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Yu Char Kway

chefpeon

By chefpeon
in China: Cooking & Baking

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chefpeon

chefpeon

Posted
Posted

Here is a link to a recipe for Yu Char Kway.

My questions:

What is alum? Is it sort of a baking powder?

Does anyone have a recipe that is easier to make in the US, meaning no alum or ammonia in it?

Would they still taste "authentic" if I didn't use those things?

I have a Malaysian friend who wants to make them but cannot find alum or ammonia.

Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot! :wub:

Annie's Cake-o-Rama

Confessions of a Burned Out Pastry Chef

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Daznz

Daznz

Posted
Posted (edited)

Here is a link to a recipe for Yu Char Kway.

My questions:

What is alum? Is it sort of a baking powder?

Does anyone have a recipe that is easier to make in the US, meaning no alum or ammonia in it?

Would they still taste "authentic" if I didn't use those things?

I have a Malaysian friend who wants to make them but cannot find alum or ammonia.

Any suggestions?

aluminum sulfate, alum was commonly used in canning before it was discovered that it can cause gastric distress in some individuals.

ammonia is a type of baking powder. I would leave the alum out , but hay im new to chinese cooking :biggrin:

good luck

Dale

Edited by Daznz (log)
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LittleIsland

LittleIsland

Posted
Posted

She explains below that alum is Potassium alum (potash), called "pak fan" in Chinese. So maybe try your Chinese suppliers? I know when I eat these, I can taste the ammonia quite clearly, so I'm thinking it might be a necessary ingredient... but I'm no expert. I'm only glad we can find these (relatively) easily in Singapore still.

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SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted

What's listed as "alum" in the recipe is sold in glass bottles in Chinese markets as "lye water" (potassium carbonate). There's quite a bit of controversy over it because in Western nations such as Australia, it's considered a toxic, corrosive substance although it's been used in Asian cooking for many generations. Apparently, it gives a springy texture to dough. One website http://pinoycook.net/index.php/recipes/recipe/buko-pandan/ suggests substituting milk or baking soda for the lye water for a similar effect.

The ammonia is "baker's ammonia" (ammonium carbonate), an old-fashioned leavening powder. (Don't confuse it with ordinary household ammonia, which is poisonous.) You can buy it in German or Scandinavian specialty stores, or through mail order catalogs like King Arthur Flour or Sweet Celebrations (formerly Maid of Scandinavia).

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

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SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted
Alum is actually available in the spice aisle of most major American supermarkets and is produced by the McCormick's spice company. It is *not* the same as lye water.

http://www.mccormick.com/productdetail.cfm?id=6408

I bow to your superior knowledge! You're right, this recipe called for pak fun. Other recipes I've seen for Chinese pastries & doughs call for lye water. Never checked the spice aisle for McCormick's alum powder, but almost all the regular supermarkets here carry lye water! It must still be in widespread use in Hawaii.

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

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Dejah

Dejah

Posted
Posted

Alum is found in the spice section in most grocery chains - as sheetz said - McCormick spices. It definitely is not the same as lye water which is used in the non-savory joongzi my mom enjoys.

The recipe I have from Pei Mei's books call for alum, baking soda, and powdered ammonia. I remember making it once in the restaurant - and my cook called it "chou (as in ouch) fun" - stinky powder. I can't recall the scientific name for it, but I had to go to a baker for this.

Dejah

www.hillmanweb.com

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Beebs

Beebs

Posted
Posted
Here is a link to a recipe for Yu Char Kway.

My questions:

What is alum? Is it sort of a baking powder?

Does anyone have a recipe that is easier to make in the US, meaning no alum or ammonia in it?

Would they still taste "authentic" if I didn't use those things?

I have a Malaysian friend who wants to make them but cannot find alum or ammonia.

Any suggestions?

Thanks a lot! :wub:

This might be going off on a bit of a tangent...but...ammonia?!? :shock: What kind of ammonia would this be? Is this safe to consume? What kinds of food would typically contain ammonia?

Please excuse my ignorance, but I've only been familiar with ammonia as Windex and cleaning solution! :raz:

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sheetz

sheetz

Posted
Posted

This might be going off on a bit of a tangent...but...ammonia?!?  :shock:  What kind of ammonia would this be?  Is this safe to consume?  What kinds of food would typically contain ammonia? 

Please excuse my ignorance, but I've only been familiar with ammonia as Windex and cleaning solution!  :raz:

It's a leavening agent called "baker's ammonia" or ammonium bicarbonate, and cooks off when the dough is heated. It's often used in old fashioned cookie recipes and is still used in some European cookies. If you've ever eaten those Danish butter cookies in the metal tins it's baker's ammonia that gives the cookies their characteristic light crispness.

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Shiewie

Shiewie

Posted
Posted

Yu Char Kway (Fujianese/Hokkien) is also known as Yu Tiao (Mandarin) / Yau Char Kwai (Cantonese) i.e. Chinese cruellers.

Whilst the Mandarin version of the name literally translates to a polite fried sticks (of dough), the Hokkien and Cantonese ones literally translates to deep fried devils. The name comes about from an ancient Chinese legend about a pair of devils who were terrorising villagers. So the gods sent a devil catcher who caught them and bound them up with a magic rope. In a bid to escape, the tied up devils jumped into a cauldron...of boiling oil.

The texture of of a yu char kway is sort of cross between a savoury churros and a beignet. It great dipped into black sweetened M'sian coffee (somehwat like Vietnamese coffee but not as thick), eaten as a garnish for jook or stuffed with fish paste.

Here are another couple of recipes, one that uses pak fun and another which uses ammonium bicardb and baking powder.

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SuzySushi

SuzySushi

Posted
Posted
Yu Char Kway (Fujianese/Hokkien) is also known as Yu Tiao (Mandarin) / Yau Char Kwai (Cantonese) i.e. Chinese cruellers.

Whilst the Mandarin version of the name literally translates to a polite fried sticks (of dough), the Hokkien and Cantonese ones literally translates to deep fried devils. The name comes about from an ancient Chinese legend about a pair of devils who were terrorising villagers. So the gods sent a devil catcher who caught them and bound them up with a magic rope. In a bid to escape, the tied up devils jumped into a cauldron...of boiling oil.

I love the story! While I'd heard the translation "deep fried devils" before, I never knew the derivation of that interesting name. Kewl! :cool:

SuzySushi

"She sells shiso by the seashore."

My eGullet Foodblog: A Tropical Christmas in the Suburbs

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