Taro Pastry with Mung Bean Filling (芋头酥绿豆沙馅)

 

Ingredients:

Taro Pastry Water Dough:

• 35g Ghee (Clarified Butter)
• 60g All-Purpose Flour
• 30g Cake Flour
• 10g Powdered Sugar
• 15g Iced Water
• Pinch of Salt

Taro Pastry Oil Dough:

• 36g Ghee
• 84g Cake Flour
• 2-3 drops of Ube/Taro Paste/Coloring

Mung Bean Fillings:

• 125g Split Mung Bean
• 350g Water
• 4Tbsp Condensed Milk
• 30g Sweet Cream Butter
• 75g Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1 1/2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
• 40ml Oil

Others:

• 1/4 tsp Ube paste or purple food coloring - Will be used for adding color to the oil dough

Preparation:

Fillings:

1. Wash thoroughly the split mung bean in a strainer

2. In the instant pot or the pressure cooker, add the spilt mung bean and water.  Cook them on the high pressure for 30 minutes. 

3. Release the pressure from the pressure cooker.  Let cool for 10-15 minutes.

4. Add condensed milk to the pot and mix them with hand mixer until it is all blended.  It should be in the runny paste.

5. Transfer it to the wok.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook them on the medium low heat for the first 10 minutes.  Then reduce it to the low heat and stirring frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the wok.  Cook for about 20 minutes until the mixture is formed.  The paste should be still a bit wet.  So, turn the heat off when it is at a point that the paste do not look dry.  It should be a bit wetter than the perfect consistency.  Because it will be even drier once it is cool down.

6.  Transfer the paste to the bowl or a container and smooth the surface with the bottom of a spoon.  Cover the top of the dough with the plastic wrap, set aside and let cool. 

Water Dough:

1. In a bowl, add ghee, all-purpose flour, cake flour, powdered sugar, and salt.  Using spatula, mix them together.  The purpose is to mix ghee well with the flour. Mix them well for one minute or two.  

2. You will notice that there is still the leftover dry flour.  Pour 80% of the iced water to the dough and combine them well. If needed, pour the remaining iced water to the dough and mix them well.  If the dough is wet enough, do not need to add the remaining water.  Different flour might have the different absorbency of water so pour a bit at a time.  We do not want the very wet dough here.

3. Take the dough out of the bowl.  You might notice that the dough has uneven yellow spots.  The more yellowish part is where the ghee is and the less pale part has no much ghee incorporated yet.  The kneading in this step is to evenly incorporate ghee into the dough.  

To knead it on the cutting board or your preferred kneading surface and knead it for a couple of minutes.  To knead the dough, push the dough to the forward.  Rolle it back.  Repeat this step multiple times.   

4. After a couple of minutes, it's ready when the ghee is well incorporated into the entire dough evenly.  When you tear the dough apart, it is soft and it could be torn apart easily.  This is fine.  Cover it with the plastic wrap and let it sit for about 20-30 minutes to develop elasticity of the dough.  

Oil Dough:

1. In a bowl, add ghee and cake flour.  Using spatula, mix them together.  The purpose is to mix ghee well with the flour. At the beginning, you will notice that it is very dry and hard to incorporate.  Keep using the hands mix them well. Mix them well for one minute or two until ghee is well incorporated into dough. 

Next Steps:

1. Once 20 or 30 minutes has lapsed, grab the water dough.  When you stretch it, you will notice that it has more elastic now and it is 20% to 30% more stretchy than before.  Cut it into about 32g a piece.  Should yield 5 pieces.  Cover them with the plastic wrap and set aside.

2. After 20 or 30 minutes has lapsed, grab the oil dough.  Cut it into 5 pieces and each piece should be about 25g.  Using your palms, make each of them in the round shape.  Cover them with the plastic wrap.

3.  Next, each water dough piece will wrap an oil dough piece.  Take a water dough piece and flatten it with the palm.  Put the oil dough in the middle of it and wrap it.  Gradually pull the water dough around the oil dough and seal it.  Make sure the oil dough is completely covered with the water dough.  Remember the side where you seal it.  Once done, cover it with the plastic wrap to keep the moisture of the dough.  Repeat it for all 5 pieces.

4. Take a piece of the dough out.  Make sure the side with the seal should be upward.  On the kneading surface, flatten the dough with the palm.  Place the kneading pin at the center of the dough.  Push once downward.  Push once upward.  Then, starting from the top, roll it down until all done.  The finished product should have about 2 1/2 spirals. Once done, cover it with the plastic wrap.  Repeat this for all remaining dough pieces.  Let them sit for 15 minutes.

5. Take about 280g of Mung Bean Paste.  Divide them into 10 pieces, which each weigh about 28g.  Make each of them a round ball. Cover them with the plastic wrap and set aside.

6. After 15 minutes, take a piece of rested dough at step#4 out.  We are going to repeat the same process again.  On the kneading surface, put the side of the dough with the seal upward.  Flatten the dough with the palm.  Place the kneading pan about half an inch from  the center of the dough.  Push once downward.  Place the kneading pan about half an inch from the center of the dough.  Push once upward.  After these two pushes, the center part of the dough is slightly thicker than the rest of the dough.  

Repeat it once more.  Totally, there will be 4 pushes: 2 downward and 2 upward.  Make sure you place the kneading pin about half an inch from the center of the dough so that the center of the dough is thicker than the remaining part.  Once done, there will be about 5-6 spirals. Cover it with the plastic wrap.

Repeat this for the remaining dough pieces.

Putting Everything Together:
1.  Take a piece of the dough.  Using a very sharp knife, cut it half in the middle with one shot.  Make sure you are not cutting it multiple times to preserve the layers of the dough we previously made.  

Start with the first half of the dough.  The middle part should face downward.  On a kneading surface, flatten it with the palm.  Using the kneading pin to stretch the circle around the rim.  Make sure the center part is intact and keep its thickness.  It should be about 1.5 inch diameter.  Place the mung bean filling in the center.  Wrap it around and completely seal it.  The seal should be at the bottom.  Cover it with the plastic wrap and put aside.

Repeat this for the second half of the dough.  

And repeat this for the remaining dough. It should make about 10 pastries.

2. Preheat the oven to 325F degree.  

3. Lay the parchment paper on the cookie sheet.  Place the pastries and bake them for about 30-40 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and let cool.  They are ready to be served.