Fried Red Bean Puffs are the perfect sweet to celebrate Chinese New Year. The dough is made from glutinous rice flour. Sticky and crispy. Then filled with smooth red bean paste, then fried until golden brown.
Chinese New Year is on February 8th and I am getting into the spirit. Last year, I didn’t start planning until the week before Chinese New Year. By the time I went to Chinese supermarket, the ingredients that I wanted were all sold out. I am trying to be smarter this time. Two weeks ago, I have bought everything I needed to get ready for Chinese New Year. Score! 🙂
Other than celebrating on my own, my blogger friend, Christine from Vermilion Roots are teaming up with other 14 bloggers, including me, to start a Chinese New Year Cookie Party. Each of us will share one of our favorite Chinese New Year cookie recipes on our blogs. Even though you may not celebrate Chinese New Year, you can still get a taste of Chinese New Year and join in the festivities. If you are celebrating Chinese New Year, join our party with your delicious cookies with the hashtag #ChineseNewYearCookieParty.
For my cookie, I am making fried red bean puffs (豆沙角). I know, I know… It is a bit of a stretch to consider fried red bean puff as cookie. But let me explain, growing up, my families didn’t make cookies during Chinese New Year. Our family is not very traditional. The only snack that my grandma makes are the sweet glutinous rice dumplings with black sesame. Other than that, we all munch on dried fruit, chocolate, roasted seeds and fresh fruit. Every region and every family has their own traditions. So to me, fried red bean puffs are my kind of “cookie”, and they are something I love dearly. Fried red bean puffs are a snack for Guangdong region. It is usually eaten during Chinese New Year, but sometimes, you can also find them in dim sum restaurants. The puffs are shaped like half-moon. They resemble ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots. It symbolizes wealth. By making the puffs, you are bringing in wealth to your home and family.
The puffs are made with red bean and glutinous rice flour. The uniqueness about glutinous rice flour is that when it is mixed with water and cooked, it has a sticky and stretchy texture. If you have had Japanese mochi before, it is kind of like that. These puffs are fried. When you bite into them, you get a little bit of that crispy and chewy crust and sweet red bean filling. Absolutely satisfying and addicting! These puffs will guarantee to bring everyone to the table and make them happy.
Here are the cookie recipes from my blogger friends, check them out! And don’t forget to tag your own cookie photos (#ChineseNewYearCookieParty)!
Browned Butter Chinese Walnut Cookies – Yummy Workshop
Cherry Blossom Cookies – Brunch-n-Bites
Chinese Peanut Cookies – Daily Cooking Quest
Chocolate Almond Cookies – Curious Nut
Honey Almond Cookies – Hapa Nom Nom
Macau Almond Cookies – Thirsty for Tea
Melt-in-the-Mouth Chinese Gluten-Free Peanut Cookies – Foodie Baker
Mochi Stuffed Almond Cookies – Miss Hangrypants
Pineapple Jam Tarts – Wok & Skillet
Quinoa Sesame Brittle – Omnivore’s Cookbook
Red Bean & Strawberry Pinwheel Cookies – Butter & Type
Sesame Spiral Pie Cookies – Bams Kitchen
Tapioca Cookies (Kue Bangkok) – What To Cook Today
The Ultimate Pecan Sandies – Created To Cook
Vegan Cornflake Cereal Cookies – Vermilion Roots
Fried Red Bean Puffs
Ingredients
- 300 grams glutinous rice flour (sweet rice flour) (separated)
- ½ cup cold water
- 1 cup water
- 100 grams Chinese brown sugar in pieces or light brown sugar
- 220 grams smooth red bean paste
- vegetable oil (for frying)
Instructions
- In a baking sheet, lined with a few layers of paper towels. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, add 100g glutinous rice flour. Slowly pour in ½ cup cold water. Stir and mix with one hand until the dough comes together. If it is too dry, add little more water. If it is too wet, add little more flour. Pinch the dough into about 1-inch irregular pieces.
- In a medium pot, add 1 cup water and the brown sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium-low heat. Cook until the sugar has melted. Add the dough pieces and cook through, about 3 – 5 minutes. Turn the heat off. Add 150g rice flour. Stir together with a wooden spatula.
- On a lightly floured (rice flour) working surface, place the hot dough over. Add another 40g of rice flour. Carefully knead the dough until smooth. If the dough is sticky, add little more flour. Divide the dough into 2 parts.
- Roll 1 part of dough into ¼-inch thick with a rolling pin. Use a 3½-inch round cutter to cut out rounds. Repeat with the other part of dough. Gather the scrapes and roll it into ¼-inch thick dough again. Continue to cut out rounds. Make 15 – 17 rounds in total.
- Place about 1 tablespoon red bean paste in the center of each round. Fold the dough over to make half-moon shape. Press the edges firmly to seal.
- In a wok or medium pot, add enough vegetable oil to reach 1-inch deep. Heat the oil to 350˚F (160˚C). Fry the puffs in patches until golden brown, turning them often for even cooking. Transfer the finished puffs to the prepared baking sheet. Let them drain and rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Glutinous rice flour can be found in Chinese supermarkets or Amazon.
- Chinese brown sugar in pieces can be found in Chinese supermarkets. Learn a bit more here.
- I made my own red bean paste. For a short cut, you can buy pre-made one from store or Amazon. It won’t be as good, but easier.
- If the dough gets hard and dry during the kneading process, add a little bit of warm water to soften it.
- The ¼-inch wrappers seem very thick. But once they are fried, they will be thinner.
- To make the wrappers easier to wrap, roll the red bean paste into half-moon shape.
- When enjoying the puffs, make sure they are cool enough to eat. I burnt my tongue while doing a taste test. Ouch!
- The puffs will not taste as good when they are cooled. Reheat them in microwave for 15 seconds. They will be warm again, but soften with a chewy texture.
Hey Lokness, I’m super excited to see a recipe using red beans. I bet these puffs are going to be just as, if not more, addicting as cookies! My mouth is watering just thinking about the combination of fried pastry and creamy red bean paste. 🙂
Thank you very much for inviting me to the cookie party! What better way to celebrate Chinese New Year with all kind of delicious cookies, right?
Oh my oh my oh my… I’m salivating like Christine just thinking about biting into this. Fried outside and soft inside. I love it!
Thanks Ai Ping! Who doesn’t love fried food, right? Red bean filling is the best! 😉
Fried. Red Beans. You have my vote !!! I have fried puffs like that when I was a kid, but they weren’t filled with anything. These are even better !!!
Thank you Marvellina! Oh, I think I know what you are talking about. Is it the one with sesame seeds on the outside? I like those too! Nommmm… Yummy fried food. 😀
Any dessert that’s fried is a friend of mine! And I’m loving the red bean filling – as AiPing said, crispy on the outside, soft on the inside – it sounds incredible!
Thank you so much Kathleen! They were delicious! That crispy and chewy texture is the best!
Woo…these are so nostalgic, they are one of my favourite Chinese new year treats!
Oh yes, these red bean puffs bring back many memories. They were just as good as I remember! 😉
Mouth is watering! I love that they for once, don’t have sesame on them. Frying rice dough can be tricky, but you’ve done such an awesome job on these Lokness!! 🙂
HAHAHA! Thank you Bonnie. Glad you like it!
It’s so interesting reading about how different families celebrate Chinese New Yeardelicious!! I’ve never heard or tasted this kind of red bean puffs, look
It is so true! Every family and countries do something differently. These puffs are tasty little fried treats. Kids sure love them!
Love these little treats with the doughy texture on the inside with the sweet red beans and the crunchy outside. Hot out of the oven and so delicious. Wishing you a super CNY and much happiness. It is sooo busy in Hong Kong these days and especially this week of the biggest migration. Will you be heading home for the holidays?
Thanks so much Bobbi! They were very tasty! I don’t mind eating them every week. 😛 No, I will be staying in LA this year. I do wish I could be there though! Gong Hei Fei Choi!
These look absolutely delicious and amazing! Fantastic job!! You had me at “fried”. lol!!
LOL! Thank you so much! They were very tasty. 😀
I didn’t grow up eating many cookies at all so I know what you mean! These are wonderful and my kind of sweet treat! It’s the perfect special occasion to fry and I usually think of the ones with peanut/sesame filling but red bean paste is so much better! Great job with this and making the homemade paste!!
Yea, I thought I am crazy not to have cookies during CNY. You know I hate frying, but these red bean puffs are worth it. Thank you very much, Monica! Have a very Happy New Year!
These red bean puffs are so perfectly cooked! I grew up eating this, and I’m crazing some now. Wish you have a great time during the Chinese New Year!
I bet you must have a lot of wonderful memories with these red bean desserts. Hope these are up to your standard! 😉 Happy New Year, Maggie!
Ooo…. I love fried red bean puffs. It is indeed unusual to see these during CNY, but I will definitely not be refusing these if offered one (or two) 😉
These are actually very common during CNY, especially in Guangdong and Hong Kong. 🙂
Wealth to my home and family? I better start making these pronto! (Plus, I’m a fan of all things red bean!)
Hahaha!!! YES, make more these fried puffs and bring in more gold or silver ingots to your home! 😀
Hi Lokness 🙂 These look so great! This is going to be our first year celebrating Chinese new year and I’m pretty excited! I have a couple recipes I’m playing around with that the kiddos will enjoy 🙂 These red bean puffs look so yummy… I’ve never had anything like them before… I may try my hand at test making them this weekend 🙂 Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hope you and your kids will enjoy these puffs! Enjoy the Chinese New Year celebration! Wish you and your family good health and happiness! If you try this recipe, let me know how it goes. 🙂
These red bean puffs look perfect! Red bean desserts are my favorite and always give me fond memories of growing up. Happy Chinese New Year! Wishing you and your family happiness, good healthy and prosperity:)
It’s past New Year, but since my mom LOOOVES red bean, I think I might just make this for her the next time I’m at home to visit her 🙂
Can I have the measurement in volume? I don’t have a scale. I would like to try this recipe but I afraid it might be off if I eyeball the weights.
Hi Joe, I’m sorry that I don’t have the measurement in volume for you. Your best bet is to see if you can find a convertor on google to help you out. Make sure to find a convertor that take into account the different density of different ingredients. Rice flour is much lighter than regular flour.