Chinese Street Food - Red Bean Pudding (砵仔糕)

What characterise the food in Hong Kong is the fact that you can enjoy some delicious cheap street food, as well as some micheline star restaurants in this small bustling city. However, because of hygiene and safety control, those temporary or 'on-the-run' street foods are very hard to find nowadays!!! I remember when I was little, there was a 'on-the-run' wooden trolley just close by home that sells steam rice noodle with sesame and hoi sin sauce!!!!! I used to have that as breakfast almost every morning before school! And those sauce always ended up staining my white uniform! Opppssss..

Another of my 'on-the-run' favourite is the red bean pudding (that's actually the best I can translate it in chinese!!!) It comes in 2 flavours - brown sugar or white sugar. I actually don't mind both, and it comes in a dish shape with a thick skewer through it, so you can enjoy it without too many 'accident'!!! I don't see them much on the street anymore, last time I saw it was probably in Central near the Lan Kwai Fong district! If you want to try them now, you probably need to get them from Yumcha or some bread shop.

The other day a friend of mine asked me whether I know how to make them, cos she wants to have some. So I promised her that I'll make her some next time I do a batch. This kind of red bean pudding is actually quite easy to make... especially when you have all the ingredients at home! The most frustrating step is boiling the red bean, it's time consuming! It can take up to 40-50 minutes just to soften up the red bean!

Ingredients

3.25oz rice flour (沾米粉)

2oz wheat flour (澄麵)

4oz brown sugar (or white sugar)

red beans

1) Boil the red beans in water for 50 minutes, or until soft. Drain (you might need to keep an eye on the water level, just it case it goes dry!!)

2) Mix rice flour and wheat flour together in a large bowl with 1/2 cup of water until there smooth. Pass the mixture through sieve 3 times.

3) Mix sugar and 1.25 cup of water together in a small pan and bring to a boil. Cool for a minute then add to the flour mixture and stir quickly until smooth.

4) Grease 7 ramekins (or any other small bowl) with spray oil and pour in the flour mixture from step 3. Add in cooked red beans. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes.

These red bean puddings are so delicious and chewy in texture, and you can alter the amount of sugar and red beans you put in to suit your taste. My mum likes here to have LOTS of red beans! And for myself, I'm actually happy to go without any red beans as well... hahaha... I just love that chewy texture!

=)