You want to know something funny? The idea to make this recipe actually came from our visit to New Orleans earlier this year. So…what does New Orleans have to do with Cantonese Fried Dough?
As you know, you can’t go to New Orleans without having some beignets at the landmark Café Du Monde. It was my first visit to New Orleans, so trying some beignets was on my do-to list. The place was packed like a can of sardines, so we did take-out. Taking my first bite sitting on the sidewalk bench in front of Café Du Monde, my immediate reaction was: WOW, this tastes kind of like “Ham Chim Peng”! As I was murmuring, Bill looked at me sideways; he obviously did not agree. For any of you who have had both, what do you think? Let us know in the comments!
Ham Chim Peng (pronounced in Cantonese more like, “hahm jeen baeng“) is one of those foods that I had many, many years ago and promptly forgot about. Apparently, everyone else has forgotten about it as well, which means the younger generations haven’t had the pleasure of trying this crispy fried Chinese beignet treat. These days, it’s difficult to find it anywhere…even in Chinatown!
The distinctive look and flavor of Ham Chim Peng comes from the key ingredient: the red-colored Chinese fermented bean curd (南腐乳), or “bean cheese.” Its unique flavor is slightly different than that of it’s “cousin,” white fermented bean curd. Ultimately, it adds a great deal of taste to the dough. (We’ve already used it in a few recipes on the blog: Chinese Fried Ribs, Braised Pork Belly with Arrowroot, and Buddha’s Delight. Have a look!)
Fermented bean cheese is usually served with porridge. Shanghainese people like to eat it with pao fan (泡饭)–leftover rice boiled with water. Funnily enough, Cantonese Fried Dough is usually also served with porridge as a breakfast meal. Personally, I like to eat it as is!
I recently posted a Chinese Fried Dough (Youtiao) recipe. This recipe is much easier by comparison. It should take less than an hour from start to finish.
Just like youtiao, this is a *classic* Chinese breakfast food, and I hate to see it be forgotten. Here’s how to make it!
You’ll need:
- 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup regular granulated sugar
- 2 cubes of Chinese fermented red bean curd (南腐乳), mashed
- 1/4 teaspoon five-spice powder
- 1 1/3 cups water
- Neutral oil, for frying
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
First mix together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Next, add the dark brown sugar, regular sugar, mashed fermented bean curd, and five-spice powder.
Slowly stir in the water to form a wet dough. Make sure everything is well-combined. Cover and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
While the dough is resting, take a medium pot and fill it with about 1 inch of oil for frying. Set aside. Once the dough is rested, dust a clean surface with a good amount of flour, and scrape the dough onto the floured surface. The dough will be very wet, so flour both hands before handling the dough. Divide it into 12 equal pieces.
Take each dough ball, and dip it into sesame seeds to coat–more or less depending on your preference. You can also coat both sides if you like.
Flatten the dough to a 5-inch circle with a small hole in the middle and set aside on a well-floured surface. They can look quite rough at this point; don’t feel the need to make them look perfect! Repeat until all 12 dough balls have been shaped.
Now, heat the oil to 325 degrees. Keep the heat between 325 to 350 degrees for the duration of the frying process. Fry the dough in batches, frying each side until golden brown, flipping one to two times to brown both sides. It should take 1 to 2 minutes each.
Drain on plate lined with paper towels or a wire rack and serve alone or with porridge. You can also store extras in the fridge and rejuvenate them with a quick turn through the oven or toaster oven.
- 3¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting
- 3 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar
- ⅓ cup regular granulated sugar
- 2 cubes of Chinese fermented red bean curd, mashed
- ¼ teaspoon five-spice powder
- 1⅓ cups water
- Neutral oil, for frying
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
- First mix together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Next, add the dark brown sugar, regular sugar, mashed fermented bean curd, and five-spice powder. Slowly stir in the water to form a wet dough. Make sure everything is well-combined. Cover and let the dough rest for 15 minutes.
- While the dough is resting, take a medium pot and fill it with about 1 inch of oil for frying. Set aside. Once the dough is rested, dust a clean surface with a good amount of flour, and scrape the dough onto the floured surface. The dough will be very wet, so flour both hands before handling the dough. Divide it into 12 equal pieces.
- Take each dough ball, and dip it into sesame seeds to coat--more or less depending on your preference. You can also coat both sides if you like. Flatten the dough to a 5-inch circle with a small hole in the middle and set aside on a well-floured surface. They can look quite rough at this point; don't feel the need to make them look perfect! Repeat until all 12 dough balls have been shaped.
- Now, heat the oil to 325 degrees. Keep the heat between 325 to 350 degrees for the duration of the frying process. Fry the dough in batches, frying each side until golden brown, flipping one to two times to brown both sides. It should take 1 to 2 minutes each.
- Drain on plate lined with paper towels or a wire rack and serve alone or with porridge. You can also store extras in the fridge and rejuvenate them with a quick turn through the oven or toaster oven.
Lorelai says
I TOTALLY agree with Judy! Ham chin peng are like salty beignets! I love them both. I had no idea that they were flavored with fermented red bean curd. I guess that’s where the saltiness come from.
Judy says
Hi Lorelai, I love Cantonese Fried Dough. I only make this when we have visitors, as it’s definitely a treat :-)
David Kam says
Thanks to your recipe, I capture more than the taste!
But that itself was good (the taste) – my young and not so Asian princess gave it the THUMBS UP!!!!
I did leave the dough for a little over 15 minutes (40 minutes actually), that may have affected the texture.
But overall, it’s simple to follow, we did thought the Chinese Red Bean was hard to find, but in the end that fear was allayed.
Great recipe
Easy to use
And guess what??? This is the first time I am doing a Ham Zhim Peng!!! I’ve never fried, or baked in my entire life (and I’m 47).
Whoppeeee..time to fry, bake and stir fry!
Cheers, mate..
And thank YOU.
David Kam, Perth, WA.
Judy says
Thank you so much, David! And thank your princess for her THUMBS UP!
Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits says
Oh my gosh, I just want to dip one of these in a bowl of congee!! They look great, Judy!
Judy says
Thank you, Lisa! They are so easy and quick to make, give it a go :-)
Jess says
Hi Judy
Loving the recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Can you use the recipe for Nau Lei Sou (ox tongue pastry) as well?
Jess
Judy says
Hi Jesse, hope you can try this recipe out and let me know if they are similar. I have a feeling they are. I believe the dough for the ox tongue pastry’s dough is slightly drier though.
Little Cooking Tips says
These look fantastic! The problem is, we can’t find fermented bean curd. Is there a way to make this without it? Sorry for asking for substitutions in an old, authentic recipe Judy! We hope you forgive us!
And thank you for the yummy recipe!
xoxoxo
Judy says
I am not sure what would be a good substitution for the fermented bean curd. But I can tell you, when I gave the fermented bean curd to an Italian friend to try, his first reaction was: wow, it tastes like cheese. hope it will spark some ideas for you.
Little Cooking Tips says
Hehehe, it sure does Judy! Thank you!
You guys have an amazing weekend!
xoxoxo
David Kam says
Fermented Red Bean Curd is not hard to find. There are LOTS of it. I can find it in Perth, WA.
It’s exactly the kind like what Bill et all displayed on this blog…
LittleKassieGirl says
I LOVED hahm jeen bang as a kid (and I’m around Kaitlin’s age by guesstimate) and they had it in some NY Chinatowns until at least a decade ago or a decade and a half ago. It slowly disappeared soon after I found out about it, along with the sweet one whose name had something to do with cow horns (?) , and ‘s near/is impossible to find now–both in the Chinatowns AND in Guangzhou area now :( Thank you so so much for making a recipe of this and I can’t wait to try it. This looks exactly like how I remembered it as a wee little kid, and I’m more than certain it will taste the same! So excited to make this!!
LittleKassieGirl says
Posted a picture on your FB page of the results!
This is as delicious as I knew it would be. I made a few little tweaks as I was making it since I didn’t have some of ingredients in the pantry, namely the baking soda, and brown sugar. I don’t know how important the baking soda was, and seeing that: A, I didn’t have it, and B, it was only a teaspoon-ful amount, I just simply omitted it. I also didn’t have dark brown sugar but found molasses, so I added 2/3 cup of turbinado, minus a tablespoon and then added a tablespoon of molasses. Turned out just fine!
I also found that it was really hard to flatten the dough (when you say the dough was very wet, I definitely did not expect just how wet it was), so I added an additional quarter cup of flour to the mix.
TIP: For those who found it hard to flatten the dough without it sticking absolutely everywhere (even when you flour everything liberally), I think the best solution would be to mix the dusting flour and sesame (1:1 ratio) to a dish, rolled the wet dough in it to form a slightly flat ball, poke the hole while the ball was in the dish, and then pat the flour off between your hands. I found that it was super easy to remove all the unnecessary flour and made it much easier to form the shape you need. Hope this helps someone!
Judy says
Hi Kassie, I saw your picture on FB, yours turned out really well too. You are absolutely right, it’s delicious.
Judy says
Hi Kassie, like you, I forgot about it many years ago. I, too, am very glad that I was able to recreate and capture the taste.
Melanie says
Are you talking about curry puffs or “cow horn” pastries ?