CHINA
This week's endeavour is not necessarily baking, but it's somewhere inbetween that arena and my heart. Of course, probably 60% of you have guessed that I am of Chinese/Taiwanese origin. Most people who know nothing about East Asian distinctions consider me "Japanese," followed by "Korean," but rarely am I guessed to be Chinese, which I find strange because it's the largest of the countries — so wouldn't you think . . . Anyway, that's a different subject. If you're asking me technically, I am Taiwanese. What's the difference? Aside from some cultural nuances, not much, but I'll still stick to my island.
My aunt and uncle happened to be visiting from Taiwan when I came home from school last weekend, and my aunt is very much like me: she wouldn't be caught caught dead purchasing a birthday cake from Ralph's — she'd rather make it herself. She'd rather make everything herself if she could help it. That explains quite a bit — I wonder if genes carry food snobbery? Probably not. Anyway, lucky for me, my aunt makes the BEST man tohs. No, not feet phalanges! A "man toh" (Forgive me for my ping yin but that is how you say it in Chinese) is a slightly sweetened steamed bun that the Chinese eat with practically anything — the poor Chinese man's bread, you could say. It's sold all over China and in America too (The Chinese supermarkets), but if you ever get the chance, fresh ones that you make yourself are unbeatable.
My aunt prides herself on baking and cooking based on the "feel" and "look." She's a traditionalist. No recipes, no measuring, just love and intuition. Haha. I don't know how she does it, but in her case, it works. Unfortunately that makes it hard for me to give you a recipe and guarantee that it will come out the same….
She starts out by mixing sugar with warm water. She uses two different types of sugar: light & dark brown. The sugar to water ratio is about 2 parts water, 1 part sugar.
Afterwards, she'll add about a half packet of instant dry yeast to each sugar/water mixture. Wait five minutes.
Add the flour. She added some wheat germ too. It's hard to say exactly how much she added, but enough for it to not be sticky.
She mixes it together with her hands.
Cover with a damp cheesecloth and let rise for about an hour, or until doubled in size. It was cold in our house, so it rose for one hour, and then about 30 minutes in the oven.
Sakura was salivating 🙂
After it rises, generously flour the dough and roll it out.
Layer the two colors and flatten into a roughly 1/2 inch rectangle
Roll it like a jelly roll and slice about 2 inches wide.
Place in steamer and steam for about 30 minutes, turning the heat off, and then letting it sit for 5 more minutes
She's standing on a chair. Haha!
YAY!
I hadn't seen my aunt and uncle for over ten years. My last visit to Taiwan only offered me a glimpse, not to mention that my ability to speak Mandarin has greatly diminished. I have the conversational vocabulary of a twelve-year old. It's really quite sad. However, I found that as I was in the kitchen, side-by-side with her, it didn't really matter. I think that's what I like about cooking — there's so much love that goes into it, and it's medidative, yet it's nice to just be in another person's company. I was sent back to school with a bundle of man tohs and happiness. 🙂 Thanks for reading! Tune in for next week's recipe.
