Sweet Peanuts
Ingredients
• 1 lb (500 g) peanuts
• 10 tsp (50 g) cornflour
• 5/8 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
Directions
1.Heat the peanuts in a wok or pan. Dry-fry them until very crisp. Set aside.
2.Heat the sugar and 3 1/2 oz (100 ml) warm water in a wok, stirring until the sugar
dissolves. Continue to stir until the thin syrup bubbles. Stir in the peanuts.
Gradually add the cornflour until the peanuts are well-coated with the syrup.
Remove, let cool slightly, and serve.
Sweet Marinated Lotus Roots
Ingredients
• 14 oz (400 g) fresh lotus roots
• 7 tbsp (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1/4 tsp green preserved plum, shredded (substitute candied green cherry)
• 1/4 tsp red preserved plum, shredded (substitute candied red cherry)
Directions
slices.
2.Blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, rinse under cold water and drain well. Place
on a serving dish and sprinkle with the sugar and the preserved plums or cherries.
Note:This easily-prepared dish of crunchy lotus roots is a popular summer
refreshment.
Ginger Date Wontons
Since versatile wonton wrappers have a neutral flavor they go perfectly with sweet
ingredients, too. I like to serve them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, but they're
equally delicious enjoyed at room temperature. Makes: 24 wontons
Ingredients
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
• 8 Medjool dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 4 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
• 2 teaspoons butter, softened
• 24 wonton wrappers
• Cooking oil for deep-frying
Directions
1. Combine filling ingredients in a bowl; mix well.
2. Make each wonton: Place 1 teaspoon filling in center of a wonton wrapper;
keep remaining wrappers covered with a kitchen towel to prevent them from
drying out. Brush edges of wrapper with water and fold wrapper in half to
form a triangle. Pinch edges to seal. Pull two opposite corners together,
seal. Cover filled wontons with a clean dry towel.
Cooking:
1. In a wok, heat oil for deep-frying to 350°F. Deep-fry wontons, a few at a time,
turning occasionally, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a
slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Chinese Sticky Cake (Nian Gao)
Number of Servings: 16 Prep Time: 1 hour Skill Level: Easy
Ingredients 3/4 cup water
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cups glutinous rice flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup chopped dates (preseved plums, jujubes or candied orange peel can be used instead)
Instructions: 1. In a small pan, boil water.
2. In a mixing bowl, add brown sugar and stir in boiling water to make a syrup. Let cool.
3. Add flour, egg and milk and stir to blend.
4. Knead the dough until smooth, then mix in chopped sweets.
5. Pour batter into a lightly greased 7" shallow cake pan.
6. Steam for about 45 minutes, or until edges move away from the pan.
7. Let cool before unmolding. Serve in thin slices.
Helpful
Hints:
This steamed fruit cake is a favorite for Chinese New Year.
Chinese Crullers
Ingredients
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon alum
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon ammonium bicarbonate
• 7/8 cup water
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 8 cups oil for deep-frying
Directions
Place salt, alum, baking soda, and ammonium bicarbonate in a mixing bowl. Add water
and stir until thoroughly dissolved. Add flour. Stir with chopsticks to make the dough
soft and smooth.
Knead the dough until it is elastic.
Cover and let stand at least 4 hours.
Remove dough and stretch it into a long strip, 1/3-inch thick and 2 inches wide.
Sprinkle with a little flour.
Using a knife or cleaver, cut dough into 20 strips 1/2-inch wide. Pick up a strip from the
end with a spatula, turn it around and place it directly on top of the next strip (10
pieces).
Lay a chopstick on top of these double strips. Press down. Repeat process with
remaining pieces.
Heat oil for deep-frying. Pick up one double strip. Hold the two ends and stretch it until
it is 9 inches long.
Drop into hot oil. Turn dough on both sides continuously with chopstick until it is
golden brown and expands. Remove and drain. Repeat with other strips.
May be prepared in advance and refrigerated or frozen. Before serving, thaw, if
necessary, and reheat in oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
Fortune Cookie
Ingredients
:
• 1 egg white
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
Directions
:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a cookie sheet. Write fortunes on strips of paper
about 4 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Generously grease 2 cookie sheets.
Mix the egg white and vanilla until foamy but not stiff. Sift the flour, salt, and sugar
and blend into the egg white mixture.
Place teaspoonfuls of the batter at least 4 inches apart on one of the prepared cookie
sheets. Tilt the sheet to move the batter into round shapes about 3 inches in diameter.
Be careful to make batter as round and even as possible. Do not make too many,
because the cookie have to be really hot to form them and once they cool it is too late.
Start with 2 or 3 to a sheet and see how many you can do.
Bake for 5 minutes or until cookie has turned a golden color 1/2 inch wide around the
outer edge of the circle. The center will remain pale. While one sheet is baking, prepare
the other.
Remove from oven and quickly move cookie with a wide spatula and place upside down
on a wooden board. Quickly place the fortune on the cookie, close to the middle and
fold the cookie in half. Place the folded edge across the rim of a measuring cup and pull
the pointed edges down, one on the inside of the cup and one on the outside. Place
folded cookies into the cups of a muffin tin or egg carton to hold their shape until firm.