How to Make Chinese Flaky Pastry Asian Cooking Recipe Cuisine

China Flaky Pastry

This recipe was taken from centuries old cooking techniques and when possible applied modern cooking methods and/or ingredients.  It uses Asian cooking styles, Asian Spices, Asian Sauces and Asian Ingredients.  The style of cooking may have a slight alteration while still maintaining the dish's overall purpose.  In this blog we touch on recipes that may be predominant for the Chinese Cuisines.  We will also share recipes based upon country, or regions such as: Burma, Cambodia, Indian, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet and Vietnam.  Some cuisines are considered South Asian, South East Asian, Central Asian and/or Middle Eastern and may not be strictly connected to a specific country or culture.

Recipe Makes for 1 pound:

OUTER DOUGH

5 ounces (1 cup) bleached all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chilled lard or solid vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces

5 tablespoons warm water

INNER DOUGH

3¾ ounces (¾ cup) bleached all-purpose flour

6 tablespoons chilled lard or solid vegetable shortening, cut into ½-inch pieces


Directions:

To make the outer dough, combine the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse 2 or 3 times to combine.

Sprinkle in the pieces of lard and process for 10 seconds to blend well, or until the mixture looks like coarse meal. (Alternatively, put the ingredients in a bowl and use a pastry blender or your fingers in a quick rubbing motion to combine the flour and shortening.)

Transfer the mixture to a bowl, make a well in the center, and work in the water 1 tablespoon at a time. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to stir, fold, and push the ingredients into a ragged mass. 

Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and gently knead for about 2 minutes to create a very soft, smooth, and slightly elastic dough. 

Press your finger into the dough; it should slowly bounce back, leaving a faint indentation. Cover with plastic wrap or an inverted bowl and set aside at room temperature to rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the inner dough, put the flour in the food processor and sprinkle in the lard pieces. Process for 10 seconds to blend and generate a mealy, lumpy, very soft mixture. 

Transfer to a bowl (the same one as before is fine) and use the spatula to mix and combine well. (Alternatively, put the ingredients in the bowl and use the spatula or back of the wooden spoon to mash the ingredients together until no flour is visible.) It will resemble soft cookie dough.

Gather and pat the dough into a rough ball. Push it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently pat and roll the dough into a smooth ball and set aside. Wrap in plastic wrap if the outer dough needs to rest longer.

To encase the inner dough in the outer dough, roll the outer dough into a 6- to 7-inch-diameter circle. (Try your best to work on a minimally floured surface at all times, to prevent the dough from absorbing too much flour and toughening.) 

Center the ball of inner dough on top and then gently pull up and press the outer dough, pinching the ends together to completely encase the inner dough. Hold the dough in both hands to make this easier.

Use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough into an oblong, about 8 inches wide and 12 inches long. Start each pass from the center and move toward one of the edges before rolling back again. 

Try to square off the sides and lift up the dough occasionally to prevent sticking. If a bit of the inner dough leaks out, pat some flour on it to seal. Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter, with one end toward the middle and the other end on top to cover, resulting in a rectangle about 8 inches wide and 4 inches long. 


Turn the dough 90 degrees so that one of the unfolded sides points at you. Roll the dough out again to an 8 by 12-inch rectangle, and fold again into a letter. Wrap in plastic wrap and allow to rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or overnight, before using. 

For the adventurous palate, a great side dish that compliments this recipe is Jaew Bong.  Discover more about Jaew Bong, check out www.jaewbong.com.

Enjoy..

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