Yee Chai Peng (Cantonese for “ear biscuits”) were these intriguing spiral-patterned, curved fried pastries from my childhood in Malaysia, which were crunchy, slightly sweet and yet savoury. The only ones I ever ate were factory-made; this wasn’t one of those things that you would find people making fresh at home or at their street stall – certainly not in my hometown of Seremban anyway.

Since I’ve yet to see these biscuits here in Australia, I decided to research how to make them myself; I came across Guai Shu Shu’s blog and ended up using his recipe as a guide (with minor tweaks) during one of my Live Asian Kitchen broadcasts.

As you can see from the results, they look accidentally rustic; I’d been meaning to have another go at this so I could produce a prettier result before posting the recipe, but I’ve already waited too long, plus they tasted great anyway, so here it is.

Ear Biscuits

INGREDIENTS:

White dough

⅔ cup plain flour
40mls of water
⅛ teaspoon of baking soda

Brown dough

¾ cup plain flour
30mls of water
2 Tbsps brown sugar
2 Tbsps oil
1 ½ tsps fermented bean curd
1 tsp five spice powder
⅛ teaspoon of baking soda
Pinch of salt

Oil for deep-frying

METHOD:

1. Combine white dough ingredients and knead to a soft, pliable texture. Roll into a rectangular shape, approximately 1-2mm in thickness.
2. Combine brown dough ingredients and do the same.
3. Brush brown dough surface with a little water, then place white dough on top and press down gently.
4. Brush white dough with water, then roll the dough sheets into a tight sushi-style cylinder.
5. Wrap with cling wrap and freeze for 20-30 minutes.
6. Remove cling wrap and cut into thin slices about 1mm in thickness.
7. Deep-fry at about 160-180’C until golden brown; remove and drain.
8. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

My Live Asian Kitchen broadcasts are made possible with the support of the following –

The post How to Make Yee Chai Peng (Ear Biscuits) first appeared on Jackie M..