Pumpkin and Pandan Xi Pan (南瓜和班兰喜粄)

I am sure many Singaporeans like me are not very familiar with this kueh call Xi Pan (喜粄). When I saw this Hakka Xi Ban (客家喜粄) both in Reese and Wendy's blog, I was totally intrigued. I have never tasted it before since its not so common here in Singapore. And since it is the kueh theme this month, I figured why not make some to try it out. And since I couldn't decide which recipe to go for, I adapted both Reese and Wendy's recipe, but with the same starter dough. Not wanting to make it plain, I added pumpkin and pandan to enhance the flavoring.

Since I like my kueh with more flavorings, I fill them with roasted ground peanut and sweetened coconut filling. And I am glad I did, since the Xi Pan itself is only slightly sweetened, so with the filling is definitely a nice compliment.

Ingredients for Pumpkin and Pandan Xi Pan (南瓜和班兰喜粄)

Starter Dough:

180g cake flour

150ml water

1 tsp instant active yeast

Mix all the ingredients together and let it proof for 6 to 9 hours. I placed mine in an air tight container in a fridge overnight.

Main Dough for Pumpkin Xi Pan: (makes about 6)
120g pumpkin, peeled, steamed and mashed
70g glutinous rice flour
30g cake flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
50g caster sugar
2 tbsp cooking oil

Peanut filling:
150g roasted ground peanuts
30g confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp cooking oil to bind
Combine everything together and set aside for use later.

Method:

• Combined starter dough with sugar and baking powder and mix well.
• Add in the remaining ingredients and knead till dough is smooth. Brush some oil on the surface and let proof for 3 hours, covered.
• In the meantime, cut out some banana leave square and brush them with a little cooking oil.
• Once proofed, punch out the air and divide dough into 50g portions. Roll them flat and place a teaspoon full of the peanut filling. Wrap and seal tightly. Roll round and press gently down on to the prepared banana leave so it is like a flat disc. Repeat till all the dough is used.
• Let the shaped Xi Pan rest for another 20 minutes before steaming.
• Steam them for 10 minutes at medium low heat, remove and let cool before serving.

Main Dough for Pandan Xi Pan: (makes about 6)
50g cake flour
75g glutinous rice flour
62ml water blend with 5 strips of pandan leaves, strain and reserve only the liquid
60g caster sugar

Coconut Filling:

1 tbsp brown sugar
75g gula melaka, chopped small
1 tbsp water and 1 knotted pandan leave
150g grated coconut
1 tbsp sago soaked in 2 tbsp hot water for 10 minutes

In a heat proof sauce pan, add brown sugar, gula melaka, water and pandan leave and gently boil till the mixture thickens. Add grated coconut and stir till the coconut soaks up all of the sweet syrup. Add in the sago and water and stir till mixture is thick and no visible liquid. Let cool before use.

Method:

• The steps will be exactly the same as the pumpkin version. But instead of adding peanut filling, add coconut filling instead.

Not sure why, but my pandan Xi Pan turned out better then the pumpkin ones. One batch of my pumpkin ones kind of "deflated" a little after steaming....suspect its the steaming water dripped over it or something. :P Only a couple of them were decent enough for pictures. :P

As you can see from the picture, once the pumpkin kueh's been cut using a knife, it shows how gummy the texture is. But if torn like the pandan one, it still shows a little of the fluff texture. Personally not too fond of the gummy texture....much prefer the bao more then this. ;P

Part of the reason why I made this was to bring some for my mum, since she loves kueh, especially coconut filling ones. :)) She told me she hadn't seen and tasted Xi Pan before....guess it is really uncommon around here. :P Good thing she said it's pretty good...*phew*...or perhaps she just being nice, lol! Either way, I'm glad I give it a try, else I might not know how a Xi Pan taste like. ;)

I'll be submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #12: Traditional Kueh (October 2011) hosted by Small Small Baker.

Have a great coming weekend! Cheers All!