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Kunming grilled erkuai
Shāo ěrkuài (烧饵块): chewy grilled rice cakes spread with sweet bean sauce and chilli, folded round a filling
Erkuai is Yunnan's everyday rice cake, made by steaming and pounding rice into a dense, chewy dough. In Kunming and Tengchong, morning vendors grill thin rounds of it over charcoal until they blister, brush on sweet bean sauce, chilli and sesame, and fold it round fried dough or spicy potato shreds. Real erkuai is hard to find abroad, so the rounds here are made from rice flour and steamed, which comes close. Chef's tip: keep the rounds covered while you work, because the surface dries out and cracks quickly.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the rice rounds
For spreading
For the filling
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 7 oz rice flour, 1 ¾ oz glutinous rice flour and ¼ tsp salt. Pour in ¾ cup just-boiled water gradually, stirring with chopsticks, then knead to a smooth, soft dough that doesn't crack at the edges when pressed. Add a little more water if it does.
Step 2: Divide into 4, roll each into a round about 5 mm thick and 15 cm across, and lay them on oiled baking paper in a steamer. Steam over a high heat for 15 minutes, until they turn slightly translucent and feel firm.
15 minStep 3: Cool for 5 minutes under a cloth. Brush both sides lightly with 1 tbsp vegetable oil.
Step 4: Cook each round in a dry, hot griddle or frying pan over a medium-high heat for 2–3 minutes a side, until it puffs in bubbles and has toasted brown blisters.
10 minStep 5: While it's hot, spread with 4 tbsp sweet bean sauce (tianmian jiang) or hoisin, 2 tbsp chilli sauce or chilli oil and 2 tbsp Chinese sesame paste or tahini. Common mistake: adding the sauces before grilling; they burn before the cake has crisped.
Step 6: Lay a piece of 2 Chinese fried dough sticks (youtiao) along the middle, scatter with 4 tbsp pickled mustard greens, 3 tbsp roasted peanuts and 1 spring onion, fold in half and eat straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 390 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 60 g
- Fat
- 13 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does kunming grilled erkuai take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 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.
- What can I use instead of spring onion?
- Chives, or a little finely sliced onion.
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