Hakka Abacus Seeds

My mum and I decided to make this dish today. Our first attempt. The suan pan zi is consider a sucessful because it taste very "Q" and very fragrant. Congrats MUM!! U did it !

History:
suan pan zi, or abacus seeds, has one counting his blessings the minute one bites into the springy discs of yam, shaped after its namesake. This traditional Hakka dish is eaten during festive celebrations such as Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival for prosperity.

Abacus seeds, however, is a simple dish to make. The only things one needs to pay attention to, s is the tapioca flour-to-yam ratio, and the process of kneading the dough. Too much flour, and the yam discs become hard. Too much yam, and the seeds will not hold their shape.It is also important to knead the yam and flour together while the boiled yam paste is still warm. The heat from the yam paste might be a little uncomfortable but doing so ensures that the abacus seeds have a springy bite.



Ingredients:


1kg purple yam, cleaned, peeled and diced.


4 tsp salt


700g tapioca flour


6 Tbs cooking oil


3 tsp sesame oil


2 tsp soya sauce


10 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced


100g dried shrimp, coarsely blended


150g dried Chinese mushroom, soaked till soft and sliced


100g minced pork ( optional)


2 tsp pepper


1 tsp oyster sauce

Garnish: spring onions and celery



Methods:

Steam the yam until it is soft and mash it while it is hot.

Stir in the tapioca flour and salt and knead into a dough. Pinch off enough dough to roll into a ball 2cm in diameter. Press the ball between your thumb and forefinger so that it is depressed in the middle and shaped like an abacus seed. Repeat until dough is used up.

Fill a pot with water to the three-quarter mark and bring it to a boil. Place abacus seeds in the pot and cook it for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the seeds from sticking to the bottom of the pot. When cooked, the seeds will float to the top. Scoop out the cooked abacus seeds and leave them aside to drain.To a hot wok, add 4 Tbs of oil and fry the garlic for 2 minutes till golden brown before adding dried shrimp and mushroom. Stir fry the mixture for another 5 minutes, then set aside.

Add 2 Tbs of oil to the hot wok and fry the minced pork for about 10 minutes until all the moisture in the wok has evaporated.10. To the minced pork, add in the cooked garlic, dried shrimp, mushroom, abacus seeds as well as pepper and soya sauce. Stir fry for 5 minutes.
Serve with chopped spring onions and celery. Enjoy!!!

We can try replacing it with pumpkin instead. But we need more flour because pumpkin contains more moisture than yam.