{shanghai pancakes with red bean paste in hermie}

I first tried these pancakes not that long ago in one of our favourite restaurants (Hai Tien Lo) in Singapore and loved them. I am a bit biased though because I like anything that has red bean in it and these pancakes take it a step further with a crispy fried exterior. When looking for a recipe to try, I went to my collection of Malaysian cookbooks for reference. The recipe below is from "Cook Malaysian" by Lee Sook Ching and is super easy. I have adapted it to use the Thermomix but you can easily make it without (just a bit more mess). 

Red bean paste, enough to fill 4 pancakes

pinch of salt

1 egg

250 grams water

130 grams Plain flour

Vegetable cooking oil to fry

sesame seeds for decoration

1. Place egg, half the water and salt into TM bowl. Mix 3 sec / speed 3.

2. Add flour to bowl and mix 45 sec / speed 2. Scrape down flour from sides of the bowl, add the rest of the water and mix 1min / speed 1 / reverse.

3. Let the batter stand for 30 minutes before frying. Note, this batter is very runny so don't worry if your think it's too thin.

4. Fry pancakes in a hot, greased fry pan until they are browned on both sides. Turn pancakes out onto a plate, spread bean paste on it and fold the top and bottom over to get a long, rectangular shaped cake that completely covers the bean paste.

5. When filled and folded, heat more oil in the frypan and refry each pancake until well browned and crispy.cut each pancake into 2.5 cm pieces and server sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Makes 4 pancakes.

Bon Appetit xx

Notes: I've also seen a number of recipes that use shortening and assume that this produces a flakier pastry. I'll have to try one of those and do a comparison. The above recipe's pastry actually reminds me of the "Bing Boy" pancake that they use to wrap all their fillings in... just crispy. 

Tip: If you don't like to use commercial red bean paste, it can be made using the recipe from the "Taste of Asia" Thermomix cookbook. Lotus bean paste can be used too. Also, if you make these beforehand and want to keep the crispiness of the pancake, put them in the oven before you cut them up  for 15 minute @ 200C. They should be crispy but if not, change to the grill for 5 minute increments.