Deep-fried sesame balls are one of those snacks that are accidentally vegan as well as gluten-free, with the added bonus that they’re pretty easy to make. The batch in this picture (not the prettiest, I know) actually contains mung bean paste filling, but let’s pretend it doesn’t, because I don’t have time to cover the mung bean paste recipe in this post.

You thus only need 3 ingredients for this snack – glutinous rice flour (fun fact: glutinous rice is gluten-free), sugar and sesame seeds – though if you’re sufficiently motivated you could combine the glutinous rice flour with steamed & mashed sweet potato or potato to produce a softer texture.

Recipe is adapted from Cecilia J. Au-Yang’s Chopsticks Recipes cookbook series from the early 1980s.

Deep-fried Sesame Balls

INGREDIENTS:

280g glutinous rice flour

3/4 cup water

120g sugar

1 cup sesame seeds

Oil for deep-frying

METHOD:

1. Dissolve sugar in the water, then add glutinous rice flour and knead into a smooth dough.
2. Divide into 40 portions and shape into balls.
3. Coat with sesame seeds.
4. Heat oil to about 200’C, then turn off the heat.
5. Put the sesame balls in the oil and cook until they float.
6. Turn the heat back on to a medium setting, and using a ladle, gently press on the balls until they inflate.
7. Cook until golden brown, remove and drain on paper towels.
8. Allow to cool before serving.

The post How To Make Deep-Fried Sesame Balls (Vegan) first appeared on Jackie M..

These sweet potato dumplings are pretty easy to make; you can used ready-to-use red bean paste (in cans or packs at your local Asian grocery store), though in this Live Asian Kitchen, I used the homemade red bean paste I’d made a couple of weeks earlier. Other popular filling options include lotus seed paste or mung bean paste.

The recipe for this is from the Chopsticks Recipes Dim Sum cookbook by Cecilia Au-Yang that I’ve owned for decades; as usual, I’ve made some tweaks to it, albeit very minor ones.

Sweet Potato Dumplings with Red Bean Paste Filling

INGREDIENTS:

Pastry –

220g sweet potatoes, cubed and steamed until soft (about 15 minutes)

30g lard or butter

120g glutinous rice flour

Filling –

220g sweet red bean paste

Coating –

½ cup sesame seeds, rinse and strained

—————-

Oil for deep-frying

METHOD:

1. Divide sweet red bean paste into 24 portions and roll into olive-shaped balls.
2. Mash sweet potatoes, add lard and mix well.
3. Add glutinous rice flour to mix to a soft dough. Divide into 24 equal portions.
4. Flatten one portion into an oval shape, then place a piece of red bean paste in the middle. Wrap and shape into a cylindrical shape.
5. Coat with sesame seeds; press them gently into the dumplings.
6. Heat oil to 170’C, then deep-fry the dumplings until golden brown, turning to make sure they’re evenly cooked.
7. Remove and drain on paper towels.
8. Allow to cool until they’re just warm before serving.

The post How to Make Sweet Potato Dumplings with Red Bean Paste Filling first appeared on Jackie M..

I remember Shanghai red bean paste-filled pancakes being a staple on the sweets trolley at yum cha back in the day, but I have to admit that I haven’t really seen them around in recent years. The good news is that they’re actually pretty easy to make, and apart from red bean paste, all you really need are flour and eggs, and oil for frying. I used my batch of homemade red bean paste from a couple of weeks prior (see recipe here >> http://jackiem.com.au/2018/10/25/how-to-make-red-bean-paste/ ) but you should be able to easily find canned versions at your local Asian grocery store (well, here in Sydney anyway)

Shanghai-Style Red Bean Paste Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup plain flour

1 pinch salt

1 egg

approximately 1.25 cups water

1 ½ cups red bean paste

Oil for frying

METHOD:

1. Combine plain flour, salt, egg and enough water to whisk to a runny batter.
2. Brush a non-stick frying pan with oil; pour in a ladle of batter and swirl to make a thin crepe.
3. Cook until it starts to lift, flip it and cook until both sides are done.
4. Remove and repeat with rest of batter.
5. Spread the centre of each crepe with 2-3 TBSP red bean paste, press into a thin rectangular shape, then fold in the sides of the crepe to enclose.
6. Fill pan to about ½-inch deep with oil, heat, then fry the pancakes on both sides until golden brown and slightly crispy.
7. Remove, drain on paper towels and allow to cool enough until they can be handled by hand.
8. Cut into 6-8 pieces per pancake before serving.

The post How to Make Shanghai-Style Pancakes first appeared on Jackie M..

Coconut candy is one of my favourite memories of Deepavali (aka Diwali, though not in Malaysia), the Indian Festival of Lights. During this public holiday, our Indian friends would hold “open houses” where they served up a culinary extravaganza to feed the friends from all ethnic backgrounds who dropped in to visit. (The cycle repeated itself year-long with all the different races/religions and their respective festivals. But I digress.)

For me, coconut candy was the highlight of all the sweet and savoury Deepavali offerings, and it was traditionally made with freshly grated coconut and artificial colouring. In this recipe tweak, I use desiccated coconut since it’s more readily available (I know, I know, not the same etc. but feel free to get your own fresh coconut if you’re lucky enough to find some). Also, I’m using natural plant extract sent out to me by My Blue Tea to produce the colours. (Clearly, should you choose to do so, you can use whatever food colouring you have on hand; using natural plant extract is simply a healthy take on a frankly decadent snack.)

BTW this recipe is roughly based on one by Roti & Rice, but it with some significant changes including the use of coconut cream in lieu of fresh milk, since I don’t drink or keep milk in my fridge.

It’s important to note that the blue flower and roselle powders are both flavour neutral; however, My Blue Tea also carries other plant extracts such as kaffir lime leaf and pandan which do carry the natural flavour of said ingredients.

Watch the video here >>

Coconut Candy

INGREDIENTS:

2 ⅔ cups desiccated coconut
½ cup white sugar
½ cup condensed milk
½ cup coconut cream
3 Tbsps butter
1 ½ tsps blue pea flower powder
2 tsps roselle flower powder

METHOD:

1. Combine desiccated coconut, sugar, condensed milk, coconut cream and butter in a saucepan.
2. Cook on low to medium heat until ingredients are well-blended and hold together like dough.
3. Split into two halves if using two colours like I did; mix one half with blue pea flower powder and the other half with roselle powder.
4. Transfer into a tray lined with baking paper, then allow to cool completely.
5. Cut into squares and serve.

This recipe series is made in collaboration with My Blue Tea . Check out their website for blue flower powder and other products; they ship worldwide

The post How to Make Coconut Candy first appeared on Jackie M..