It never occurred to me that I could make this at home, but I managed to pull it off somehow ! I love the flakiness of the puffs more than anything ! And I am surprised that the crispiness actually managed to stay very well, even after the yam puffs has cooled down ! It did not turn soggy in anyway and was in fact holding its shape and crisp in every bit.
I am someone who love dim sum alot, hence I am attempting to try out various kinds of dim sum at home recently and these yam puffs are my most recent attempt. I don’t use to enjoy yam at all, but ever since these very delicious yam cakes here, my penchant and appetite for yam grew ! LOL. And furthermore, the old folks in the family love yam to bits too, hence I need not have to worry about not having enough mouths to feed !!
And that’s a few pointers to note for this dish. The skin used to wrap the filling is kind of sticky but this is normal due to the yam and shortening used. Hence, you need to prepare a thicker skin when wrapping, otherwise it will just tear.
Also, the oil used to deep fried the yam puffs has to be very hot. In our home cooking, as the oil isn’t as hot as the commercial kind, you need to spend some time frying them in very small batches. I had the patience initially and I actually deep fried them in very small batches of 1 to 2 pieces each time. Hence, they turn out beautifully flaky and fluffy. But towards the end, when I was running out of time , I thought I will just dump all into the wok for frying. It was liked 6 to 7 pieces at one go. The temperature of the oil drops drastically and the yam puffs lost its flakiness and the skin appears flat instead of fluffy. That’s where I garnered that temperature of the oil is indeed very crucial for ensuring these yam puffs to be a success.
If you love anything yam-mey just like how I do now, do give this a shot ! And if you need any fresh yam or other ingredients to prepare these yam puffs from home, do hope onto PurelyFresh online for all your fresh groceries and cooking needs !!
Enjoy !!
- 300g yam, cut into small pieces
- 85g wheat starch
- 40g shortening
- ½ tbsp sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- ⅛ tsp five spice powder
- dash of pepper
- some cooking oil
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 garlic, minced
- 1 shallot, minced
- 80g minced meat
- 60g prawns, minced
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp chicken powder
- ½ tsp dark soya sauce
- ¼ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp sesame oil
- dash of pepper
- 1 tsp corn flour, to be mixed with 2 tbsp water
Heat up 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a deep frying pan and stir fried the minced garlic and shallots until fragrant.
Add in the minced meat and prawns.
Add in seasoning, except for the corn flour mixture. Stir and mix well.
Thicken with the corn flour solution. Off the flame, dish and set aside.
Steam the yam on medium high heat for around 15 minutes until they turn soft.
Allow the yam to cool slightly before blending them in a food processor till they turn mashy. You can also use a potato masher to mash the yam if you do not have a food processor.
Combine all the ingredients for the skin and mix into a dough. You can adjust with slightly more wheat starch if it's too sticky to handle. Make sure your hands and work surface is well floured before weighing each small piece of dough for around 40g each. Flatten thickly (do not make the skin too thin) and wrap in ½ tbsp of filling.
Continue with the rest of the dough and fillings and shape them into puffs.
Heat up some cooking oil till very very hot. Deep fried the yam puffs until golden brown. Dish and drain them on paper towels to soak up the excess oil.
Serve hot.
2) Ensure that the skin is not too thin when wrapping, does not tear and seal completely.
3) If the skin is too sticky to handle, add abit more wheat starch. Make sure your hands and work surface is well floured too.
4) Place the wrapped yam puffs on a non stick greaseproof paper before they are deep fried so that they do not stick to the surface of any tableware that you are using to hold them.
5) You can also add some diced mushrooms for the fillings as desired.
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