taking up big challenges of making dish requests has always been fun for me - I guess it kinda pushes me into exploring as many different cuisines as possible while exploring the food heritage and dishes centred around communities outside of my own.
recently, I got doubled down with the challenge of a Hakka dish I only ever made ONCE & one that I remembered to be laborious to make - Abacus Seeds (‘suan pan zi’). as if the challenge was not daunting enough for a someone who has very little patience, I was also requested to make it VEGETARIAN without the use of alliums (i.e. onion & garlic), for a 25 year-old Taoist priest who was observing a fast.
while it take some time & A WHOLE LOT of patience to individually form the dimpled ‘beads’ for 算盘子, it was also a therapeutic process & it really reminded me of how the process is sometimes more important than the outcome. I felt that my technique got better with every abacus beads I rolled & pressed. also, as I employed some help from the filming crew with preparing this, I imagined how much of a fun activity this could be with as a cooking get-together with friends!
in terms of keeping it strict vegetarian, I experimented with a variety of mushroom & vegetable, in tandem with Chinese vegetarian culinary tradtion of biologically mimicking the taste and textures of meat but using plant sources. I tried doing this by the combining lion mane’s mushroom with shiitake to introduce meaty textures while the vegetarian ‘ikan bilis’ garnish made of nori adds a ‘seafoody’ element, replacing dried shrimp (haebee) & dried cuttlefish which is usually found in the non-vegetarian version of Abacus Seeds.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
Vegetarian Abacus Seeds (算盘子)
(serves 3-4)
beads:
400g taro (yam), peeled and diced
130g tapioca starch
50g glutinous rice flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp hot water
water, for boiling
seasoning sauce:
1.5 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp mushroom seasoning
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp chai poh (preserved radish, the sweet kind)
3 pcs dried lion mane’s mushrooms (monkey head), sliced
3-4 pcs shiitake (dried or fresh), sliced
70g wood ear mushroom (black fungus), sliced
20g dried lily buds, soaked in hot water & reserve the liquid
1 block tau kwa (firm tofu), cubed & pre-fried
1 carrot, julienned
1 red chilli, julienned
2 sprigs coriander, sliced
100g vegetarian anchovies
directions
place the taro on a steamer rack on top of boiling water and steam until soft, for about 15-20 minutes. transfer the taro to a bowl while steaming hot and immediate mash with a potato masher until it becomes a fine paste.
working fast while the mashed taro is hot mix in water & salt. then, add the starches and mix well with a wooden spoon until it becomes a shaggy mess.
transfer the dough to a clean surface and knead it well for at least minutes, until the dough is even pliable. add hot water or more tapioca starch as needed to make a smooth dough which is also not too sticky.
to make the beads, pinch out about a 5g portion and roll to a ball. using your thumb press down a simple into the ball to form an abacus beads immediately after-like shape. repeat until dough is finished, keeping the beads under cling wrap tp prevent it from drying.
boil a pot of water and standby another bowl of water close to it with some ice, to dunk the abacus beads immediately after cooking them. once the water is rapidly boiling, add in the abacus seeds. once the balls float to the surface (this will take merely seconds), wait for another 15 seconds before straining them out with a spider strainer and dumping them into the ice water.
in a wok/pan on medium heat, heat oil and sauté chai poh until lightly browned for 30 seconds. deglaze with 2 tbsp of water. add all the mushrooms + rehydrated lily and stir-fry on high heat for 2 minutes.
mix together the seasoning sauce ingredients in a separate bowl. add into the wok together with the tofu, carrot and chilli and 1/4 cup water. toss well and cook for another 2 minutes.
drain the abacus beads and toss it together with the veg mixture on high heat for 1 minute. the abacus beads should absorb the sauce, making the whole dish nice and dry. toss in coriander leaves and serve on a plate.
garnish with crispy vegetarian anchovies (optional) and enjoy with some sambal on the side (if desired)
for more Singaporean plant-based recipes, check these out:
Nasi Ulam: A Local Forager's Mixed Rice Salad
As simple as it sounds, Nasi Ulam is a labour of love and a ceremony in itself. From sourcing the fresh regional herbs and vegetables, to tediously slicing every herb thinly enough to blend in with the rice harmoniously - trust me it's worth the effort because its the rice that makes eating your greens effortless and delicious. It’s highly nourishing, n…
nyonya chap chye (娘惹杂菜) - nourishingly delicious!
when looking at elaborate and complexed Straits-Chinese dishes, Chap Chye probably falls into the category of the simpler ones you can make at home. of course, we admit that the ingredients are aplenty for this but the preparation of this recipe for Chap Chye simply requires some time for the dried ingredients to get reconstituted before they get braise…