Chinese Pumpkin Cake
Crisp on the outside but soft, gooey and chewy on the inside, Chinese Pumpkin Cake or Nan Gua Bing is a must-make dessert in fall! If you've ever felt intimidated by the thought of making your own Asian street snacks, try this easy Chinese recipe to give you confidence! It's simple enough to make perfectly the very 1st time!
- Prep time
- 14 min
- Cook time
- 31 min
- Yield
- 12 servings
- Difficulty
- EASY
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 0.55 lb Pumpkin (Flesh only, cut into 1 inch cubes. Weight is before steaming (your pumpkin will lose some weight after steaming!))
- 0.55 lb Glutinous Rice Flour (Substitute: Mochiko flour or sweet rice flour. Do not use allpurpose or regular rice flour.)
- 2.12 oz white sugar (Alternative: brown sugar)
- Vegetable oil with high smoke point
- 1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- 1
Cut your pumpkin into 1-inch cubes, removing the skin and seeds.
- 2
Steam the pumpkin cubes till cooked, about 10 minutes or when a fork can pierce through. (If you don't have a steamer, see the post above for how to create a makeshift set-up.)
- 3
If your pumpkin has tons of water, drain off the excess. (I didn't have to as mine stayed dry.)
- 4
Whilst the pumpkin is still hot, pour in the sugar and mash well. Ideally, use a potato masher or, if you don't have one, a fork works too.Tip: the sugar should draw out some water making it easier to knead your pumpkin, but if it's still too dry, add a bit of water, starting with 1 Tablespoon.
- 5
Once the pumpkin and sugar have become a homogenous orange mash, add the glutinous rice flour. Do not add all at 1 go as different pumpkins will require different amounts of flour, depending on how moist they are.
- 6
Add 3/4 of the flour first, then add more as you need. Knead till the dough changes from sticky to smooth and not-sticky.
- 7
Once the dough is smooth (see above) and there are no more flour pockets, roll into a log and divide into 12 equal portions.
- 8
Roll each portion into a round ball then flatten with your hand to make a pancake. Do this against a non-stick surface such as a baking tray.Note: if adding a filling, roll the filling into a smaller ball then place in the centre of your pancake. Wrap the pancake around the filling till closed then flatten.
- 9
Optional garnish: place a few sesame seeds in the centre of each pancake. You can also cover the pumpkin cake entirely with sesame seeds or panko breadcrumbs for more crunch! (You may need to brush the pancake with a light coat of water to get them to stick.)
- 10
Frying