Cookies are a traditional cake of Vietnam, using easily found ingredients along with a fairly simple recipe to create incredibly delicious and attractive cookies. Let’s get into the kitchen with TasteVN to discover how to make Vietnamese cookies right away!
1. Coconut-filled Cookies
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Preparation
10 minutes
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Cooking
50 minutes
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Difficulty
Easy
Ingredients for Coconut-filled Cookies For 4 people
Glutinous rice flour 200 gr Grated coconut 150 gr (fresh grated coconut) Peanuts 200 gr Sugar 100 gr Tapioca flour 1 tablespoon Cooking oil 2 tablespoons Salt 1 teaspoon
How to make Coconut-filled Cookies
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Mix the dough
Mix the ingredients evenly including: 200g glutinous rice flour, 20g sugar, 1 tablespoon cooking oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Next, slowly pour in 170ml of warm water at about 60 degrees Celsius into the bowl of flour, mixing well as you pour.
Tip: Use warm water for better dough rising than cold water. Boil the water and then let it cool for about 10 minutes before using it to mix the dough is the best.
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Knead the dough
After mixing for a while until the dough cools down, you proceed to knead by hand. Knead continuously until the dough is smooth, dry, and does not stick to your hands.
Once kneaded, cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rest for about 30 minutes. During this time, you can prepare the filling.
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Prepare the filling ingredients
Roasted peanuts, peeled. Place the peanuts in a plastic bag and use a pestle to gently press them to slightly crush the peanuts.
Mix tapioca flour with 25ml of water.
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Sauté the filling
Add 80g of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 30ml of water to the pan. Turn on the stove, cook over medium heat, stirring continuously to dissolve the sugar.
Next, add the tapioca starch water into the sugar pan, pouring it in while stirring to prevent clumping. Stir until the tapioca starch becomes clear instead of cloudy, then add the shredded coconut to sauté.
Lower the heat and sauté until the coconut filling becomes chewy and sticky together, then turn off the heat, wait for 10 minutes for the filling to cool down before mixing in the crushed peanuts.
Tip:- Cooking the tapioca starch before adding the coconut helps it cook thoroughly, making the filling look more appealing.
- Wait for the coconut to cool before mixing in the peanuts to prevent them from becoming soggy and losing their aroma.
- Use slightly aged coconut that is not too mature but still sweet and not dry, as this will make the filling tastier.
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Roll the coconut filling into balls
Take a sufficient amount of filling in the palm of your hand, squeeze tightly, and roll into a round ball.
Tip: You can roll the filling into larger or smaller balls as desired; however, if the filling ball is too large, it may be overwhelming to eat and more difficult to shape the cake.
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Shape and mold the cake
Divide the dough into equal portions.
Take one portion of the dough, roll it into a ball, flatten it, then place the filling ball in the center, carefully gather the edges of the dough around the filling, and roll it into a round ball. Once rolled, apply a little cooking oil to the ball to make it shiny.
Evenly coat the inside of the cake mold with cooking oil, press the ball into the mold, then turn the mold upside down and gently tap to release the cake. Place the cake on a small banana leaf that has been brushed with oil to prevent sticking. Repeat this process for all the ingredients.
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Steaming the cake
Boil a pot of water, place the cake in the tray, then put it into the steamer, reduce the heat and steam for about 20 minutes until the cake is cooked.
Once the cake is done, you can add flower petals in the center of the cake or use red food coloring for decoration.
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Final Product
The coconut milk cookies have a soft and chewy outer layer with the fragrant taste of glutinous rice flour blended with the rich coconut filling inside. This cake is often used on special occasions such as death anniversaries, Tet Thanh Minh,… however, you can also enjoy it for breakfast or as a snack.
2. Purple Sweet Potato Cookies
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Preparation
1 hour
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Processing
45 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Purple Sweet Potato Cookies For 14 pieces
Purple sweet potato 1 tuber (about 200gr) Glutinous rice flour 500 gr Mung beans 250 gr (peeled) Red-fleshed dragon fruit 1/4 fruit Coconut milk 1 cup (250ml) Granulated sugar 100 gr Salt a little Cooking oil 3 tablespoons Banana leaves 3 leaves
Tips for Choosing Good Purple Sweet Potatoes
- When buying purple sweet potatoes, you should choose tubers that have a smooth surface, are not scratched, and have bright colors. The smoother the skin, the higher the starch content, resulting in a sweeter and tastier flavor.
- You should avoid buying tubers with pockmarked skins or uneven colors. If the potato has deep scars or black spots, it means the potato has been stored for too long and is no longer fresh.
Tools Needed
How to Make Purple Sweet Potato Cookies
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Steam the mung beans and purple sweet potatoes
First, wash the mung beans thoroughly, then soak them for at least 4 hours or overnight. After that, put 250g of mung beans into a pot with 500ml of water, cover it, and place it on the stove over low heat.
After 10 – 15 minutes, when the pot has run out of water and the mung beans are slightly dry, turn off the heat. Transfer the mung beans to a bowl and let them cool.
After buying, peel the purple sweet potatoes, cut off the eyes, and wash them clean. Then, put the sweet potatoes in a steamer for about 10 minutes until cooked, then transfer them to a bowl and let them cool.
Note: To cook the sweet potatoes faster, you can cut them into slices before steaming.
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Mash the purple sweet potatoes
After steaming and cooling, use a spoon to break the sweet potatoes into small pieces. Then, mash the steamed sweet potatoes evenly.
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You grind the red dragon fruit into a fine paste, then strain and mash the mixture through a sieve. Next, add 50g of glutinous rice flour to the dragon fruit juice, mixing until you achieve a smooth, sticky dough that does not stick to your hands.
After that, add the remaining 450g of glutinous rice flour to the mashed purple sweet potato, add a little salt, 3 tablespoons of cooking oil, and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Use a spoon to mix all the ingredients well.
Next, add 1 cup of hot water and continue to mix thoroughly. If the dough is still dry, you can gradually add more hot water, 2 – 3 tablespoons at a time.
Use your hands to knead the dough until the ingredients are well combined, and the dough is smooth and pliable, forming a cohesive mass. Finally, cover it and let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
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Grinding the mung bean filling
Add the cooked mung beans from step 1 into a blender, add 100g of granulated sugar, and 250ml of coconut milk. Start blending until the ingredients are well combined and the mung beans are turned into a smooth paste.
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Sauté mung bean filling
First, pour the mung bean mixture into a non-stick pan, place the pan on the stove, and keep it on low heat. Cook while stirring continuously for 20 – 30 minutes, until the mung beans dry and become sticky, then turn off the heat and let it cool.
After the mung bean filling has cooled, divide it into 14 equal small balls.
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Shaping the cake
First, you cut the banana leaves into pieces larger than the bottom of the cake mold. Next, grease the cake mold to prevent sticking.
Then, divide the dough into 14 equal parts, roll them into balls, and flatten each piece to about 0.5cm thick.
Place the mung bean filling in the center of the dough, gather the edges of the dough to completely enclose the filling. Put the dough ball into the mold, press gently to shape it. After that, place the shaped cake on the banana leaf.
For the red dragon fruit dough, roll it into small balls and place them in the center of the cake for decoration.
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You arrange the shaped cookies in the steamer. Once the water is boiling, place the steamer on, cover it, and steam the cookies for about 7 minutes, until the dough becomes translucent.
Note: When steaming the cookies, you should open the lid and wipe off the water that collects on the lid every 2 minutes to prevent water from dripping onto the cookies, causing them to sag.
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Finished Product
The sweet potato cookies are chewy and soft, with the sweet and fragrant flavor of purple sweet potato, and the creamy, rich taste of mung bean filling. The cookies, once completed, have an attractive purple color from the sweet potato, with a hint of pink from the red dragon fruit as an accent.
This delicious and visually appealing dish is truly suitable to be displayed on the family banquet table, isn’t it?
What is traditional Vietnamese Biscuit? How is it different from Western biscuits?
- When it comes to Western biscuits, people often immediately think of the small, cute, crispy, and fragrant buttery treats. Western biscuits, also known as biscuits, are usually made from flour, butter, and eggs.
- Traditional Vietnamese Biscuit is completely different from this familiar Western type. The word “Biscuit” here means turtle, as this biscuit is shaped like a turtle shell. Vietnamese Biscuit is made from glutinous rice flour and is filled with mung beans or coconut.
Above are 2 ways to make Vietnamese Traditional Cookies that are delicious and simple. TasteVN wishes you success!
