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Heong peng
Sesame maltose biscuits
香饼 · Ipoh's sesame-coated maltose biscuits
Ipoh, the old tin-mining city in Perak, is famous for heong peng ('fragrant biscuits'), and visitors buy them by the bag along with white coffee. They are flat, round pastries with a crisp, flaky shell coated in sesame seeds, filled with a sticky, chewy layer of maltose mixed with shallot oil and fried shallots: sweet, savoury and deeply aromatic at once. Locals eat them with a cup of kopi in the morning or as a snack on the road. The pastry is traditionally made with lard; this recipe uses vegetable shortening and keeps the shallot oil, so it is vegan. Chef's tip: warm the maltose jar in hot water before measuring, then chill the finished filling until firm, because maltose softens fast and a runny filling leaks out and burns on the tray.
- Total time
- 117 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the shallot oil
- 3 shallotsthinly sliced
- ¼ cup neutral oil
For the filling
- 3 ½ oz maltose
- 1 ⅜ oz icing sugar
- 2 ⅞ oz plain flourtoasted, see step 2
- 1 tbsp water
For the water dough
- 5 ½ oz plain flour
- ⅔ oz caster sugar
- 1 ⅝ oz vegetable shortening
- ¼ cup water
For the oil dough
- 3 ½ oz plain flour
- 1 ¾ oz vegetable shortening
To coat
- 1 ¾ oz white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp water
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Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Fry 3 shallots in ¼ cup neutral oil over a medium-low heat for 6–8 minutes, stirring, until evenly golden. Lift them out onto kitchen paper; they crisp as they cool. Keep the oil.
8 minStep 2: Toast 2 ⅞ oz plain flour in a dry pan over a low heat for 5 minutes, stirring, until it smells nutty and turns ivory. Cool.
5 minStep 3: Mix 3 ½ oz maltose, 1 ⅜ oz icing sugar, 2 tbsp of the shallot oil and 1 tbsp water in a bowl. Crush the fried shallots and add them with the toasted flour, kneading to a firm, sticky paste. Divide into 12 balls and chill for 30 minutes.
35 minStep 4: Rub 1 ⅝ oz vegetable shortening into 5 ½ oz plain flour and ⅔ oz caster sugar, add ¼ cup water and knead to a smooth dough. Rest for 20 minutes, covered.
25 minStep 5: Rub 1 ¾ oz vegetable shortening into 3 ½ oz plain flour until it holds together. Divide both doughs into 12 balls each.
Step 6: Enclose each oil-dough ball in a water-dough ball, then roll out, roll up, turn and repeat once. Rest the coils for 10 minutes.
15 minStep 7: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan) and line a tray.
Step 8: Flatten a coil into an 8 cm round, wrap it around a ball of filling and seal well. Roll gently, seam side down, into a flat disc 7 cm across and 1 cm thick.
12 minStep 9: Brush one side of each disc with 2 tbsp water and press it into 1 ¾ oz white sesame seeds so it is thickly coated. Lay sesame side up on the tray.
Step 10: Bake for 20–22 minutes, until the sesame is golden and the edges are flaky and pale gold. If the filling peeks out, the seams weren't sealed tightly.
21 minStep 11: Cool completely; the filling turns chewy as it sets. Store in an airtight tin for up to 10 days.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 270 kcal
- Protein
- 4 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does heong peng take?
- About 117 minutes in total: 95 minutes to prepare and 22 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of shallots?
- Half an onion per 2 shallots.
- What can I use instead of icing sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
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