Fu Kwai Mau Tan/Peony Pastry

I am quite happy with the result of these pastries and will attempt to make them more colorful the next time i make them. Any Chinese pastry recipe and whatever sweet filling of your choice will be fine. The pastry is very delicate and the most important key to achieve non-soggy pastries is to start frying in moderate low heat and crank up the heat to finish the frying.

Ingredients:

(A) Water dough

200 gm all purpose flour

50 gm cooking oil

100 ml water

(B) Oil Dough

150 gm all purpose flour

75 gm shortening

Filling:

600 gm red bean/lotus paste

Method:

The water dough

Rub the flour and oil, then gradually add in the water to bind into a pliable dough, knead till smooth and cover with a damp cloth to allow the dough relax while preparing the oil dough.

The oil dough

Rub the shortening into the flour, continue rubbing until the fat is well absorb into the flour and become a soft pastry dough.

The colored pastry

Divide the water and oil dough into half and color one set of water and oil dough pink with red coloring and the second set with yellow. Work each set separately.

For each set

Form the oil dough into a ball.

Knead the water dough until smooth and roll out into a circle large enough to wrap the ball of oil dough.

Wrap the water dough over the oil dough, using a pinch of water to seal the edges.

Press the double thickness ball flat with the heel of the palm of your hand, then roll out with the rolling pin into a rectangle.

Working from the shorter end, roll the dough up like you would a carpet. now roll this out into a rectangle again, roll up more carpet fashion from the short end. Repeat this rolling up and out at least once more.

Roll out the dough once more, and cut into 12 pieces and roll each piece flat from the top. Working with two sets(colored) of dough, you should have 12 pieces of pink and 12 pieces of yellow.

Pair 1 piece of pink and yellow by putting one on top of another and roll out big enough to wrap the filling.

Divide filling into 12 equal pieces and roll each into a round ball.

Wrap each ball of filling with the square of colored dough, sealing the edges with a touch of water. Roll the ball smooth between the palms of the hand.

Using a very sharp knife, cut into 8 sections, which should to clearly through the dough, but not pierce through to the filling. If it has been through to the filling like i did, the filling will fall out and dirty the oil.

Deep-fry the balls cut side up in oil deep enough to cover the whole ball. Fry over medium heat. The flowers will bloom, the cut edges peeling back in several layers of pastry petals. If you are like me, an inexperienced cook, fry one flower at a time to prevent the temperature of the oil to drop if several flowers are fried at once and they will become heavy and greasy.

Drain on a cooling rack with absorbent paper at the bottom.

Serve warm if possible.

Serves