Recipe of Hakka Yam Abacus Seeds/Beads



Ingredients:
Yam 400g
Tapioca flour 300g
Minced Pork 250g
Mushroom 45g
Black fungus 30g
Dried cuttlefish x2
Dried shrimps 30g
Shallots x5

Seasoning:
Dark soy sauce 2 tbsp
Soy sauce 3 tbsp
Salt 0.5 tsp
Sugar 0.5 tsp
Ground white pepper  5 tsp
Water appropriate
Spring onions appropriate

Step 1: Preparation
1. Soak mushroom in water for 10 hours. Clean and cut into strips
2. Soak black fungus in water for 1 hour. Clean and cut into strips
3. Soak dried cuttlefish in water for 2 hours. Clean and cut into strips
4. Soak dried shrimps in water for 5 minutes. Clean and chop finely
5. Clean and chop shallots finely
6. Peel yam, clean and cut into thick slices

Step 2: Make Abacus seeds
1. Heat up 1 tbsp oil in wok and saute chopped shallots till aromatic. Add sliced yam, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tsp ground white pepper, 0.5 tsp salt. Stir fry till fragrant.
2. Add enough water to cover the tops of the sliced yam. Simmer it for 10 minutes ‎until the yam is fork-tender and can be mashed easily. Mash the cooked yam while it is still hot.
3. Add in tapioca flour, continue to mix till the dough comes together. (Slowly add more flour if it’s too sticky or more boiling water if it’s too dry). Knead until dough is smooth and of a nice soft consistency.
4. Roll dough into long logs and divide into small even pieces . Roll each piece in between your palms to form round balls. Use your index finger to press in the centre of the ball (make a slight depression) to form an abacus-like shape.
5. Boil water in wok. Add in Yam abacus seeds in batches.  Once the seeds float, they are cooked. Scoop it out and immerse in cold water. This technique firms up the abacus seeds, and won't stick together.

Step 3 : Stir fry
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok, add mushroom strips and fry for a short while with 0.5 tsp sugar. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok, add dried cuttlefish strips and fry for a short while. Set aside.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in wok, add black fungus strips and fry for a short while. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 tbsp oil. Stir fry dried shrimps turns golden brown and fragrant. Add minced pork and fry for two minutes until minced pork is cooked. Add in 2 tbsp soy sauce, 3 tsp pepper to taste. Add in the yam abacus seeds, fried mushroom, fried black fungus, fried cuttlefish. Add 2 tbsp black soy sauce to color. Continue to fry and mix everything together until dries up.
5. Garnish spring onion. Serve hot.