Sunday, March 16, 2014

Chinese Red Bean Hamantashen

The Seudah will be chinese food, so i decided to bake chinese hamantashen. I have for your red bean hamantashen.

For the Filling;

Ingredients:
2/3 cup dried red beans
Water for boiling
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil for frying
Preparation:

1. Wash the beans and throw out any that are damaged. Place the beans in a small to medium-sized saucepan, cover with water and soak overnight. (This helps shorten the cooking time).
2. The next day, bring the beans and water to a boil. Simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, until the beans have softened, adding more water as necessary. Drain.3. Process the beans in a blender until smooth. Remove from the blender, and stir in the sugar.4. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Fry the beans on medium-low heat (about 4 on an electric stove) for a few minutes until they are dry, pressing them gently with the back of a spatula to form a paste. Cool and use as called for in the recipe. (Stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator, homemade sweet red bean paste will last for approximately one week). Yields approximately 1 3/4 cups.


For the Dough;

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted margarine
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
4 teaspoons milk, rice milk or water
1 teaspoons vanilla
1.5 teaspoons 5 spice powder

1 cup of your red bean paste 


Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Cream together margarine and sugar, then add the eggs and vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt and 5 spice powder.
4. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture with the mixer on low, alternating with water or rice milk.
5. Chill the dough for 1 hour to overnight (this step can be skipped if you're in a rush, cold dough is just easier to handle), then roll out with flour sprinkled below and above the dough, to 1/4 inch thickness, and using a water glass or round cookie cutter, cut into 2-inch rounds.
6. Fill each round with 1 heaping teaspoon of your favorite filling, and draw up sides for triangle.
7. Seal edges with cold water.
8. Bake at 375 degrees F for 12-14 minutes. Reduce your oven temperature if the dough begins to burn on the bottom. It is very common that ovens run hot, especially if you are baking in batches and the oven has been on for multiple hours. I use an internal oven thermometer for this reason.  
9. To keep hamantaschen soft, store in airtight containers.


(modified from http://www.classicallykosher.com/2013/02/the-best-hamantaschen-recipe-bar-none.html and http://chinesefood.about.com/od/dessertsfruit/r/redbeanpaste.htm)