Tau Sar Piah / 豆沙餅

By Margarita Lee

Ingredients for filling :
100g Split Mung Bean
60g Cooking Oil
30g Shallots (Minced)
60g Caster Sugar
2g Salt
1g Pepper

Method for filling :

1.   Soak split mung beans in water for minimum 4 hours.
2.   Drain the split mung beans and steam over high heat until soft, about 30 minutes. Keep aside.
3.   Heat oil in a pan, add in minced shallot and fry over medium heat until aromatic. Drain shallot and keep shallot oil aside.
4.   Blend the steamed mung beans with shallot oil, add the sugar, salt and pepper to the blender. Blend to a smooth paste.
5.   Transfer the mung bean paste and fried shallot to a non-stick pan.  Cook on medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the mung bean paste is a little dry.
6.   Cool paste completely. Divide the filling into twenty 15g portions.

Ingredients for Water Dough
100g All Purpose Flour
25g Icing Sugar
2g Salt
15g homemade ghee
20g unsalted butter
35g Water

Method for Water-Oil Dough

1.   In a large bowl, add all-purpose flour and icing sugar. Whisk to combine well. Then, add ghee and butter. Rub the flour mixture, butter and ghee together to form the dough. Slowly add water and mix by hand to form the dough.
2.   Wrap with cling-wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Oil Dough
80g Cake Flour
40 g homemade ghee

Method for Oil Dough

1.   In a large bowl, combine cake flour and homemade ghee. Rub the flour and ghee together by hand to form the dough.
2.   Mix until combined, wrap with cling-wrap and set aside for 30 minutes.

Combining the dough:

1.   Weigh the water-oil dough and divide the dough equally into 20 portions; this is approximately 10g each.
2.   Weigh the oil dough and divide the dough equally into 20 portions; this is approximately 6g each.
3.   Flatten the water-oil dough into a disc and place a ball of the oil dough in the centre. Wrap the water-oil dough around the oil dough and seal it tightly. Then, place the ball of dough aside and cover with cling-wrap, ensuring that the opening of the dough is facing up. Repeat until all the dough is combined. Rest the dough for 20 minutes.

To create the flaky layers

1.   Take the prepared dough and roll it into an oblong sheet. Do not roll it too thin.
2.   Lift up the bottom side and roll it up like a Swiss roll. Turn the rolled dough around so the swirl is facing you.
3.   Flatten once more using the same method as above. Repeat the Swiss roll, and pinch both ends together to create a ball. Set aside for 20 minutes.

Filling the biscuit

1.   After 20 minutes, take out one dough and flatten it using a rolling pin into a circular disk, about 4″ – 5″ diameter.
2.   Place 1 portion of the  filling in the middle and pleat to seal.
3.   Transfer biscuit to a baking sheet pan. Preheat oven to 180c
4.   Bake the biscuits for 10 minutes , remove from oven, brush the biscuit with a layer egg wash.
5.   Return the biscuits to the oven and bake for another 15 minutes until golden.
6.   Once the biscuits have cooled down completely, they can be stored at room temperature in an airtight     container for up to one week. After that, you have to refrigerate them.

Note:

*To make homemade ghee, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat for 10-15 minutes without stirring, until the solids separate from the fat. Remove from heat; let stand for 5 minutes before skimming off foam. Slowly pour off the clear yellow liquid, leaving behind the milk solid residue that have settled to the bottom of the pan.

*The oven temperature varies, so please adjust accordingly.