I am so proud of myself for being able to successfully make and bake this traditional Chinese yam pastry. I’ve always been very curious about how it’s done – all the kneading, rolling out as well as all the preparations and care put into making it to create the beautiful lines alternating between white and purple and to get that perfect crisp. Now that I know how it’s done, now that I’ve done it myself, I do actually appreciate this pastry a lot more when I bite into it. It’s not too difficult to do, but it does take time and effort to do it right and neatly.
These traditional yam pastries stem from southern parts of China, and are Teochew in style with its sweet orh-nee (taro paste). It is served in many festivities and celebrations, not just during Chinese New Year but also other occasions such as weddings and the Mid-Autumn Festival due to its colour and roundness, symbolising prosperity and reunion.
I very much prefer these bite-sized pastries to the ones sold during Mid-Autumn Festival though, which are usually much bigger and flakier, which makes it more difficult and messy to bite into. That fresh and bright purple colour – I can just stare at the pastries the whole day!
Wishing one and all a happy horse year ahead. To health and happiness!
Ingredients:
- Yam: 300g, peeled & sliced
- Lard (or vegetable shortening): 50g + 40g + 40g
- Sugar: 60g
- Bread flour (high protein flour, or all-purpose flour): 100g
- Powdered sugar: 10g
- Salt: 1g
- Water: 35g
- Cake flour: 90g
- Taro or sweet potato flour (purple colour): 15g
Method:
- Steam yam for 30min till soft. Mash.
- Heat 50g lard. Mix in yam.
- Add in sugar. Stir well.
- Set aside to cool. Then roll into balls of 30g each. Cling wrap and set aside.
- Preheat oven at 170 degrees Celsius.
- Combine bread flour, powdered sugar, salt, 40g lard & water. Knead into a dough, then cling wrap & rest 40min.
- Combine cake flour, 40g lard & taro powder. Knead into a dough. Cling wrap & rest 30min.
- Divide white dough in step 6 into 5 portions. Divide purple dough in step 7 into 5 portions too.
- Flatten 1 white dough. Wrap 1 purple dough inside and roll into a ball. Return to tray & cover with cling wrap. Repeat for remaining 4 sets of dough.
- Roll out each ball into a long rectangle. Then roll up into a cylinder. Return to tray & cover with cling wrap. Repeat for remaining balls.
- Flatten each cylinder. Roll out into a long rectangle, as long as you can. Then roll up again. Return to tray & cover with cling wrap. Repeat for remaining cylinders.
- Using a sharp knife, cut each cylinder into two. Face cut side down. Flatten and roll out into a flat circle (not too thin).
- Place the taro paste (30g) in center of the rolled out dough (place on side facing up). Wrap the paste and roll into a ball. Use your hands to shape the pastry into a ball. Repeat for remaining dough.
- Place onto a greased baking tray. Bake 20 – 25min till crisp.
Disclaimers:
- This recipe was kindly adapted from Yu Cuisine – 大愚食堂’s Taro Pastry recipe on Youtube.
- I used bread flour in this recipe for the first dough kneaded.
- I also adapted from another recipe book that I purchased from Hong Kong when I went there for my holiday in 2023. The recipe had a pastry with a less intense purple as it used less taro powder and combined this powder with the first dough (instead of the second). The result still looks great, but I love the bright cheery purple colour even more in this version.
- I couldn’t find lard anywhere from the supermarket and Redman, and so had to make do with vegetable shortening. Am hoping to make these pastries again when I can find ready made lard – am sure it will taste much much better!
Serving:
10 pastries
