Shanghai Red Bean Pancake

I had a sudden craving for chinese pancake last week.
Cesss setakat pancake pun nak kecoh kan? Well, ini bukan English or American pancake that you normally had for breakfast.
This is the chinese pancake with thin crispy layer of skin and red bean filing inside I'm talking about. It is normally served as a dessert, not for breakfast.

I've eaten them only twice before - the 1st time was during a chinese course meal in JW Marroit, Putrajaya where the Company throw a signing ceremony and for the 2nd time at Sheraton (now Dorsett), Subang. I fall in love the instance I tasted it and the taste still lingers in my mouth until now. Falling in love for a mere pancake? Gila! Ha ha ha... lantaklah tekak den, suka hati den lah.

Then after years of not eating it, tiba-tiba terbit rasa rindu yang membuak-buak. The problem is that the pancake tidak dijual di mana-mana chinese muslim restaurant yang saya pernah pergi. Perhaps I didn't explore enough. Dan takkan lah nak jejak kaki kat chinese restaurant di hotel semata-mata untuk sekeping pancake? Tebal muka cheq. Maka, saya membuat keputusan untuk membuatnya sendiri.




I found a recipe at Fern's blog, a Malaysian living in Sydney. She adapted an original recipe by Amy Beh

Shanghai Red Bean Pancake ("Wo Paeng")


Ingredients

Batter
50g plain flour
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp custard powder
130ml water
1 egg, lightly beaten

Filling
6 tbsp (approx 120g) red bean paste, divided into 2 equal portions
20 pinenuts, toasted


Method

1. Combine all batter ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix with a hand whisk until well blended and is a thin runny consistency. Divide the batter into two equal portions.
2. Meanwhile, take one portion of the red bean paste and place it between 2 pieces of clingwrap. Then, with a rolling pin, lightly roll it into a flat square piece and put aside.
3. Lightly grease a large flat non-stick pan with a little cooking oil. Pour in one portion of the batter. Turn and tilt the pan to allow the batter to run evenly to the edge to form a thin layer of pancake. Cook over a gentle low heat for 2 minutes or until the pancake is cooked. Do not allow the pancake to brown.
4. Use a turner/spatula to lift pancake onto a plate. Do the same for the other portion of the batter to make a second pancake.
5. Remove one side of the clingwrap and flip the red bean paste onto the centre of the pancake, and peel off the other side of the clingwrap. Scatter pinenuts over the red bean paste, if used. Fold the near end of the pancake over the filling. Tuck in both the sides. Smear a little beaten egg along the edge and fold the remaining flap over to seal the pancakes.
6. Deep-fry the pancakes in hot oil until golden brown and crispy. Once they puff up, do not move them around to prevent them from bursting. Remove the pancakes with a perforated ladle and drain on several layers of paper towels.
7. Cut the pancakes into slices and serve hot.


I found the process of making a thin layer of pancake is similar to making a French crepe. Adding corn flour in the batter helps to produce a crispy pancake. Infact selepas di goreng tenggelam you will see 2 lapisan kulit - kulit luar yang rangup dan kulit dalam yang lembut padahal gulungan pancake hanya 1 lapis sahaja. Sukatan filing red bean boleh dikurangkan sebab terlalu banyak untuk 2 keping pancake. Saya guna ready made filing yang dijual di Bagus. Kalau dapat filing yang kental adalah lebih baik dan sepatutnya begitu supaya mudah dipotong.


Verdict:
It doesn't taste as good as the ones I had at Marriot or Sheraton. Benchmark saya terlalu tinggi. It doesn't satisfy my craving but it makes me feel good because I know I can make this at home and if I try hard enough perhaps one day I could achieve the desired result. But hubby likes it, probably because he had never eaten one before. Perhaps I could substitute the red bean filing to lotus seed filing next time. Sebab saya rasa the filing doesn't taste the same macam yang saya pernah makan, the filing was lighter in color. I think it was lotus seed filing. Well, no harm in experimenting (*_^).