a large pot on the stove, cover lotus seeds completely with water and bring to a boil. Then lower heat to a simmer until tender, adding water if necessary to keep seeds covered (about 1.5 hours).
Reserve 1 cup of the lotus-seed cooking water. Drain the seeds and set aside to cool (if you wish to speed up the process, put the pot they're in into an ice bath). Transfer seeds to a food processor or blender. Process to a smooth paste (adding a splash of the reserved lotus-seed cooking water when necessary). Optionally, for a finer texture, press the paste through a fine sieve.
In a non-stick pan, combine lotus-seed paste and oil and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until oil is incorporated. Add the 1/2 cup of sugar and stir until incorporated. Taste, and add more sugar if you wish, one tablespoon at a time. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Note: For using in mooncakes, the paste has to be dry enough that it can more or less retain its shape when it is cooled, or else it will become a mess when you try to mold the cake around it. Continue to stir and let the heat dry out the paste for an additional five minutes on the stove. Also, I find that the paste should be made slightly sweeter than I prefer in order to compensate for the neutral flavor of the cake portion.

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ARCHIVE: Bao Zi Dough (from Smallwares)

1/1/2015

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Smallwares

⅔ cup warm water
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1¼ cups bread flour, plus more for if needed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda

In a small bowl, whisk together the water, yeast and sugar until the yeast dissolves. Let the mixture sit until the yeast starts to get foamy and bloom, 4 to 6 minutes. Stir in the oil and set aside.
Meanwhile, sift the bread flour, salt and baking soda together. Add the yeast mixture to the dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula. If the dough looks sticky, add 1 additional tablespoon of flour at a time until it is less sticky.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and let the dough rest until it has doubled in size, 1½ to 2 hours. Punch the dough down to flatten it.
Portion the dough into balls that are 2 inches in diameter and let rest for 5 minutes. Flatten each ball into a disk 3 inches in diameter.
Fill the buns with your filling of choice and wrap by gathering the edge and twisting slightly. Cover with a damp kitchen towel to keep the bao from drying out.
Place the buns in a steam basket lined with parchment paper and steam until the buns have expanded, 7 to 9 minutes. Serve.

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ARCHIVE: Nian Gao (Chinese Rice Cake w/ Red Beans)

1/1/2015

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1/2 cup olive oil
3 eggs
3 cups milk
1 cup sugar
1 lb sticky rice powder
1 can Xiao Chang brand red beans

Servings: 25

Mix everything except the red beans together. Pour into a baking pan.
Drop spoonfulls of the red beans in. Let them sink.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

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Chinese Sesame Candy

Plain Mochi

Mooncake (Yue Bing)

Lotus Seed Paste

ARCHIVE: Bao Zi Dough (from Smallwares)

ARCHIVE: Nian Gao (Chinese Rice Cake w/ Red Beans)

Sweet Enough

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