Hakka Yam Abacus 客家算盘子

Can't get enough of yam?! hehehe I purposely buy extra yam to make this yam abacus dish which I've been craving for very long time! Based on Honey Bee Sweets recipe, I further improvise on the cooking method and seasoning added :D I brought some to my sister for her lunch and I actually learnt a few techniques from her mother-in-law whom cook a very yummylicious hakka yam abacus! She told me to rinse the cooked yam abacus to create a soft and springy texture which I did prior to her guidance! Furthermore she suggested to steam the raw yam abacus rather than boiling it!! hmmm will try this method the next attempt to see the difference :D

Ingredient

Yam Abacus

• 250gm peeled yam
• 80gm tapioca flour
• pinch of salt

Method

1. Steam yam over preheated steamer until soft. Transfer hot yam into a large mixing bowl together with the salt
2. Add in tapioca flour while the yam is still hot. Knead together until it forms a soft pliable dough.
3. Roll into a long log and cut into chunks.
4. Roll the chunks into round balls. Use your thumb to make a indentation in the middle.
5. Cover and rest the yam balls for 10mins. Meanwhile bring a pot of water to rolling boil.
6. Drop in yam balls and cook till it floats. Drain away hot water and rinse with cold tap water. Drizzle over some sesame oil to coat it evenly. Set aside.

Rest of the ingredients :

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 shallots, finely sliced
• 150gm minced pork (marinate with 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp light soy sauce and dash of pepper)
• 5 pieces dried shitake mushroom, soaked & sliced (retain liquid)
• 40gm dried squid, rinse and cut thinly
• 5 medium dried black fungus, soaked and sliced
• 3 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked (retain liquid)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/3 tsp five-spice powder
• 1/3 tsp white pepper

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in wok over medium fire. Add garlic and shallots and saute till fragrant.
2. Add in dried shrimp and squid and fry for another min.
3. Add in minced pork and cook till opaque.
4. Add in dried mushroom and cook for a few minutes. Toss in black fungus.
5. Add in yam abacus, reserved liquid and seasoning and mix evenly.
6. Dish up and serve warm.

Teochew Spiral Yam Mooncake

Deep fried and baked version of spiral yam mooncakes

I always love yam ^.^ Been procratinating for the past years whether to attempt this spiral yam mooncakes! The coming mid-autumn festival is one month away, therefore there is ample time to do some trial bakes :D For a start I've only did 6 flaky mooncakes of which only one is deep fried as I want to see how is the result. As the pastry is deep frying, the layers gradually start appearing! hehehe I  was worrying that whole pastry will explode during the frying process but luckily that did not happen and it looks pretty good to me! It looks very flaky with many many layers! Though the rolling techniques still have much room to be improved, is still a success for my maiden attempt ^0^ 

To make this spiral yam mooncake, of course you have to start with the basic yam paste filling! Never thought that it is quite fuss-free to prepare this tasty yam filling! Smooth and creamy paste which I've to stop myself from pinching it ;P

Yam Paste

Yields approx 750gm (I've reduced the sugar amount, therefore the final amount can only made 10 mooncakes instead of 12 which stated in the original recipe)

Ingredient (enough for 10 mooncakes)

• 500gm peeled yam, sliced
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 70gm corn oil
• 200gm sugar (can be further reduced to 150gm if you do like like it too sweet)
• 50gm water
• 50gm wheat starch
• 40gm melon seeds, toasted
• 10 salted egg yolks*

Method

1. Steam sliced yam over high heat until soft.
2. Using a food processor, blend hot yam, sugar & water until smooth.
3. Heat pan with 70gm oil. Add shallots and fry till fragrant and golden brown. Remove the fried shallots.
4. Add in blended yam paste and fry until thick, approx 5 mins, over medium heat.
5. Sieve in wheat starch and fry till mixture is non-sticky, approx 5 mins. You will notice that the paste will start to pull away from the edges of the pan. 
6. Cool completely before use.
7. Add in melon seeds into cooled yam paste and knead evenly. Divide into 75gm each and wrap in a salted egg yolk. Shape into round. 

* Rinse salted egg yolk and soak in rice wine for 5mins. Drain away the wine and bake the yolks in preheated oven at 160 deg cel for 8mins. Cool completely before use.

Knead in toasted melon seeds and wrap in salted egg yolks, is now ready to be wrapped into pastry dough!

Pastry Dough (makes 6 mooncakes)

(A)

Water Dough

• 30gm shortening
• 1/2 tbsp sugar
• 40gm warm water
• 1/4 tsp rice vinegar
• 90gm bread flour

Mix shortening & sugar evenly. Pour in warm water and vinegar gradually and stirring at the same time. Sift in flour and knead into a smooth dough. Cover and rest for 30mins. Divide dough into 2 equal portions.

(B)

Oil Dough

• 90gm plain flour 
• 50gm shortening
• few drops of purple colouring (I use wilton colour paste)

Bake plain flour in preheated oven at 130 deg cel for 10mins. Stirring once in between the baking time. Cool down completely before kneading in shortening. While a dough is formed, incorporate in the colour paste. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. 

Final procedure, wrapping the oil dough into the water dough! The steps looks rather daunting but actually is not that difficult at all :D Hopefully the above pictures give you an idea how to go about it.

1. Lightly floured a working surface and rolling pin. Roll out the water dough into a flat round disc. Wrap in a piece of oil dough.
2. Roll it out into a long thin sheet.
3. Roll in up like a swiss roll. Turn the roll 90 deg and repeat step 2 and 3.
4. Cut the long thin sheet into 2 long stripes.
5. Stack them up and roll up again. Seal the edge with some water. 
6. Trim of the protruding parts on both ends, reserved for later use.
7. Slice the roll into 3 equal portions.
8. Repeat steps with the 2nd piece water dough and oil dough. You will get 6 round layer discs.
9. Using a rolling pin, roll out each disc. Wrap in yam paste filling.
10. Do not seal the bottom completely, leave some space. Roll out the reserved dough, smear with some water and stick to seal the bottom.
11. To deep fry : Heat some oil in a saucepan, the oil MUST BE HOT! Deep fry over medium heat until lightly browned. Drain well on kitchen paper. Cool completely before storing.
12. To oven bake : Bake in preheated oven at 160 deg for 15-20mins. The pastry will be soft when is out from oven. It will harden upon cooling. Cool completely before storing.

Alternative wrapping method, click here....

Recipe source : ‘月盈中秋’by Choong Su Yin

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