Red bean snowskin mooncakes

Trying out different skin flavours - blueberry (boiling 1 tbsp of frozen blueberry without water then mashing and using the juice to colour), cocoa, pandan (essence) and red colouring.

Wrapper filling recipe adapted from DessertGirlFirst which uses custard filling with custard powder and egg yolks. While the proportions for this recipe were prefect for 75g mooncake molds, it used condensed milk which I don't have lying around. The previous recipe which was my first trial has a very sturdy skin and also used equal proportions of skin to filling. In this recipe, I try to use less skin to filling. Method is mostly the same.

Ingredients (810g dough makes twenty-three 75g mooncakes)

920g filling 

110g GRF

86g rice flour

49g wheat starch or cornstarch

98g icing sugar

455g milk

44g veg oil

⅓C GRF cooked, for dusting

Method

1. Mix the sugar, milk and oil in a large bowl. Sift in the flour. Mix until no lumps.Optional: if adding colour to the skin, make sure to do it before cooking the dough as there will be no further cooking. Check out the tie-dye doughs here with Emily Lu.

2. Microwave the dough to cook it. Cover the microwave safe bowl. Microwave in several increments (around 1.5 min, 1.5 mins, 1 min, then 30 seconds; total 4.5 mins full power). Mix each time with spatula until no liquid remains. 

5. Allow to cool slightly for 10 to 15 mins then knead with gloves for about 5 mins until oil is fully incorporated. It may be easier to transfer to plastic wrap or bag and work it. If easier, transfer onto a flat surface (not floured!) and knead until dough is smooth and non-stick. The dough is easier to work with when still warm. Cover with clingfilm and chill dough in fridge for between 30 mins to 2 hours. Maximum chill for 4 hours. On a cool day, the dough can also be left on the counter. If the dough is too hard after leaving the fridge, leave it on the counter to come up to room temp so it's easier to work with.

6. While waiting for the dough to rest, portion out the filling into 40g balls. Cover with clingfilm with the plastic touching to prevent drying out and forming a skin. Leave in the fridge for at least 2 hrs to harden or max 2 hrs in the freezer so that it's easier to work with later.

7. Fry the ⅓ C glutinous rice flour until slightly brown for 6 - 7 mins on medium heat. Set aside to cool.

8. Portion out dough into 35g balls. Roll dough balls out into about 3.5 inch diameter (for 3 inch diameter for 50g mould; 4 inch diameter for 100g mould). Either flatten out between 2 pieces of parchment using rolling pin or flatten out between palms. Press around the edge with your finger to thin the edge.

9. Dust the molds well with cooked flour. To really prevent the dough ball from sticking, lightly coat the ball too. (Note that too much flour will blur the pattern). Encase the filling ball in the flattened dough (see videos). 

10. Roll the ball into the cylindrical shape and flatten the top with thumb slightly so it doesn't budge out (see video). Place flattened top into the upturned mould and gently fit the dough ball into the mould without forcing it in. Mould the bottom of the cylinder into the mould gently with a thumb so it doesn't bulge out. Place the mould with dough ball right side up on parchment. 

12. Ensure to firmly press the mould down onto the parchment before pressing the lever down. Press the lever down until you feel resistance. Press for about 15 seconds to establish the shape. Press down several more times gently to really imprint the design. Release the mooncake and dust off excess flour with a pastry brush.

13. Chill for a few hours and keep stored in fridge. Best consumed within 3 days.

Feedback

- This dough is super soft! It doesn't really keep its shape (as u can see all the misshappen ones)

-  35g dough with 40g filling is just enough dough to cover. However, don't roll too thin and leave it thicker in the centre and thinner at the edges. I find using palms to flatten the ball into a pancake, and then using fingers to flatten the edges to be easiest.

- For the red bean, really works best when fridge cold. So I put in the fridge to harden in order to portion, the took out only a few portions each time to wrap, then after wrapping that batch, I immediately imprinted otherwise the filling starts to go soft and the wrapper isn't stiff enough to hold its shape.

- When using odd shape moulds (see pink dragon and cocoa love lock in the front row), stamp down and do not rock. Make sure to dust both mould and mooncake very well with flour. Stamp down several times but do not rock the stamp, straight up and down. My filing got stuck to the stamp because I rocked it and ruined the imprint.

- It is best consumed after 4 hrs in the fridge and good for up to 1 day after. On Day 2, the skin became hard. On Day 3, the filling (?) started to exude water!

HK Red Bean Bun

I have previously tried the tangzong red bean bun and also the an pan but neither were satisfactory. Both used a mix of bread and cake flour but felt really dense even though I used the dough hook on my food processor. This time I have my trusty KitchenAid and after my last dough disaster where the dough climbed up the hook, I decided I had to beat it!

This recipes uses full bread flour. Adapted from three different Christine's recipes because she writes things halfway and asks you to refer here and there. Making tangzong, ingredients from Matcha Green Bean Bun, and I adapted her method from Hokkaido Milk Toast Bread regarding proofing instructions and how to fold the bread.

Ingredients for tangzong (makes 240g tangzong which is enough for 2 loafs of 20.5*10.5cm loaf tin. However, I made the mistake of halving the proportions to get 120g tangzong as required but because a lot of the roux stuck to my non-stick pot, I got less than 120g roux in the end! Recommend to follow the full instructions and throw away the excess)

50g (⅓C) bread flour

250ml (½C) milk or water or 50-50

Tangzong method 

1. Add the milk to the flour slowly and use a wooden spoon to combine. Smooth out as many lumps as possible.

2. Put the mixture on the heat and bring slowly to a boil. The mixture will dry up. Continue cooking the roux until you see 'lines' in the roux when stirring.

3. Remove from heat. Set aside to cool slightly, the cover with cling film, ensuring the film touches the top to prevent a skin forming. Cool completely before using. Store the rest similarly covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Throw once it turns grey.

Ingredients for Red bean bun

350g (2½C) bread flour

55g (3 tbsp + 2 tsp) caster sugar

5g salt (1 tsp)

1 large egg (more than 50g), beaten

7g milk powder (1 tbsp + 1 tsp, I omitted)

125ml milk (½C)

120 tangzong

6g yeast (2 tsp

30g butter, cubed and at room temp

1 tin (430g) red bean paste, refridgerated 

1 egg beaten, for glaze

2 to 3 tbsp sesame seeds (either black or white)

Method

1. In a KA mixer, pour in half of the flour and ⅓ of the milk. Add the salt and sugar, then beat at Speed 2.

2. Once these have come together, add more milk, half of the beaten egg, and a few tbsp of flour. Allow to mix. Continue alternating wet with dry until all used up and allow to beat for 5 minutes.

3. Once combined, add the yeast. Use your hand or a dough whisk to fold in the yeast. Use the KA at speed 3 and continue beating for 5 minutes.

4. Add the cubed butter, one cube at a time and allow each to beat into the dough before adding the next one. Once all are in, beat for 5 minutes at Speed 2.

5. Turn up to Speed 4 and beat until you reach the windowpane stage (approx another 15 to 20 minutes). Stop periodically to check because it can go from not yet ready to ready in a matter of minutes. The dough should be soft but not sticky and glossy on the outisde.

6. Remove from the beater and oil the bowl. Form the dough into a ball and cover the bowl with film and a tea towel. Allow to proof for 40 minutes (28 deg C and 75% humidity) until doubled in size.

7. Divide dough into 12 potions (approx 51g each). Cover half of the balls with a damp towel. With each portion, roll with the palm of your hand into a ball until the surface is smooth. Then using the Asian rolling pin, flatten out into a 5 cm diameter circle with the edges thinner than the centre.

8. Use the 2.5 tbsp scoop and spoon out 30 to 35g of filling.

9. Seal the filling tightly, be sure to scrimp all the folds and turn seam down. Gently roll back into a ball to flatten the folds. Using both hands and a cupping motion, form a dome shape, the taller the better as it will sink and flatten when proofing.

10. Cover with cling firm and a damp tea towel and proof for 45 to 60 minutes (38 deg C at 75% humidity) until doubled in size. 

11. Pre-heat oven. Glaze the tops of each bun with the beaten egg.

12. Using the rounded end of the Asian rolling pin, dip in the egg then into the sesame seeds. 'Stamp' the seeds onto the top of each bun by slightly and gently rotating the pin so that the edges of the stamped circle are properly formed.

13. Bake at 160 deg C for 30 minutes or until golden brown. I swapped and rotated the trays halfway.

Recipe feedback

So unusual! Because I used bread flour, it came out crusty straight from the oven (like crusty bread). It softened slightly the next day but was still not like normal white bread. More like French crusty loaf?

Red bean bao 豆沙包

 

I have been wanting to use proper bao flour for the longest time but never really bought it. After my investigation into the different types of flour for bao buns, I tracked down some bao flour, although the packet states 'wheat flour' (not the same as wheat starch), the picture is that of bao buns, so I think I'm in the right place. I am unsure if wheat flour is really the same as bao flour, because although the articles claim that the protein level of bao flour is about the same as cake flour, my KitchenAid had a really hard time trying to beat the flour. The dough continually climbed up the dough hook and it required far more liquid than the original recipe called for. In the end, after 10 minutes, I put my KM out of its misery and hand kneaded the dough for another 5 minutes. It certainly didn't reach the window pane stage nor was it smooth and shiny, so I think I've been undone. (Tip: Found out that to prevent the dough from climbing the hook, alternate wet with dry in 3 batches, instead of dumping everything (wet and dry) into the bowl at once. Source)

Recipe adapted from China Sichuan to upsize to 500g, which is the size of my wheat flour packet. I don't want leftover flour and then I have no idea what to do with it next!

Ingredients (makes 10 big or 14 small baos)

500g bao flour (wheat flour)

60g sugar

2½ tbp yeast

pinch of salt

250 - 280ml milk, warmed to the touch

2 tbsp oil

400g red bean paste

Method

1. Pour all the bao ingredients into a KitchenAid and with the dough hook incorporate at Speed 2.

2. Continue to beat for about 8 to 10 minutes, watching like a hawk to ensure that the dough doesn't climb up the hook and into the motor.

3. Check using the window pane for gluten development. If the dough is not yet shiny and smooth, hand knead for another 5 to 10 minutes. 

4. Form into a ball and put in a oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow to proof for 25 (in a 30 to 35 deg C room) to 45 minutes, depending on the temperature of the room.

5. While proofing, prepare the parchment papers, measure out the red bean paste. Use an ice cream scoop and put on a tray to freeze for a few minutes, and also the steamer. Wrap the cover of the steamer in a cloth so that the condensation doesn't drip on the buns.

6. Divide into 14 pieces. Cover half and put in the fridge to prevent them for proofing. Flatten each piece of dough, and using a rolling pin, roll the edges but leave the centre slightly thicker. 

7. Put approx 1 tbsp or the pre-measured red bean paste in the centre, gather and pinch the edges together. Gently reshape the ball and put the bun down on the parchment, seal side down.

8. Allow buns to re-proof for 15 to 20 minutes, while bring the steamer to a rolling boil. 

9. Steam for 12 to 15 minutes, and then turn off the flame and rest for 5 minutes before opening.

10. Serve hot or re-heat in a steamer to serve.

Recipe feedback

- Texture is finally correct!

- Despite using bao flour, it hasn't come out white. Maybe that's HK flour which is supposed to be bleached

- Dough was very easy to work with however, a bit dry. I have increased the oil by ½ tbsp to make it more pliable. I used the char siu bao pleating to properly seal the bao filling and turned it upside down to obtain the round face. However, the dough's dryness meant that the pleats stayed distinct (you can see the 'butt cracks' on the underside) instead of the rounder shape. It also made sealing the bun difficult, and there were a lot of wrinkles where I had gathered the dough.

- I learnt a little tip! Using a bit of leftover flour mixed with milk or water, I 'painted' the creases or holes and this helped to give it a smoother 'face'!

- How to wrap round bao buns: Use Maangchi's method to create rounder buns where the filling is centered in the middle.

Red bean porridge with gula melaka glutinous rice balls

This is an adaptation of the Korean red bean porridge, 팥죽. I've read some versions that use salt but I'm not a fan of something salty.

Ingredients
300g red bean paste (I used canned)
10 knotted pandan leaves
10 cups water
¼ cup lotus seeds
100g glutinous rice
5 to 6 tbsp water (use more if necessary)
300g gula melaka

Method
1. Knot the pandan leaves and add to the water. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the lotus sees by soaking in boiling water for 5 to 10 minutes until softened. Remove the internal bud of the lotus seed which is bitter. Add to the boiling water.
3. Add the red bean paste to the water and stir until combined. Continue to simmer on low.
4. In a separate bowl, add the flour and put in a tbsp spoon of water at a time until the flour barely comes together. You may need more than 6 tbsp if the flour is really too dry (depending on how you've stored the flour and ambient humidity too). Once you are able to gather most of the dry flour, stop and start to knead. It should all come together, if not, wet your hands and continue to knead. Knead for approximately 5 minutes. Cover with a damp cloth and set aside.
5. Pinch off little bits of dough to make balls.
6. Cut the gula melaka into cubes. Make a hole in the middle of each dumpling and insert the cubes. Close up the ball and ensure that each seam is well sealed otherwise they will burst during cooking.
7. The balls can be cooked in the soup (makes the soup more starchy) or in a separate pot of boiling water, depending on personal preference. To cook the balls, ensure that the liquid is at a rolling boil. Add the balls. They will sink. Use a spatula to stir so that they don't get stuck to the bottom. When they float, give them another 2 to 3 minutes and they're ready. If they were cooked in water, ladle them out with a sieve and add to the red bean soup.

Matcha swiss roll with tsubuan anko filling

After doing extensive research on swiss rolls and the different methods, I settled on a recipe that was matcha with red bean filling and which most matched my pan size, so there would be very little adjustments.

I settled on CWD and used some of the tips from other recipes. I like this recipe because it's very easy to remember.
https://cookingwithdog.com/recipe/matcha-roll-cake/

Ingredients
4 eggs, separated when out of the fridge and left to come to room temp
40g sugar
40g cake flour
1 tbsp matcha powder

Filling
120 ml heavy cream (full cream)
1 tbsp sugar (I omitted this as the anko is already very sweet)
120g anko (I used tinned anko because I read from Kitchen Tigress that the tinned version uses Hokkaido beans which is far more fragrant than beans from China. Saves me work, why not? I didn't bother draining the beans unlike her though.)
80g sweetened beans (substitute with fresh fruit; I omitted this)
Powdered sugar to dust

Method
1) Line the tin on the bottom and sides. My tin ie 24.5*34.5 cm.
2) Sift the flour and matcha twice. Sift onto a parchment paper (which you can save for later when you invert the cake)
3) Clean a bowl and the beaters with vinegar. Separate the eggs.
4) Using the beaters, beat the egg white until foamy. Add ⅓ of the sugar. Beat on medium until incorporated and add the next ⅓ of the sugar. Increase the speed and beat until stiff peaks.
5) Using the same unwashed beaters, in another bowl where the yolks are, add the remaining sugar and beat until pale and foamy. Remember to beat the yolks after the whites otherwise the whites will not rise.
6) Add the flour and matcha mixture to the yolk in two batches and use a whisk to fold in until all the flour is wet.
7) Add the meringue in 2 batches. The first batch will loosen up the batter so you don't have to be too careful but be more careful and use the whisk to fold in the second batch. Pour the batter into the bowl with the remaining meringue. Using a spatula, carefully fold in the batter so as not to break the foam.
8) Pour into the prepared tin. Use a scraper to spread the batter to the sides and corners and create a nice flat surface. Drop the pan on the table top several times to knock out big air bubbles.
9) Bake at 170 deg C for 25 mins. Produces a 2cm tall cake.
10) Remove from the oven and drop pan on the table top to prevent shrinkage. Invert the cake onto a parchment (from the sifted flours) and gently peel off the back. I decided that the bottom looked nicer than my crust so inverted it back again.

The crust or top of my cake. Not very flat because I didn't use a spatula to flatten!

Cover with another parchment and the pan to let cool. Some bloggers cooled on a wire rack but it didn't really make a difference to me.

11) While cooling, make the filling. Whip the double cream to stiff peaks and fold in the anko. Leave in the fridge while waiting for the cake to cool.
12) Once the cake is cool enough to handle, at one short edge, cut diagonally 45 degrees to make a nice seam. I didn't wait until the cake was completely cool, just cool enough not to melt the cream.
13) Spread the anko cream but leave 1cm from the diagonally cut edge as when you roll, the cream gets pushed to the ends.

The bottom of the cake becomes the outside. Pockmarked face because my pan has a braille-like raised surface supposedly for airflow!

14) Using the parchment to help, roll from the uncut short edge. Place the roll seam side down. Transfer to a clean parchment and use a spatula or ruler or knife to tuck the parchment tightly into the roll. Cover with the parchment and a plastic film. Leave in the fridge to cool from between 3 hours to 3 days. (Tigress recommends 3 days so that the cream's moisture melds with the cake)

Recipe feedback
- Initially once cool, the cake seemed very dry since there is no oil and matcha-based pastries always seem to be dense and dry. It wasn't very spongey too, maybe because I over-beat the egg whites until they became watery and 'crumbly'. Also, perhaps 25 minutes baking time was too long. I will have to re-attempt this another time.
- Cak wasn't too sweet. Excluding the sugar in the cream helped because the anko is very sweet.
- Cake is 2 cm tall.
- After leaving to chill in the fridge overnight, it really seemed much less dry as the moisture from the cream had permeated into the cake.
- Updated: Cake was eaten on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th day. It was moistest on the second day, so-so on Day 3 but by Day 4, it had dried out. As such, not a good idea to follow Kitchen Tigress's advice to keep to Day 3 because my pastries last more than a day in my house, so I'll be eating very dry cake from Day 4 onwards.

Azuki and coconut milk chiffon

I still have a lot of cake flour which I try to use up before summer comes. Decided to use my frozen tsubuan which I made quite some back as well. Based on the density of the tsubuan, decided to adapt the recipe for chocolate milk and cocoa chips because this recipe has more flour which will give it the density to 'hold' up the tsubuan. 

http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2016/02/chocolate-milk-chiffon-cake-with-chocolate-chips/

I substituted the milk for coconut milk and choc chips for tsubuan and some other changes e.g. sugar and milk volume. Didn't turn out too bad. Surprisingly seems a bit undercooked compared to when I usually bake this which comes out really brown. Really moist though. At first I thought the temp may be too high (170 deg C usually is) but as you can see, the top has already cracked.

Ingredients

7 eggs, separated

210 ml coconut milk

120 ml oil

35 (for yolks) + 135g (for whites) sugar

225g cake flour

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

140g tsubuan or koshian

Method

1) Add the 35g of sugar to the yolks and beat till the sugar has mostly dissolved. 

2) Add the oil and beat until paler in colour. 

3) Add in the coconut milk and salt. Whisk until combined.

4) In 2 batches, sift in the cake flour and baking powder and fold using a whisk. Try not to over beat or you will develop gluten. Set aside.

5) In a very clean bowl (no oil, water, or detergent), beat the egg whites on low speed until foamy and opaque. Add sugar in 3 batches. After all the sugar has been added, turn up the speed to max and beat until stiff peaks.

6) Add the meringue to the yolk mixture in 3 batches. The first batch: incorporate till no streaks remain. You don't have to be too gentle. The second batch: This time, fold in gently so as not to knock out the air. The third batch: This time, return the yolk mixture to the left over third of meringue. Very gently fold in with a whisk (my preferred) or spatula until just combined.

7) In the ungreased 26 to 26" cake tin, pour in ⅓ of the mixture. Top with ½ of the tsubuan, trying to distribute evenly. Top with the next ⅓ of the cake mixture and another ½ of the tsubuan. Finally, cover with the remaining batter.

8) Using a spatula, run around batter in a zig zag manner and pay attention to the edges of the tin and around the centre funnel. This will disperse the bigger air bubbles and also swirl the tsubuan. (The original recipe recommends dropping the cake tin on the counter to dispel more air bubbles but I don't do this if the recipe has a very dense filling which will tend to sink to the bottom anyway as you can see from the picture)

9) Bake at 170 deg C for 65 minutes. Tent in the last 20 minutes or adjust to 165 deg C for up to 70 minutes, checking at 65 mins. Remove and immediately invert and allow to cool completely in the tin.

10) Unmould by running a knife or spatula around the edges and invert onto a plate. The bottom should be the top of the cake because that's where it's flattest.

Recipe feedback

The cake came out very slightly undercooked inside although the outside was quite brown. I have adjusted the recipe to bring down the temp from 170 to 165 deg C and to increase from 65 to 70 minutes. Alternatively, to tent the cake.

Tangzong red bean bun

Updated: Tried Christine's tangzong method: https://simmetra.blogspot.com/2020/12/hk-red-bean-bun.html

Using last night's tsubuan (recipe :http://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-anko-red-bean-paste/ ) The bun recipe is taken from here: http://www.chinasichuanfood.com/char-siu-bao-baked-buns-recipe/  

Not sure how I feel about this recipe. It took me 2 days to make it if you count the hour for the anko the night before. Actual time was about 3 hours active time and with another 3 hours proving time. The next morning, I started at 10am to make the tangzong and it had to cool down. I restarted at 1.30pm by placing all the ingredients into the mixer and this took 2 hours to prove, then an hour to form the dough (including 15 mins rest time in between), another 40 minutes to prove, and another 20 minutes to bake. I only ended at 6.30pm. The end result is that the bun was less dense (only ⅔ the vol of flour) but felt drier than the JOC two flours recipe which had equivalent volume of liquid and slightly more equivalent volume of butter. The tangzong didn't seem to have made any discernible difference. Maybe I'm not putting enough - this would be equivalent to 9% of the total flour weight.

Ingredients

Tangzong

20g regular flour (recipe didn't specify what flour so since the recipe called for cake and bread flours, I decided to go halfway with regular flour)

100g/ml water

Buns (Makes 12 buns)

195g bread flour

90g cake flour

6g instant yeast

25g sugar (reduced from 30g)

3g salt 

1 egg, beaten

45g butter, softened and cubed

Filling

280 to 300g anko (either tsubuan or koshian)

Topping

2 tsp black or white sesame seeds, raw

1 beaten egg

1 tbsp melted butter (optional)

Method

1) Make the roux. Add the flour to the water into a small saucepan and use a whisk to combine till no lumps remain. Turn on a medium flame and keep whisking. The mixture should thicken up. Stop when the temp reaches 65 deg C, or you see lines in the mixture. Let it cool slightly then transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with cling film and ensure that the cling film touches the surface. This prevents a skin from forming.

2) In a mixer (I used my trusty food processor with dough hook), add the flours, salt, yeast on the opposite side, and sugar. Combine. Add the beaten egg, milk, and tangzong and beat till combined. If it doesn't come together, add slightly more milk (I need about another 5ml or a splash). Beat till elastic and stop to scrape down the bowl periodically.

3) Add the cubed butter and beat. The dough will suddenly get very sticky and but if you continue beating, it will slowly relax. After a while, it gets very elastic and becomes smooth and shiny. Check using the window pane test.

4) Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to proof in a warm place for about 2 hours until it has doubled to 2.5x its original size.

5) Beat down the dough and ensure that all air pockets have been kneaded out. Separate into 12 balls. Cover and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

6) Flatten out each ball using the palm of your hand. Using a French or Asian rolling pin, roll the disc about 3 inches wide, leaving it thicker at the centre than the edges.

7) Place about 1.5 tbsp (I used my size 40 cookie dough scoop) of filling in the centre. Gather up the edges and pinch tightly closed. Carefully re-form into a ball and try not to flatten it out. 

8) Place the formed buns onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover with cling film and cloth and leave to prove for 40 minutes.

9) I was a bit disappointed to see that the buns had spread out rather than risen. (Luckily they do rise in the oven) Glaze with egg wash. Using the bottom of my rolling pin, I coated it with beaten egg, stamped it into the sesame seeds and stamped that onto my bun for the perfect round shape.

10) Bake at 180 deg C for 18 to 20 minutes (20 mins is what I had in the picture, which seems a bit too dark for my liking). I rotated and switched the trays at the 12 minute mark.

Tsubuan anko Instant Pot

Recipe from JOC: http://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-anko-red-bean-paste/

She recommends proportion of 1½ C red bean: 5 C water : 1¼ C sugar. She had water left over which she criminally drained away!). It doesn't even come ⅓ up my pressure cooker! What a waste of time. Cook for 25 mins using the Bean/Chilli function. She recommends the ratio of 1C bean : 4C water.

I've decided to go with 2 C red bean: 7C water (not directly proportional): 1½ C sugar with less water drained away. Reaches the 4C mark (out of max 10C) in my Instant Pot. Cook for 30 minutes using the Bean/Chilli function.

Makes 1172g anko

Updated: This is Christine's Chinese version

https://en.christinesrecipes.com/2018/06/sweetened-red-beans-instant-pot-recipe.html

Ratio: 1 cup bean: 4 cups (1 l) water: 120g sugar

- Bean/Chilli function 25 mins, natural release. No pre-soaking needed.

- Drain excess water and stir in sugar until dissolved.

Min chang kueh (red bean yeast pancake)

I found two recipes of this by the same blogger and tried the 'overnight' version which had a distinctively sour taste. Altho that's characteristic of min chang kueh, my taste tester didn't like it.

No overnight:
http://mymindpatch.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/happycall-pancake-with-red-bean-paste.html

Overnight using natural yeast:
http://mymindpatch.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/natural-yeast-red-bean-pancake.html

My version is heavily edited, with the most important change being the use of bread rather than plain flour which I feel gives a more crispy texture.

Ingredients (makes 4 HCP pancakes)
200g warm water
200g cold milk
30g sugar
1 tsp instant dried yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla
2 egg
250g bread flour
10g tapioca starch (or replace with flour)
200 to 300g red bean paste

Method
1) Sift the bread and tapioca flours. Add the salt and sugar. Stir.
2) Add the yeast and stir.
3) Prepare the liquid: add the milk to the water and warm up to 38 deg C (ie finger dipping temperature)
4) Create a well in the dry ingredients and crack in two eggs. Whisk in the egg and start pouring in the liquids. Whisk well to incorporate.
5) Cover and leave to proof for 45 mins to 1 hour until it doubles in volume. If you have time, I deflated the bubbles and let it proof again for an hour. You can also let the time do all the work. After combining all the ingredients, let it proof 4 to 6 hours in the fridge or overnight. The next day, let it come back up to room temp, about an hour.
6) Add in the baking soda.
7) Prep a HCP pan by pouring 1 tbsp of oil on the bottom, apply to the bottom and sides of the pan and then use a kitchen towel to wipe off.
7) Ladle on about 1.5 ladles's worth. Swirl so that it also coats up the side. Cover and cook for about 5 to 6 minutes on medium high heat. Every 1 to 2 minutes, alternate the base of the pan to the left and right to ensure even browning.
8) Once the sides have shrunk away from the pan, check that the bottom is golden. It is cooked when the top of the pancake is dry.
9) Remove from the fire and spread on the red bean paste on half the pancake. Fold the pancake in half to cover the red bean paste. Serve immediately.

Different recipe without peanut: https://simmetra.blogspot.com/2016/11/min-chang-kueh-red-bean-yeast-pancake.html

あんパン Anpan (Mixed flours)

Since I last tried this recipe which used plain flour, I decided to go back to the original JOC recipe which uses bread and cake flour. The results were quite good: the bun was soft and fluffy and didn't feel as dense compared to the version that used plain flour. The bun was more 'spread out' and flat compared to using normal flour, but the fluffiness of this version is far preferable. Fresh out of the oven, the 'skin' is even slightly crunchy!

Having a machine this time also saved me a lot of anguish in terms of working with oily slippery dough all over my benchtop and the feeling like it will never become smooth. I still didn't get the moistness that I associate with anpan buns from Yaohan in my childhood, but the texture of this bun is like what I'd get in the neighbourhood bakeries where they used to sell 3 assorted varieties of buns for $1 in the good old days, even up to 7 years ago.

Recipe: http://www.justonecookbook.com/anpan/

My adjustment to the recipe is to double the recipe. I spent 6 hours on the entire recipe from start to finish including proving, and making just 8 buns didn't make sense! Watch and read the original JOC recipe for the kneading method.

Ingredients (makes 16 buns)

450g bread flour (3.25 cups)

50g cake flour

2 tsp salt

100g (1/2 cup) sugar

2 tsp instant dried yeast

2 eggs, beaten

100 ml milk 

100 ml water

70g butter, cubed and slightly softened

560g red bean paste (I used store bought)

Egg wash and topping

1 egg + 2 tbsp water, beaten

1 tbsp black sesame seeds in a deep bowl

Method

1) Combine the flours, salt, and yeast in the bowl of a mixer. I'm using a food processor.

2) Bring the milk and water to about 35 deg C. Add in the beaten egg. Pour the liquids into the mixer and on a low speed, beat for 2 minutes. The dough should come away from the side of the bowl. If it doesn't, add in 1 tsp of bread flour at a time and beat for a minute each time until it happens.

3) Add in the cubed butter and beat on low speed till combined. Continue to beat on low speed for about 5 minutes, then increase the speed to medium (never go to high speed) for around 10 minutes minutes until the dough leaves the side of the bowl and gathers on your dough hook. It should leave a clean bowl. It should feel soft to the touch yet not stick to your fingers, and look smooth and shiny. (One other Internet recipe said that it takes 30 minutes of hand kneading to get to this stage! At this stage, JOC uses the window pane test but I find that it never works until the dough has rested, as confirmed by some forums). 

4) Pour out onto a lightly floured working surface (if your dough is correct, you won't need too much flour on the surface, just a thin layer) and fold like a book (see JOC video). Tuck the ends under to form a ball. 

5) Place the ball into a well-oiled bowl and cover with cling film and a tea towel. Leave it to prove until it has doubled in size, about 1 to 2 hours (usually closer to 2 hours even in summer). I leave it in an oven set at around 35 to 45 deg C. Never enter into the 55 to 60 deg C range which is when the yeast will be killed.

6) Stick a well-floured finger into the dough and if the indentation remains, you're ready. Degas the dough gently and pour out onto the floured surface. Again, fold like a book and tuck the ends underneath to make a ball. Divide the ball into 16 pieces. Work each ball in the same kneading method (fold like a book and tuck underneath to make a ball) and place on a parchment-lined baking tray. Cover with cling film and leave to rest at room temperature.

7) Prepare the red bean filling, measuring each 35g ball of filling. I used the size 20 cookie scoop to help, and only filling the cookie scoop 3/4 full.

8) Take out one dough ball at a time. Work in the same kneading method to form a ball. Flatten the ball with the palm of your hand and then work it into a 3 to 3.5 inch disc. 

9) Place the filling in the centre and bring the edges of the dough up and around the ball. Crimp and twist the ends to seal. Try not to get the filling onto the outside of the dough because it becomes next to impossible to seal (trust me, I had several leaky buns)

10) Place ready buns back onto the parchment-lined baking trays, cover with cling film. Return to the oven to proof for 30 minutes.

11) Remove baking tray from the oven and start pre-heating the oven to 200 deg C. 

12) Meanwhile, egg wash each bun carefully. Using a French/Asian rolling pin, wet one end with egg and coat it well with the black sesame seeds to ensure no blank spots. Stamp the sesame seeds onto the bun, very gently pressing down to create a nice round edge to the sesame seed 'stamp' and embedding them into the dough.

13) Bake at 200 deg C for 13 to 15 minutes. I swopped the tray from the shelves and turned the trays around at 9 minutes to get even browning.

14) Once out of the oven, remove from the tray immediately and cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container, out of the fridge, for up to 3 days.

Anpan あんパン (Plain flour)

I've been wanting to make this ever since I bought つぶあん anko from the store. However, most of the recipes involved bread and cake flour (e.g. my favourite JOC) and I don't have either. So I looked for a recipe using plain flour and found this.

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/5927/anpan

The food blogger said that by removing the egg from the recipe, it more closely simulated the soft texture of the original anpan which uses cake and bread flour.

Alternative recipe that uses water and less milk but makes a smaller batch http://mamaloli.com/recipes/other/anpan/

However, I noticed that most of the recipes, the anpan flattened out upon proving and baking. Not a pretty look. And then I came across this recipe which gave tips on hope to keep the anpan dome-shaped.

http://www.forktobelly.com/2016/05/25/anpan-kitty/
(this recipe is based on JOC but technique has been altered. It also has an alternate sweet potato filling, and shapes each anpan as a kitty)

The trick is that when putting in the filling, flatten out the edges but to keep the centre thicker. Much like when wrapping gyoza, no?

Recipe feedback: I tried the recipe by Fresh Loaf because it uses normal flour but this recipe doesn't work. The omission of bread flour made everything almost soupy. Even after adding an egg and putting in another 1/2 cup of flour, it barely stuck together, but it was very very sticky and very very hard to work with, even giving it 5 minutes rest time in between.

Anpan with cheese brioche on the top right since I ran out of anko (480g can, used 2 level tbsp per bun). Baked at 180 deg C fan-forced for 20 mins using egg yolk with splash of milk as glaze. The buns came out very fluffy but very very dense and heavy for some reason. Not very gluten free, haha!

Recipe to try next time: http://thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com/2014/12/adzuki-bean-bread-buns-豆沙面包-red-bean-bread-buns/

Updated: Used recipe with bread and cake flours. And also mixed in a food processor. Much better result. http://simmetra.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/anpan-mixed-flours.html

Red bean tang yuan

Simple recipe, Chinese tang yuan is even easier to make than mochi. Adapted from this red bean recipe by Rice and Roti and this black sesame seed recipe by Gumdrop button, this recipe is really more intuitive and instructive. Everyone has a recipe that works for them. I am starting to understand why such recipes are passed on from grandmothers to mothers to daughters. Unfortunately, neither gran nor mom cooked this while they were alive. We pretty much just had store bought.

However, this week being the coldest winter week of the year (and previous decade apparently), it seemed fitting to cook this, and also to use up my leftover Anko. Note btw, 1 can of Anko goes a really long way. So far I've done dorayaki (4 dorayaki ie 8 hotcakes sandwiched), 15 tang yuan, and I still have 1/4 can left!

Ingredients (makes 15 ping pong sized tang yuan)
1 cup glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup warm (but not hot or boiling water)
1/4 can anko
2 cm piece of ginger
rock sugar to taste
2 to 3 pandan leaves, tied in a knot
4 - 5 Chinese rice bowls of water

Method
1) Prepare the syrup first as it will take some time. In a pot, add the water, ginger, pandan leaves, and rock sugar. Bring to a boil then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes. Switch off the fire and leave it to steep.
2) In a mixing bowl, pour in the glutinous rice flour. Slowly add water a bit at a time, using a spatula to mix it till well combined. It should just come together, so you may not need to use all the water. After it has come together, knead it into a smooth dough with your hand, which takes about 2 to 3 minutes. The dough should leave the sides of the bowl. If it's too sticky, add flour. Alternatively, if it's too dry, add just a touch more water.
3) Pinch off around 1 tbsp of dough and flatten it on a well-floured palm. Put about 1/2 tsp of the anko in the centre, and bring the sides of the dough around the ball of anko to cover it. Ensure that it is well sealed and that no bean paste is visible, otherwise cover with a bit more dough. Roll the dough in your hand to reform the ball. Roll each ball in flour and place on a well-floured plate, with plastic wrap. Ensure that the balls don't touch each other.
(I'm not very precise about this but if you really wanted to form similar sized balls, you could roll out the dough into a log on a well-floured surface, then chop off similar sized nuggets and even weigh them if you want)
4) In a separate pot of bring water to a rolling boil. You should have at least 3 inches of water otherwise the balls will sink to the bottom and stick. Drop in the balls and keep stirring to ensure that the balls don't stick to each other and don't stick to the bottom of the pot. When they float to the surface, they're cooked. (Hence I'm not really precise about the balls since equal cooking time isn't important because it's pretty clear which are cooked and which aren't). Lift them out with a sieve and drain them, then place them straight into the syrup.
5) Serve immediately. The extra unused balls can be frozen on their plate. Next time, cook from frozen.

Yang gaeng

This is a highly simplified version of Maangchi's yanggaeng. Most importantly of all, she begins from scratch to make the anko and even makes koshian ie removing the skins from the tsubuan anko. It even has sugar in it already. I'm sure they have a similar Korean canned version. I had a leftover half can of tsubuan (ie about 260g), so that's all I used. The amount of gelatine in Maangchi's recipe (7g in 1/4 cup cold water than 1/2 cup hot water) was enough.

Ingredients (makes 9 muffin tin sized jellies)
1/2 can of Okura brand anko, ie about 260 g of つぶあんあんこ
7 g gelatine powder (2 tsp + 1/4 tsp)
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup hot water
1/2 small can water chestnuts (I think her recipe used horse chestnuts but again, this was my leftover 1/2 can of water chestnuts, about 10 water chestnuts)

Method
1) Rehydrate the gelatine in the cold water.
2) Once incorporated, dissolve in the hot (but not boiling) water.
3) Wet whatever mould you want to pour the jelly into. Drain the water but do not wipe dry. This will help the jellies to slide out easily later on.
4) Pour the jelly into the mould(s).
5) Place a water chestnut in the centre. I pushed it all the way in so that it becomes the centre of my jelly, but u can decide where u want it. Eg if u want it at the top of your jelly, u can put it at the bottom of the mould before pouring the red bean liquid on top, and serve by inverting the jelly; or alternatively, place it on top of the jelly, then this becomes the top of the jelly when u serve it.
6) Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, best if overnight.

Interesting tips and tricks of gelatine

1) Never boil gelatine

2) Gelatine takes double the setting time with milk and cream

3) Sugar prevents solidifying. When using, mix sugar and gelatine first before dissolving.

4) Gelatine will not set raw pineapples, guava, figs, kiwi, ginger and papaya.

Dorayaki JOC どらやき

This is the JOC version of the same thing. http://www.justonecookbook.com/recipes/dorayaki-japanese-red-bean-pancake/

I finally located anko so decided to make this again since the first one was such a success. The difference between this recipe and COD's is that this one uses a lot less water. Instead, it is a more cake-like recipe, since it requires the beating of egg and sugar till pale. Also, unlike COD who used cake flour, this one uses regular flour.

Ingredients (1 scoop makes 6 regular dorayaki sized pancakes and 2 mini dorayaki)

1 1/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 can 520g anko

1 tsp vanilla extract (my addition)

1/2 cup sugar

Method

1) Pour the sugar and eggs into a bowl and whisk till pale and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.

2) Sift in the flour and baking powder, a little at a time and use the whisk to gently fold in the flour till there are no lumps. Do not over beat. 

3) Let the mixture rest for 1/2 hour at room temperature, or 15 minutes in the fridge.

4) Heat up a non-stick pan. Coat it with oil and wipe off the excess.

5) Thin the batter with 1 tbsp of water. Incorporate well. The consistency should be thicker than pancake and more like cake batter.

6) Using a ladle, pour the batter from a height to made perfect rounds. When you see some bubbles, gently ease around the pancake and flip.

7) In between 2 pancakes, spread the anko, putting more filling at the centre. Shape by flattening and using hands to cup it.

Recipe feedback: The pancakes are a lot less sweet than COD and taste more like real dorayaki. However, the pancakes feel heavier than COD and not so fully. Maybe adding 1 more tbsp of water may have helped. As the batter is really thick, its quite hard to work with and even hardened towards the end. Also, I omitted the honey and I found the sweetness just right. I only used ½ of the 520g can of okura anko.