Sweet bean paste | |||||||||||
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Chinese | 豆 沙 | ||||||||||
Hanyu Pinyin | dòu shā | ||||||||||
Jyutping | dau6 saa1 | ||||||||||
Literal meaning | bean sand | ||||||||||
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Sweet bean paste is a food ingredient used throughout East Asian cuisine,primarily as a filling for sweet desserts and pastries.
The beans are usually boiled without sugar,mashed,and diluted into a slurry. The slurry is then strained through a sieve to remove the husks. The resulting liquid is then filtered and squeezed dry using cheesecloth,and then finally sweetened. Oil in the form of either vegetable oil or lard is usually added to the relatively dry paste to improve its texture and mouthfeel.[ citation needed ]
Oiled sweet bean paste is mainly found as fillings for Chinese pastries,while un-oiled sweet bean pastes can be used to make tong sui. Japanese pastries use primarily un-oiled sweet bean pastes.[ citation needed ]
There are several types of sweet bean paste:
There are a number of other pastes used in Chinese cuisine,primarily as fillings for dessert items. Although not made from beans,they share similar usage and are equally popular. They are very similar in flavor and texture to sweet bean paste. These include:
Glutinous rice is a type of rice grown mainly in Southeast and East Asia,and the northeastern regions of South Asia,which has opaque grains,very low amylose content,and is especially sticky when cooked. It is widely consumed across Asia.
A mooncake is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節). The festival is primarily about the harvest while a legend connects it to moon watching,and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is widely regarded as one of the four most important Chinese festivals.
Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs,spices,fish,vegetables,rices,and fruits. The cuisine is highly centered around many varieties of rice,as well as coconut which is a ubiquitous plant throughout the country. Seafood also plays a significant role in the cuisine,be it fresh fish or preserved fish. As a country that was a hub in the historic oceanic silk road,contact with foreign traders brought new food items and cultural influences in addition to the local traditions of the country's ethnic groups,all of which have helped shape Sri Lankan cuisine. Influences from Indian,Indonesian and Dutch cuisines are most evident with Sri Lankan cuisine sharing close ties to other neighbouring South and Southeast Asian cuisines.
Kuih are bite-sized snack or dessert foods commonly found in Southeast Asia and China. It is a fairly broad term which may include items that would be called cakes,cookies,dumplings,pudding,biscuits,or pastries in English and are usually made from rice or glutinous rice. In China,where the term originates from,kueh or koé (粿) in the Min Nan languages refers to snacks which are typically made from rice but can occasionally be made from other grains such as wheat. The term kuih is widely used in Malaysia,Brunei,and Singapore,kueh is used in Singapore and Indonesia,kue is used in Indonesia only,all three refer to sweet or savoury desserts.
Korean royal court cuisine was the style of cookery within Korean cuisine traditionally consumed at the court of the Joseon Dynasty,which ruled Korea from 1392 to 1910. There has been a revival of this cookery style in the 21st century. It is said that twelve dishes should be served along with rice and soup,with most dishes served in bangjja (bronzeware).
Cellophane noodles,or fensi,sometimes called glass noodles,are a type of transparent noodle made from starch and water. A stabilizer such as chitosan may also be used.
Black bean paste,commonly called dòushā or hēidòushā (黑豆沙),is a sweet bean paste often used as a filling in cakes such as mooncakes or doushabao in many Chinese and Taiwanese cuisines.
A rice cake may be any kind of food item made from rice that has been shaped,condensed,or otherwise combined into a single object. A wide variety of rice cakes exist in many different cultures in which rice is eaten. Common variations include cakes made with rice flour,those made from ground rice,and those made from whole grains of rice compressed together or combined with some other binding substance.
Tangyuan are a traditional Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice shaped into balls that are served in a hot broth or syrup. They come in varying sizes,anything between a marble to a ping pong ball,and are sometimes stuffed with filling. Tangyuan are traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival,but because the name is a homophone for union and symbolizes togetherness and completeness,this dish is also served at weddings,family reunions,Chinese New Year,and the Dōngzhìfestival.
Bakpia or Hopia is a popular Indonesian and Philippine bean-filled moon cake-like pastry originally introduced by Fujianese immigrants in the urban centers of both nations around the past centuries. It is a widely available inexpensive treat and a favoured gift for families,friends and relatives.
Kue is an Indonesian bite-sized snack or dessert food. Kue is a fairly broad term in Indonesian to describe a wide variety of snacks including cakes,cookies,fritters,pies,scones,and patisserie. Kue are made from a variety of ingredients in various forms;some are steamed,fried or baked. They are popular snacks in Indonesia,which has the largest variety of kue. Because of the countries' historical colonial ties,Koeé (kue) is also popular in the Netherlands.
Lotus seed paste is a Chinese dessert ingredient made from dried lotus seeds. It is traditionally considered a luxurious ingredient.
Jiandui or sesame balls are a type of fried Chinese pastry made from glutinous rice flour. The pastry is coated with sesame seeds on the outside and is crisp and chewy after immediately being cooked. Inside the pastry is a large hollow,caused by the expansion of the dough. The hollow of the pastry is filled with a filling usually consisting of lotus paste,or alternatively,sweet black bean paste,or red bean paste.
In Vietnamese,the term bánh translates loosely as "cake" or "bread",but refers to a wide variety of prepared foods that can easily be eaten by hands or chopsticks. With the addition of qualifying adjectives,bánh refers to a wide variety of sweet or savory,distinct cakes,buns,pastries,sandwiches,and other food items,which may be cooked by steaming,baking,frying,deep-frying,or boiling. Foods made from wheat flour or rice flour are generally called bánh,but the term may also refer to certain varieties of noodle and fish cake dishes,such as bánh canh and bánh hỏi.
Chè is any traditional Vietnamese sweet beverage,dessert soup or stew,or pudding. Chè includes a wide variety of distinct soups or puddings. Varieties of Chècan be made with mung beans,black-eyed peas,kidney beans,tapioca,jelly,fruit,and coconut cream. Other types are made with ingredients such as salt,aloe vera,seaweed,lotus seed,sesame seed,sugar palm seeds,taro,cassava and pandan leaf extract. Some varieties,such as chètrôi nước,may also include dumplings. Chè are often prepared with one of a number of varieties of beans,tubers,and/or glutinous rice,cooked in water and sweetened with sugar. In southern Vietnam,chè are often garnished with coconut creme.
Javanese cuisine is the cuisine of Javanese people,a major ethnic group in Indonesia,more precisely the province of Central Java,Yogyakarta and East Java.
Ang ku kueh,also known as red tortoise cake,is a small round or oval-shaped Chinese pastry with soft,sticky glutinous rice flour skin wrapped around a sweet central filling. It is molded to resemble a tortoise shell and is presented resting on a square piece of banana leaf. As suggested by its name,red tortoise cakes are traditionally red in color and has a sticky,chewy texture when eaten. Red tortoise cakes are shaped like tortoise shells because the Chinese traditionally believed that eating tortoises would bring longevity to those who are eating it and bring about good fortune and prosperity. Considered to be auspicious items,these sweet pastries are especially prepared during important festivals such as Chinese New Year as offerings to the Chinese deities.
Red bean paste or red bean jam,also called adzuki bean paste or anko,is a paste made of red beans,used in East Asian cuisine. The paste is prepared by boiling the beans,then mashing or grinding them. At this stage,the paste can be sweetened or left as it is. The color of the paste is usually dark red,which comes from the husk of the beans. In Korean cuisine,the adzuki beans can also be husked prior to cooking,resulting in a white paste. It is also possible to remove the husk by sieving after cooking,but before sweetening,resulting in a red paste that is smoother and more homogeneous.