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Most people got the answer right; yes, my secret ingredient is red bean paste. Red bean paste or 红豆沙 is widely used in Chinese cuisine and Japanese cuisine for many dessert dishes.
I must confess that I have never made these red bean paste souffle balls or 高力豆沙 at home. A classic Shanghainese dessert, I have had them at restaurants in Shanghai, Hong Kong, San Francisco, and most recently, in a private party at Mr. Chow Beverly Hills (I don’t think it’s on the regular menu). I simply love them but haven’t come across this highly addictive dessert anywhere else in SoCal. If you know of any restaurants that serve these, do let me know.
For the recipe, I actually stumbled upon it on a Chinese forum. I will have to warn you that they are not easy to make at home and do require an ice cream scoop for shaping as well as a deep fryer for frying. I didn’t use either so my souffle balls were flat instead of looking like this. Well, at least they do look cute on my blog. Click here for more pictures…
Recipe: Souffle Egg White Balls with Red Bean Paste (高力豆沙)
Ingredients:
150g red bean paste
5 egg whites
50g all-purpose flour
50g corn starch
Method:
- Make the red bean paste into small balls.
- Beat the egg whites with an electronic hand beater until frothy.
- Add flour and corn starch to the egg whites and mix well.
- Use an ice cream scoop to shape the souffle balls (with red bean paste in the middle).
- Heat up the deep fryer to 375 degree and deep fry the souffle balls until they turn light brown.
- Dish out and sprinkle powdered sugar on the souffle balls.
- Serve warm.
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{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
It looks beautiful and perfect to me and not to mention, delicious too. :)
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Hey RM, I have never tasted these before, but your baby Red bean paste pillows look so cute. I can see the beautiful soft texture from the bitten piece with the red bean paste centre.
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oh hey! try adding mashed bananas into the souffle balls next time. it seems a weird combo at first but i had it in those ubiquitous “la mien xiao long bao” places in msia and i must say i love it! maybe it’s becos i love red bean in the first place haha… and i think they use those small golden bananas (the name just slipped my mind but definitely not tali or berangan) cos they’re sweeter and mushier…
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These look delicious! This is the first time I’ve bumped into them :) Your’s do look very cute :)
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I agree that these look wonderful, and easy to make since the only “exotic” ingredient (here in Paris) is the red bean paste which is easily findable in our Japantown.
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They look wonderful and ever so delicate! I love Asian sweets… Very appealing!
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I love red bean in anything so these treats look good to me! Good to know that the secret ingredient was red bean and not wombat poo ;-)
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Think I had them in SG before, made by the same chef who made the 三不粘 (looks almost like this 高力豆沙) and supposed to mean “Three Non-Stick”- some kind of egg white/flour balls which are not supposed to stick on a plate, on the chopsticks when you pick them up , and on the teeth when you eat them. Seems to mean just “melt in the mouth” :D The 高力豆沙 you made are sooo …”melt in the mouth” too. I want!
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Yours looks just fine. I would really like to get some of these ready made.
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boohoo… me got it wrong! thought it was chocolate balls :(
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Excellent presentation!
I thought it was the red bean paste when I saw your previous post, but thought - oh it might be some exotic fruit that i don’t know about!
anyhow, i love chinese deserts with red bean paste. i have a can of it at home, and now i know what to do with it! :)
do you have a recipe for glutinous rice balls? i was addicted to them at one point last year, much to the amusement of my Singaporean and Chinese friends!
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Wow! Your Souffle Balls looks delicious! I wonder if it will work well with Orr Nee as a filling? I don’t care much for red bean bcos I find it too sweet … those packet ones.
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These look almost too pretty to eat. Well, almost. ;)
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Oooh, they look nice and cute. I love red bean…(you making “ham chin paeng”???) :o)
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The Cooking Ninja - It tasted OK, but not perfect but thanks for your kind words. ;)
For the love of food - yeah, these are hard to find, I fell in love with them immediately the first time I tried them.
Jun - yes, you are right. The ones that I had in Hong Kong recently had some banana inside and I thought it tasted very different. The small banana is called Pisang Emas.
Joey - yes, they are cute…I love things small. :)
Hilda - cool, you should try making them at home.
Rosa - Asian sweets are completely different from the western ones…
Wokandspoon - LOL. You are too funny…wombat poo!!!
Tiga - you can get these in San Francisco in Shanghainese restaurants. The first time I had them was in San Francisco.
Cynthia - yeah, I wish I can get them ready made too, but haven’t found them in any restaurants here in SoCal. :(
Meiyen - LOL, they do look a bit like choc ball. I bet you like chocolate. ;)
Maninas - I don’t have glutinous rice balls recipe, but I am sure I can find one…I like those too…covered with sesame seeds and deep fried…and red bean paste inside…yum!
Tricia - I think or nee filling will be awesome! Yeah, the canned red bean paste is a tad too sweet for my taste too.
Susan - LOL…nothing is too pretty to eat for us food blogger.
WMW - I wish I know how to make ham chin paeng…hmmm, you just reminded me that I really need to have some ham chin paeng.
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They look cute alright! Id love to try some, I like red bean paste. Over here (Manila, not sure if it’s the same elsewhere) Starbucks’s flavor of the month is red bean paste - they have it in frapuccino form, scones, and other pastries. :)
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these look cute and prefect…
Srivalli
http://www.cooking4allseasons.blogspot.com
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love this dessert! thanks for sharing this recipe. Will definitely try it out once I get some red bean paste.
Also want to let you know that my friend made your egg tarts and brought over last weekend. They were delicious! When she told me that the recipe is from a Malaysian blogger in US, I instantly knew it’s yours!
Just thought I should let you know :)
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I think a wok is the best deep frying tool in the world. So versatile and handy. I feel too lazy right now to try making those, but they really look tasty.
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Hi,Like you mentioned, its really hard to taste these little treats anywhere in the world. Even the recipes, I have been looking for a long time.
Glad that I came across your blog.
I just want to let you know that I have tasted these before in Malaysia, there’s a restaurant in Johor Bahru which serves these delicious treats.
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