Tau Suan

Ingredients:
- 200 grammes of split green / mung beans (soak for 15 minutes – if using rice cooker, soak for 30 minutes if steaming)
- 4 pandan leaves (washed and knotted)
- 200 grammes sugar / rock sugar
- 1 bowl potato starch (mix potato flour with water till you get a thick starchy solution)
- 2 litres water

Preparation:
1) Cook the split green beans by using rice cooker / steaming. If you are using the rice cooker, place beans in the cooker and add water till water has just covered the surface. Turn on the rice cooker and allow it to cook. If you are steaming the beans, drain water and steam it on a suitable plate for 20 minutes on high heat. (Taste the beans frequently after the first 15 minutes to check if they are done. Rinse the cooked beans lightly under running water and set aside.) After the beans have cooked, gently fluff them using a fork.

2) Cook sugar syrup by bringing to boil the 2 litres of water in a pot / sauce pan with the pandan leaves thrown in. Once water is boiling, add sugar and stir till sugar has fully melted. (Some also add dried tangerine peel – to make a light syrup, sweetened to suit yourself.)

3) Gradually stir in the potato starch mixture into the sugar syrup to thicken the syrup till it becomes gluey. Take care to add potato starch in small amounts at a time and stir well to prevent lumpiness. (For every litre of syrup, dissolve 20g of water chestnut starch and 15g of potato starch in a little water, then stir into the syrup and simmer for a few minutes until it thickens.)

4) Once the syrup has thicken, stir in the mung beans, and when the tau suan just comes up to a boil, turn off the heat. Serve immediately with thinly sliced yau char kueh.

Note: Once most starches reach their thickening peak, further stirring and heating will thin them out, so if you want to make tau suan in advance, cook the mung beans and make the syrup first, then thicken and assemble the dessert just before serving.

豆沙饼 - Tau Sa Piah

Makes 15 pcs

Ingredients:
Dough A:
- 120g flour
- 60g shortening
Dough B:
- 120g all-purpose flour, sifted
- 30g icing sugar
- 30g shortening
- 60ml water
Filling (sweet):
- 3/4 cup peeled mung beans (soaked for 2-3 hrs, steamed and mashed/blended)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 bulb shallot, sliced thinly (about 1 tbsp heap)
- 1/2 cup sugar*
- 1/2 tsp salt*
- 1 tsp grated orange grind

* There are two types of tau sa piah, if you prefer the 'savory' version, reduce the amount of sugar and increase the amount of salt. Also, add a little bit of ground white pepper.

Preparation:

1) Filling: Combine sugar, salt, and mashed beans in a large bowl. Mix well.

2) Heat oil in wok or pan. Stir-fry the shallots till fragrant and lightly browned, removed fried shallot and set aside for later use. Stir in orange grind and bean mixture, stir-fry on low heat till it becomes dry and able to form a ball. It would not take too long.

3) Remove from heat and stir in fried shallots. Cool completely, divide and shape filling into 15 equal portion balls.

4) Dough: Prepare dough A and B separately using the same method. Bring together all ingredients for each dough, mix well and knead to form soft dough. Cover and let them stand for 30 minutes. Divide and shape each dough into 15 equal portion balls.

5) Assemble: Wrap dough B around dough A. Roll it out into 15 x 3 cm (approx.) rectangle with a rolling pin, then roll up from the short end, repeat this step again.

6) Roll it out into 10 cm diameter circle and place the filling at the center. Bring all edges together and pinch to seal.

7) Egg wash and sprinkle some sesame seeds on the top if desired.

8) Preheat oven at 180 degree C and bake for 20 minutes till golden brown.

Notes: This pastry recipe can be used in making baked savory meat bun - 'shao bao' and other baked dim sum items. I steamed/cooked the mung beans using microwave, added some water and cooked on 'Defrost' mode for 10 minutes. Same method as in cooking steamed rice.