Mung Bean Puffs / Tau Sar Piah 豆沙餅
Since Mid-Autumn Festival is creeping nearer and nearer, my thoughts turned to Chinese puff pastry snacks, so I decided to make Tau Sar Piah since I haven’t had a taste for a long, long time.
Although Tau Sar Piah is available all year round back home in Malaysia, I thought I will make do with this snack for the festival this year since Chinese baked pastries are usually associated with the festival anyway.
Combining the basic Chinese puff pastry recipe and the basic bean paste recipe, I concocted the recipe with the addition of sesame oil and five-spice powder in the bean paste for an extra bit of oomph!
Makes 20.
[Ingredients]
Chinese Puff Pastry – Water Dough:
100g bread flour *, sifted
100g cake flour *, sifted
70g lard (or shortening, or unsalted butter), softened
20g icing sugar
100ml water
Chinese Puff Pastry – Lard Dough:
120g cake flour *, sifted
60g lard (or shortening, or ghee), softened
* If either bread or cake flour is difficult to get, both may be substituted with plain flour.
Filling:
400g Mung Bean Paste
To Finish:
1 egg, lightly beaten for eggwash
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, for sprinkling as topping
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Chinese Puff Pastry – Water Dough:
Rub lard into the sifted flours, then add the remaining ingredients and mix to form a soft dough, you may need to adjust the amount of water depending on the water absorbency of the flour used. Knead until smooth. Wrap in cling film and set aside for 15 - 20 minutes before using.
Chinese Puff Pastry – Lard Dough:
Rub lard into the cake flour and knead until the dough has approximately the same pliability/malleability as the Water Dough.
To make Chinese Puff Pastry:
Divide the Water dough and the Lard Dough respectively into 20 equal portions. Take one portion of the Lard Dough piece and wrap it inside a Water Dough piece (image 1, above). Roll the combined dough piece out into a thin flat sheet using a rolling pin (image 2). With your hand, roll the thin sheet up, Swiss-roll styled, into a cigar shape (image 3). Turn the cigar 90° so that one of the round ends faces you (image 4). With the rolling pin, roll it out into a flat sheet again (image 5). Then roll it up Swiss-roll styled again (image 6). Roughly round the roll-up dough piece into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough pieces until you get 20 combined dough balls.
To make Puffs:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Divide the filling into 20 equal portions, 20g each.
Mung bean paste divided into 20 equal portions as filling.
2. Roll out or press each dough ball into a round flat disc, with the outer edges slightly thinner than the centre. Wrap one portion of the filling inside each portion of the flat dough. Seal up tightly by pressing the edges together to enclose the filling. Place the puff, seal side down on a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest until finished.
3. Glaze the puffs with eggwash. Sprinkle a little sesame seeds on top of each puff. Bake for about 18 - 20 minutes, or until light golden in colour.
Freshly baked Tau Sar Piahs.
Skinless, split mung beans 去皮綠豆.
Mung Bean Paste 綠豆沙
Makes approx. 3 cups (750g) bean paste
[Ingredients]
300g skinless, split mung beans 去皮綠豆片
75g lard, or canola/corn oil
½ cup shallots (or 1 medium onion if shallots are unavailable), sliced
¼ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
¼ teaspoon five-spice powder (optional)
180g white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
[Preparation]
1. Soak mung beans in enough water to cover for at least 2-4 hours. Drain.
2. Place the drained mung beans in a large plate that can fit into the steamer/wok, spread out the beans into an even layer. Rapidly boil water in a steamer/wok, steam the mung beans until soft, about 30 minutes.
3. Remove beans from steamer and press through a sieve to remove any hard particles, this process will also produce a very fine paste.
4. Melt lard (or oil) in a wok, add sliced shallots and cook over low heat until golden brown and aromatic, about 10-20 minutes. Drain and remove the golden brown shallots for other use. Return the flavoured oil to the wok.
5. Add sesame oil and five-spice powder, cook over low heat briefly until aromatic. Add the sieved bean paste, sugar and salt. Turn heat up to medium/med-high and stir-fry until thick and the bean paste can stand in peaks. Cool.
Mung Bean Paste.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
Although Tau Sar Piah is available all year round back home in Malaysia, I thought I will make do with this snack for the festival this year since Chinese baked pastries are usually associated with the festival anyway.
Combining the basic Chinese puff pastry recipe and the basic bean paste recipe, I concocted the recipe with the addition of sesame oil and five-spice powder in the bean paste for an extra bit of oomph!
Makes 20.
[Ingredients]
Chinese Puff Pastry – Water Dough:
100g bread flour *, sifted
100g cake flour *, sifted
70g lard (or shortening, or unsalted butter), softened
20g icing sugar
100ml water
Chinese Puff Pastry – Lard Dough:
120g cake flour *, sifted
60g lard (or shortening, or ghee), softened
* If either bread or cake flour is difficult to get, both may be substituted with plain flour.
Filling:
400g Mung Bean Paste
To Finish:
1 egg, lightly beaten for eggwash
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, for sprinkling as topping
http://cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com/
[Preparation]
Chinese Puff Pastry – Water Dough:
Rub lard into the sifted flours, then add the remaining ingredients and mix to form a soft dough, you may need to adjust the amount of water depending on the water absorbency of the flour used. Knead until smooth. Wrap in cling film and set aside for 15 - 20 minutes before using.
Chinese Puff Pastry – Lard Dough:
Rub lard into the cake flour and knead until the dough has approximately the same pliability/malleability as the Water Dough.
To make Chinese Puff Pastry:
Divide the Water dough and the Lard Dough respectively into 20 equal portions. Take one portion of the Lard Dough piece and wrap it inside a Water Dough piece (image 1, above). Roll the combined dough piece out into a thin flat sheet using a rolling pin (image 2). With your hand, roll the thin sheet up, Swiss-roll styled, into a cigar shape (image 3). Turn the cigar 90° so that one of the round ends faces you (image 4). With the rolling pin, roll it out into a flat sheet again (image 5). Then roll it up Swiss-roll styled again (image 6). Roughly round the roll-up dough piece into a ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough pieces until you get 20 combined dough balls.
To make Puffs:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Divide the filling into 20 equal portions, 20g each.
Mung bean paste divided into 20 equal portions as filling.
2. Roll out or press each dough ball into a round flat disc, with the outer edges slightly thinner than the centre. Wrap one portion of the filling inside each portion of the flat dough. Seal up tightly by pressing the edges together to enclose the filling. Place the puff, seal side down on a baking sheet. Repeat with the rest until finished.
3. Glaze the puffs with eggwash. Sprinkle a little sesame seeds on top of each puff. Bake for about 18 - 20 minutes, or until light golden in colour.
Freshly baked Tau Sar Piahs.
Skinless, split mung beans 去皮綠豆.
Mung Bean Paste 綠豆沙
Makes approx. 3 cups (750g) bean paste
[Ingredients]
300g skinless, split mung beans 去皮綠豆片
75g lard, or canola/corn oil
½ cup shallots (or 1 medium onion if shallots are unavailable), sliced
¼ teaspoon sesame oil (optional)
¼ teaspoon five-spice powder (optional)
180g white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
[Preparation]
1. Soak mung beans in enough water to cover for at least 2-4 hours. Drain.
2. Place the drained mung beans in a large plate that can fit into the steamer/wok, spread out the beans into an even layer. Rapidly boil water in a steamer/wok, steam the mung beans until soft, about 30 minutes.
3. Remove beans from steamer and press through a sieve to remove any hard particles, this process will also produce a very fine paste.
4. Melt lard (or oil) in a wok, add sliced shallots and cook over low heat until golden brown and aromatic, about 10-20 minutes. Drain and remove the golden brown shallots for other use. Return the flavoured oil to the wok.
5. Add sesame oil and five-spice powder, cook over low heat briefly until aromatic. Add the sieved bean paste, sugar and salt. Turn heat up to medium/med-high and stir-fry until thick and the bean paste can stand in peaks. Cool.
Mung Bean Paste.
[Note]
1. Please note this recipe uses 1 standard cup of 250ml, 1 tablespoon of 20ml and 1 teaspoon of 5ml.
2. The size of egg used is about 60g (includes shell) unless otherwise stated.
Labels: Asian Fillings, Asian Pastries
posted by SeaDragon @ 12.9.07
22 Comments:
Hi SeaDragon,
MMMMMMMMMM,,,,,,,,,lekker(delicious in dutch)!!!!!!!!!!! Wow, looks so nice, almost same likes tambun biscuit. Can post a bit for me ah?!!!
HiHi
Could u post the recipe. Wld really wanna try making it myself
Oh my! Those look sooooo good!
wow...look good. Can u share the recipes?
oh....i miss tau sar piah a lot...
but i will be back end of this year, haha...can't wait to eat this...
Yours look so tempting...
QQ red apple,
Thanks, I'm beginning to learn quite a number of Dutch words from you now, hehe...
Catch, Tar Sar Piahs are flying over to you :)
Ni & Anon.,
I'll try to type out the recipe soon :)
East Meets West Kitchen,
Thanks :)
Doreen,
Lucky you :) Soon you can indulge in all the yummy foods back home...
Dear SD
Pei Fu! Pei Fu! Your TSP were so well made & full of filling, Doncaster East is not that far fr you, just toss one over & I will try to catch it.
I like the colour too, very evenly baked. Hv u tried the fusion version using dried prawn sambal & mushroom as filling. A kind friend just brought some fr Msia for me, quite nice.
Keep showing us your masterpiece. Thx & cheers.
Melbourne Gal
yummm.... since i moved over to US last two year, i didnt eat any of this, im from Penang, M'sia, i miss this tau sar piah so much, can u pls post the recipe, cant wait to make it :) thank you ;)
Melbourne Gal,
Tossing Tau Sar Piah over, catch...
No, I haven't heard of the prawn sambal/mushroom version, sounds like a variation of 'Siew Pau' leh :)
Anny,
I have just posted the recipe, enjoy!
hihi, wanna give u a big big hug from here:D thanks for sharing ur lovely recipe, im very very happy :D
Hi SD,
This looks delicious. BTW, do you know how to make red bean paste? Thanks!
Anny,
You're welcome :)
delia,
Thanks. The Red Bean Paste recipe was under the Snowskin Strawberry Mooncakes post (March 2005 archive).
This is one of my favorite
biscuits.Is it possible to use margarine instead of Lard? Is it the same to use fine sugar or what exactly is white sugar for the recipe?
Hi,
Yes, you may use margarine, but if you can get shortening, it would be better than margarine. Lard, shortening & ghee are full-fat (no water content), margarine and butter contains water (up to 20%), so there will be a slight different in the end result.
White sugar is just the normal granulated sugar (the one you use to make coffee or tea), I suggested using that is because it will be melted after cooking with the paste, so it doesn't really matter if you use granulated white sugar or fine (caster) sugar. HTH.
:'( I made these today .. but they didnt flake as well as the ones that you made ....
I m not sure what happen, but i notice 2 things :
1. my dough is very dry .. when i try to make them into balls, they just wont stick together
2. I suspect my oven (even though its fan force ) isnt working too well ... i drop the temp by 20 for the first batch .. no flakes at all .. 2nd batch using 200. slightly flaky ..
I still have another 300G of Tau Sar... would like to attempt again .. is it because i over work the dough?
Cluelessbaker,
Chinese flaky pastry is not as simple as it looks to make. It took me a few tries before I got the hang of it. The pliability of the two doughs are very important, you must get them about the same softness before combining them. I think you might have underwork the dough. If you get dry dough, it usually means a few things. First, the two dough may not have been properly kneaded, especially if you didn't knead the water dough until smooth and elastic. Second, you might have taken too long to combine the dough pieces, and let the doughs dried out, always make sure to cover the doughs to prevent them drying out during the time you are combining them or wrapping filling. If you find when making the water dough and it felt too dry, add a little bit more water, this really comes down to experience, since the flours have different water absorption capability depending on brands and how long they have been kept, humidity of the day, etc., so you need to adjust as you go along. Did you put the dough in the fridge when resting? If you did, you have to let the dough comes back to room temperature before working on it, or it will be too hard, which means it felt dry when trying to work on it. BTW, which type of fat did you use? If you are using shortening, make sure it is the 'Crisco' brand or similar. Other types of shortening do not work well with this recipe, for example, the Australian 'copha' shortening does not work well here.
If you don't get the flaky layers, it usually means when you combined the two doughs and rolling, you might have broken the layering. But I suspect your dough which you felt too dry may had caused the two layering to merged together when rolling together.
When using fan-forced oven, always reduce the oven temperature I suggested by about 20C. It is best to get a oven termometer to check the inside temperature of your oven if you suspect your oven heat is not even. HTH.
Hi SD,
Thanks alot for all the advice .. as you can tell , I have been trying quite abit of stuff from your site.. to be frank .. i cant get enough of your blog ( how i wish i can just stay home and bake ) ok .. enough day dreaming ..
1. Ya i believe my dough is the issue.. when i made the water dough.. its really ..well elastic? but the lard dough was really soft.. i tried adding more water to my water dough.. but still it wasnt as soft..
2. i didnt put the dough in the fridge, but the day temperature over here in brisbane is rather cold now.. and i didnt cover the dough.. so i guess i must have neglect it ..
3. and i will get that oven thermometer.. coz i seriously think its not working too well ..
Am very glad that i found your site and cure my homesickness (and my tummy craving ): D and Thank you once again for your advice ( i will like to attempt this again .. but i wanna give my heart a rest . haha too much lard-contained food)
opps pardon me .. i shd have replied your question.. i used LARD >.< ( am a recently lard usage converter) still trying to convince myself .. that taste is more impt ... lolz : P
To speed up the process (I'm lazy), I put the steamed mung bean and sugar in a food processor for a few seconds at a time, pulsing in between. When the mixture starts to form a ball, it's done. The result is pretty good and saves a lot of time and elbow grease:) Thanks for posting this recipe. We oversea Chinese all have this craving for traditional pastry now and then.
You're welcome, and thanks for the tip about using food processor, that does save a lot of time.
My mum makes a mean tau sar peang since my brother in law family is one of the original bakers in Ipoh.
THe filling has fried shallots (to get the autentic taste.
I will see if I can find the recipe.
Love your blog.
Still looking for heong peang recipe...... I tried yours but did not quite worked. the pastry was hard... and not flaky and all the filling spilled out....
Hi,
Sorry my recipe did not work out for you. It will be fantastic if you can share your recipe with us.
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