We grew up eating Fan Tuan | 飯糰.
Growing up, Paul and his dad would drive to a manga comic shop on the weekends, and once Paul got his Dragon Ball fix his dad would take him next door for a Fan Tuan lunch. Cheryl's mom would hand make classic Fan Tuans (or Ci Fan | 粢飯 in Cantonese), sweet and savory, whenever they went on road trips or when she went on school field trips.
Years later, Paul and Cheryl would meet in Shanghai, the birthplace of Fan Tuans and eat them together over brisk Shanghai winters. Kind of full circle!
We carry fond memories of this simple, yet delicious meal so we decided to make the classic Fan Tuan made of a sticky rice roll, stuffed with a Chinese cruller [油條], pork floss [肉鬆], and pickled mustard plant[榨菜].
AND to pay homage to the Fan Tuan, we gave it a modern twist by creating the Mango Sticky Rice Fan Tuan, a dessert we both love from Thailand, as a toast to the past and future. We've not seen this recipe around, so it might just be a Midnight Weekend original!
We bought all of our main ingredients at 99 Ranch in San Gabriel Valley. This is a 99 Ranch Home Chef exclusive!
CLASSIC SAVORY FAN TUAN
Ingredients
1 ½ cup Mogami Premium Sweet Rice | 最上圓糯米
1 ½ cup water | 水
1 cup Kimbo Pork Sung [meat floss] | 金寶肉鬆
1 Chinese Crullers [youtiao] | 油條
½ cup of Sichuan Pickled Mustard, diced | 四川榨菜
½ cup of Ta-Maw Bamboo Shoots in Chili Oil, diced | 大茂幼筍
2 tbsp toasted black sesame [white sesame works, black will contrast the white rice better] | 芝麻
Instructions
Soak sticky rice in cold water for 1 hour
Drain rice
Pressure cook [we used Instant Pot] and choose the ‘rice’ option - let it pressure then naturally release [around 5-7 minutes]
While rice is cooking dice Sichuan Pickled Mustard and Bamboo Shoots into bite-sized pieces
Let rice cool enough to handle
Lay out a 12 inch square plastic wrap
Sprinkle black sesame liberally on plastic wrap
Spread a thin layer of rice into a rectangular shape onto plastic wrap
Place 1 Chinese Cruller onto the rice
Spoon meat floss, pickled mustard, and bamboo shoots along both sides of Cruller
Roll up “sheet” of rice by rolling plastic wrap [like you would a roulade]. Squeeze the wrap to ensure the roll stays intact
Repeat these steps to assemble the second roll
Cut in half and breakfast is ready!
“MANGO STICKY RICE” FAN TUAN
Ingredients
½ cup Black Glutinous Rice | 黑糯米
½ cup Mogami Premium Sweet Rice | 最上圓糯米
1 cups water | 水
¼ cup of split, peeled mung bean | 綠豆
1 mango, sliced in long, thin slivers
1 Chinese Crullers [youtiao] | 油條
1 can [13.5 fl oz] of coconut milk | 椰奶
3 tbsp of monkfruit sweetener | 羅漢果甜味劑 [more or less to taste]
1 tsp of salt | 鹽
2 tbsp of condensed milk | 煉奶 [to drizzle, again more or less to taste]
2 tbsp toasted mixed black and white sesame | 芝麻
Instructions
Soak white and black sticky rice in cold water for 1 hour [Or if you have leftover sticky white rice from above, use that. You’ll need about ½ cup.]
Drain rice
Pressure cook rice with equal parts rice to water [so ½ cup of rice to ½ cup of water]. Cook them separately [because we want to create a nice pattern] and choose ‘rice’ option - let it pressure cook then naturally release [around 5-7 minutes]
While rice is cooking, in a wok or frying pan, using low heat, fry the yellow mung beans for a few minutes until they turn golden crispy. Cool and set this aside as a topping.
In a pot, heat 1 can of coconut cream on medium heat, and stir gently. Add 3 tbsp of monkfruit sweetener and 1 tsp. salt, and keep stirring and cooking until fully dissolved. When the coconut cream mixture comes to a boil, turn off the heat. Coconut mixture should be thick enough to coat a spoon, not too drippy.
Sprinkle toasted sesame and fried mung beans liberally on plastic wrap
Create a pattern! We chose a diagonal pattern between black and white rice.
Place 1 Chinese Cruller onto the rice
Place mango slices along both sides of Cruller
Drizzle condensed milk on top of the Cruller
We spooned a few tablespoons of coconut on top of the Cruller but we recommend it as a dipping sauce. More taste, less mess!
Roll up “sheet” of rice by rolling plastic wrap [like you would a roulade]. Squeeze the wrap to ensure the roll stays intact.
Cut in half and dessert is served!
Both recipes serves 4 halves
#taiwanesebreakfast #ChineseRecipes #MidnightWeekend
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