Growing up in a multicultural family is quite a treat. Especially when it is dinner time. Ever since I was young, our dining table would never lack of amazing Chinese Hakka and Peranakan dishes, since my mum is both Peranakan and Chinese Hakka. Despite that, my mum has never made yam abacus 算盤子 before.
“Your grandmother never taught me before.” This was the answered that I got when I last asked her. Looking back at all the foods that my mum cooked and all that I learnt from her, they are mostly Peranakan dishes and just a few Hakka here and there. I think it is safe to say that my mum is more of a Peranakan than a Chinese Hakka.
I first learnt how to make yam abacus from my colleague back in 2013. Back then she made some and brought to our office to share with us. I instantly fell in love with her yam abacus and begged her to teach me how to make one with no hesitation.
Yam abacus is made from yam and tapioca starch. The ratio is critical in order to make a nice plate of yam abacus. If you are to order one outside, it would normally taste rather chewy and elastic like mochi. It makes sense for the food vendor to cut yam and add more starch as it is more economical. However, this is not how one should make a nice plate of yam abacus.
According to my colleague, a nice plate of yam abacus should be rich in yam and tender to the bite. Chewiness should not be the major concern as we are not making mochi. To achieve mention texture, we would have to apply the 5:1 ratio. 5 portions of yam to 1 portion of tapioca starch. Form them into abacus beads and boil them up, the yam beads are done.
Once we nailed the “abacus beads”, how you stir fry it or cook it is totally up to you. We like to stir fry it with shrimps, minced pork, cloud ear fungus, and shiitake mushroom. This is the only method that we know and also the only method that my colleague taught me. Make into soup is also an option but we like it stir fried.
If you have not tried Yam abacus before, I think you should at least try one if you have a chance. Once you had, then only you try our recipe for comparison. Dare us say, you would prefer our version more 😉. If you love yam abacus, what are you even waiting for? Get into your kitchen, follow our recipe, and make yourself a nice plate of 算盤子!
Yam Abacus (算盘子)
Equipment
- Wok or frying pan
- Pot
- Steamer
Ingredients
- 250 g Yam
- 50 g Tapioca starch
- 50 g Shrimps
- 50 g Minced pork
- 1 pc Cloud ear fungus
- 5 pcs Shiitake mushroom
- 1 stalk Spring onion
- 2-3 Garlic
Seasoning
- 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
- 2 tsp Soy sauce
- 1 tsp Grated white pepper
Instructions
- Peel and slice the yam.
- Hydrate the shiitake mushrooms and cloud ear fungus. Cut them into small strips.
- Roughly cut the shrimps into small pieces.
- Dice the garlic and spring onion.
- Now, we are going to steam the yam until soft or can be easily poke with folk.
- Switch off the heat and bring the yam to a plate. Add starch in and mash them well while hot.
- When its cold enough to handle, slightly knead it into a ball of dough.
- Roll the dough into 2cm diameter cylinder. Cut it into small pieces.
- Roll each piece into a small ball. Press the ball top and bottom with thumb and index fingers to form it into abacus shape. Do the same for the rest and we should get around 50 yam abacuses.
- Once the abacuses are readied, it is time to boil them in a pot of boiling water. Add about 1 tbsp of cooking oil in and drop the abacuses in.
- The abacuses would sink to the bottom and float to the top when cooked. Scoop them up when readied and set them aside.
- It is time to stir fry the abacus. In a wok or frying pan, heat a tablespoon of cooking oil on medium high heat. Fry the garlic until fragrant.
- Add mushroom, shrimps, minced pork, and fungus in. Continue frying until the pork is no longer pink in colour.
- Add yam abacus in and continue frying.
- Season it with dark soy sauce, soy sauce, and grated white pepper. Continue stir frying until all the abacuses are fully coated.
- Serve it on a nice plate. Top it with some spring onion and we are done. Enjoy your Yam abacus.
