Hi,

I am new to this group.
Here`s my contribution:

To make Traditional Chinese sesame cakes.

Ingredients:
1/2 Kg of sweet potato
1 packet of Chinese glutinous rice flour(1/2 kg)
1 small packet of sesame seeds( 125 gramms is sufficient, may be even less)
Sugar ( don`t know exact amount needed, usually I try by taste)I think
around 200 grams, not sure, may be more.
1 to 1.5 litre of cooking oil

Utensils
Some large plates(6 to 8 should be sufficient)around 10 inches large.
A wok
A very large Sieve( don`t know exact english name for it) sufficiently large
to remove cooking food from hot oil quickly.
Absorbing paper ( too absorb excess oil)

1)Boil your sweet potato, check with a fork that it is well cooked when the
fork goes in easily.
2)When cooked, remove from the fire, & remove the sweet potato from the
water onto an empty bowl or plate.
3)Remove the skins from the sweet potato while it is still hot. Or else if
you wait till it cools down the skins will not come off easily, being too
dry. Alternatively, you might try to cool it down by putting them into cold
water, then remove the skins. The skins will be sufficiently humid to allow
you to easily remove them.
4)Crush the sweet potatoes into a thorough thick paste. Do not leave pieces
still solid.
5)Mix the paste with the Glutinous rice flour well.
6)Put sugar into the paste & mix well.
As I am not sure of exact quatity of sugar needed, you will have to do it by
trying & tasting it, when it is sufficiently sweet. then it is enough.
7) Roll the paste into small balls around the size of a ping pong ball. Roll
the mixed paste balls on a plate containing some sesame seeds ( around 1
tablespoonful at a time ) so that the seeds stick to the exterior of the
balls. Don`t put too much seeds into the plate as other wise it will be just
a waste of the seeds. The surplus will go off the cake when frying & will be
burned.
8) Put the rolled balls with seeds onto large flat plates.
9)Put 3 or 4 layers of absorbing paper into some(3 or 4) large plates
10)Heat around 1 liter ( may be a bit more 1.5 liter )of cooking oil in a
wok or a large cooking utensil. When the oil is hot, put the rolled ball
cakes into the oil, be careful that you don`t drop them too brutally or you
will get burned by the hot oil.
10)Turn the cakes to make sure that everywhere is cooked properly.When the
cakes are brown on all sides, it is ready.
11)Remove the cakes from the oil using the "large Sieve" , put them onto a
plate having been lined with some layers of absorbing paper.
12)Leave to cool before serving.

The cakes can be eaten the same day, they will then be crispy on the
outside, soft & sticky on the inside.
If you don`t like to eat sticky food, then leave them overnight, the inside
of the cakes will become firm.

The cakes can keep for around 4 days.
But the longer you keep them the harder the cakes will be.

If you use more sweet potato than the glutinous Rice flour the cake will be
softer.& if you use more Glutinous Rice flour than sweet potato the cake
will be firmer ( harder).
Ordinary Rice flour can`t be used, you will need the special glutinous rice
flour used by chinese to make cakes.

Some people fill the middle of the cakes with a sweet filling made from
brown lentils.
The filling is made by cooking the lentils in water until it becomes very
soft & can be easily crushed into a paste.
The paste is remove from the skins of the lentils, & sweetened. & cooked
until it becomes a thick paste.

This cake is given to family & friends during the tradional Chinese new year
festival.
I hope you like it.

I have made it once or twice.
Usually it is my mum who makes it.

Joseph.

Thank you for the recipe Joseph. They sound delicious.

Laura B.

It`s a pleasure for me, my mum did not approve that I make the recipe
available on the internet.
If there are anything that needs clearer explanations let me know.

Joseph.

"Thalocean2" > wrote in message
...
> Thank you for the recipe Joseph. They sound delicious.
>
> Laura B.

Sorry your mother didn't approve of you sending out her recipe - but I
can tell you that you made a whole family happy here in my house ! I
tried your mothers cakes, and they were really very very good !!! MMM
! One question though : you mention that some people put a filling
made from lentils in the middle of the cakes - and you discribe how to
make the filling, but not how to get it in the middel !!! Do you know
??

Ganda



sename.com> wrote in message >...
> It`s a pleasure for me, my mum did not approve that I make the recipe
> available on the internet.
> If there are anything that needs clearer explanations let me know.
>
> Joseph.
>
> "Thalocean2" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Thank you for the recipe Joseph. They sound delicious.
> >
> > Laura B.

I am glad that you & your family liked them.

Well, How to prepare the paste is a guess, it`s my sister who made it. I
will make sure by asking her, next time.

You can put the filling in the cakes before shaping it into a ball.

Hi Ganda,

Here is what my sister told me she made the brown lentils filling:

1)Cook 1/2 Kg of brown lentils in a pressure cooker with water in it (She
could not remember how much water she used) so I suppose enough water to
cook in, don`t put too much water as they are not to be used in making the
filling. Cook it under low fire until the pressure cooker blows( expels air
pressure).
2)Switch off the fire & leave the lid closed, the lentils will continue to
cook with the heat inside.
3)When it is cooled, then seperate the lentils from the water with a sieve.
4)Crush the lentils with the skins in a mixer until it is thoroughly crushed
into a paste.
5)Put some oil into a cooking pan (or a wok), put the paste in add sugar
according to taste ( she could not remember the quantity).Cook until the
paste thickens. Then it is ready.
There is probably more than needed for the recipe of cake. She told me she
prefers to make more, just in case there might not be enough.
She learned from another person how to maike it. The other lady told her to
remove the skins of the lentils before crushing the lentils, but she thought
that there would be too little quantity if she did that, so she used the
whole lentils to make the filling.


Joseph.

Hi Joseph,

Thnak for your ( and your sisters help ) !!! I will have to try this
weekend, that's for sure. The only thing I don't understand, is how do
I get the fillig in the cakes ? DO I roll first a small ball og the
filling and then cover it with the potatoe dough or what do I do ??

Anyway we really are very fond of your cakes and haven eaten a whole
batch og them already !! Thanks again for your help !!

Ganda

















"A" > wrote in message >...
> Hi Ganda,
>
> Here is what my sister told me she made the brown lentils filling:
>
> 1)Cook 1/2 Kg of brown lentils in a pressure cooker with water in it (She
> could not remember how much water she used) so I suppose enough water to
> cook in, don`t put too much water as they are not to be used in making the
> filling. Cook it under low fire until the pressure cooker blows( expels air
> pressure).
> 2)Switch off the fire & leave the lid closed, the lentils will continue to
> cook with the heat inside.
> 3)When it is cooled, then seperate the lentils from the water with a sieve.
> 4)Crush the lentils with the skins in a mixer until it is thoroughly crushed
> into a paste.
> 5)Put some oil into a cooking pan (or a wok), put the paste in add sugar
> according to taste ( she could not remember the quantity).Cook until the
> paste thickens. Then it is ready.
> There is probably more than needed for the recipe of cake. She told me she
> prefers to make more, just in case there might not be enough.
> She learned from another person how to maike it. The other lady told her to
> remove the skins of the lentils before crushing the lentils, but she thought
> that there would be too little quantity if she did that, so she used the
> whole lentils to make the filling.
>
>
> Joseph.

Hi Ganda,

Well I suppose that you can do it the way you just suggested but I think it
would be simpler to take some of the sweet potato dough , make it into a
rough round shape inside the palm of one hand, & with your fingers of the
other hand make a hole in the middle, & insert the sweet filling inside the
hole, then you close the dough over it, then roll the dough into a ball
between the palm of with your hands before rolling lightly the shaped ball
on to the seeds in the plate.

Joseph.

..