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Put chai ko
Red bean rice cakes
Put chai ko (砵仔糕): little bowl-steamed rice cakes with red beans, eaten on a stick
Handed out on a pair of bamboo skewers from the glass cabinets of old-style snack stalls in Sham Shui Po and Yau Ma Tei, put chai ko is a nostalgic after-school treat that Hong Kong grandparents still queue for. Each little cake is steamed in its own porcelain bowl, then popped out whole: smooth, slightly bouncy and chewy, either pale and sweet or golden with brown sugar, studded with soft red beans. It is eaten at room temperature while walking down the street, no plate or cutlery needed. The red beans sinking to the bottom is the most frequent letdown, which happens when they go into thin, raw batter. Chef's tip: half-cook the batter by stirring the boiling syrup into the rice flour slurry, so it thickens just enough to hold the beans in place.
- Total time
- 45 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
For the batter
- 5 ½ oz rice flour (not glutinous)
- 1 oz tapioca starch
- ¾ cup cold water
- 1 cup water
For the beans
- 3 ½ oz cooked whole adzuki beanslightly sweetened, or tinned and drained
For the bowls
- 1 tsp neutral oilfor greasing
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Lightly grease 10 small heatproof bowls or ramekins (about 80 ml each) with 1 tsp neutral oil, set them in a steamer and steam over a high heat for 5 minutes to heat through. Hot bowls help the cakes set evenly.
5 minStep 2: Whisk 5 ½ oz rice flour (not glutinous), 1 oz tapioca starch and ¾ cup cold water in a bowl until smooth, with no lumps.
Step 3: Heat 4 oz Chinese brown slab sugar or light brown sugar and 1 cup water in a pan over a medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup boils.
5 minStep 4: Pour the boiling syrup into the flour slurry in a thin stream, stirring constantly, until the batter turns slightly thick and translucent, like single cream.
Step 5: Divide the batter between the hot bowls, filling them almost to the top, then drop 3 ½ oz cooked whole adzuki beans into each.
3 minStep 6: Cover and steam over a high heat for 20 minutes, until the cakes are set, glossy and a chopstick pressed into the centre comes out clean. Wrap the lid in a tea towel so drips don't mark the tops.
20 minStep 7: Lift out the bowls and cool for at least 30 minutes, until barely warm; the cakes firm up as they cool and tear if unmoulded hot.
30 minStep 8: Run a thin bamboo skewer around the edge of each cake, then push two skewers into the side and lift it out. Eat on the skewers the same day; refrigerated cakes go hard.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 110 kcal
- Protein
- 2 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does put chai ko take?
- About 45 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of chinese brown slab sugar or light brown sugar?
- White sugar + 1 tsp honey or golden syrup per 100g.
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