Delicious Chinese Almond Cookies
Chinese Almond Cookies
Chinese almond cookies are my absolute favorite of all time! I used to buy Amay’s Almond Cookies in the tub load! My god, I can eat handfuls of it at a time because that is how addictive it is. When you take that first bite, the crumbs from the cookies explode all over your lips and your front teeth, followed by the nice hollow crunch of subtly sweet almond goodness and ending with supreme buttery awesomeness. Oh yeah. The almond. Oh yes, you must have a whole almond on an almond cookie! You must! Now with Amay’s cookies, the almond is placed perfectly on the center of the cookie, which made my eating experience that much more exciting because I would always wonder if I should bite the almond in half or pick it out and then eat the rest of the cookie. Yes, consider that! You can find these cookies in any Chinese supermarket/grocery. If they don’t have it, you should no longer shop there!
Ok, that was my five minutes of droolage for that cookie. But this post isn’t about the Amay almond cookie, it is about the recipe that I found to imitate or improve on that cookie. Now, I have looked for recipes online, asked my favorite Chinese pastries chef at work, and even asked my distant aunts on how to make the perfect Chinese almond cookie and ‘lo and behold, it’s in an American recipe book in Borders. Yes Borders.
Last Friday I decided to stop into Borders to “take care of business.” I refused to use the Starbucks one because that’s absolutely gross and sometimes there’s no TP. I personally think some of the best public bathrooms are in bookstores. I could be wrong, but in my positive experience, I’ve been fortunate to be in the clean ones! But please don’t get the impression that I do not go to bookstores to read books. I go there all the time! Amazingly I never go there to look for recipe books, but for business and other pleasures.
Anyways, at the Borders on Wall Street, next to the “restroom” is the section for recipes! I don’t know whether that is a good thing or not, but I would definitely chose a recipe book for my reading material if I need to do my business there. After maybe 45 minutes of looking and deciding on which book I should get, I decided to get the “Favorite Brand Name Recipes: Cake Mix Cookies” published by Publications International, Ltd (PIL). Unfortunately I cannot find the book online, but I will take a picture of it next time. The only reason why I chose to buy this recipe book is because of the Chinese Almond Cookies recipe. I kid you not. Plus at $9.98 for over 60 cookie recipes and with pictures, I think that’s a bargain.
Please click on the following link to see the recipe and other pictures!
International Treats and Delights! Gulab Jamuns, Lor Mai Chi, and Chocolate Cake!
I can’t believe it’s been almost two weeks that I haven’t updated. Yes, I admit, I have been lazy when it comes to my posts. It would be so easy if I had a Blackberry with internet privileges! I do apologize for that, but at least I can make use of my camera and post better quality pictures!
Let me show you what I’ve come across over the course of these two weeks!
Firstly,
My friend decided to surprise me with an assortment of gulab jamuns to excite my taste palate! I have never have gulab jamuns before so this was definitely exciting to me. From what I was told, gulab jamuns are essentially Pakistani/Indian donuts. Now I just had to look it up to see what it is all about, and this is the recipe that I came across: Gulab Jamun. I am definitely going to make this since I now have the passion to make sweets! It doesn’t look that hard and it’s like making a donut! The problem with Gulab Jamuns, in my opinion is that you have to eat it when it’s fresh out of the fryer. When I got this from my friend, all the sugar has melted which coats the GJ with this syrupy goodness which I think is gross. Who likes a soggy donut? I sure as heck don’t. Perhaps I need to get my friend to buy it early in the morning when it’s freshly made so it can do just to my taste buds!
Assorted Gulab Jamuns
Char Sui Bau (Steamed & Baked Roast Pork Buns) Comparison
So after reading that article from David Carr about Char Sui Baus, aka Roast Pork Buns, it just made me want to go get some. Thats just what I did this weekend. Since I live near the Flushing, Queens area, there’s a slew of bakeries to choose from. There’s the bigger names in bakeries like Tai Pan and then there are just very local/family owned ones. I prefer the local ones of course rather than the chains. Their prices are usually cheaper (of course the ones in Chinatown in Manhattan are still cheaper compared to Queens) and some times their food is just higher quality. I passed by this Bakery named Maxin Bakery and I’ve been meaning to stop in there to try it out. Its not a very big place with only 3 tables or so but the food looks great.
Now the real reason why I stopped in there is because of my Char Sui Bau craving. So I went and bought a bunch because one is just not enough for me. There’s two types of these Pork Buns, the Steamed ones and the Baked ones. Its so difficult to choose until you taste the difference and really its more of a matter of personal taste than anything. Some prefer steamed and some just prefer baked.
Char Sui Bau (Roast Pork Bun) Steamed
Char Sui Bau (Roast Pork Bun) Baked
More after the jump!
Char Sui Bau (Steamed or Baked Roast Pork Buns)
Now this is an idea from David Carr I should have thought of. I’ve already done a few dissections of Bor Lor Bau. My other favorite bun is the Char Sui Bau. For those who do not know what this delectably meaty bun is… its a Roast Pork Bun. It comes in two styles, the White Steamed Pork Bun and the Orangish Baked Pork Bun. Its a tough choice to see which is better but I’m also biased for both as I grew up eating it. I will have to get both and take pictures this weekend and while I’m at it, dissect the buns for all to see. Stay tuned!
Pineapple Bun (bor lor bao) & Pineapple Comparison (Why’s it called Pineapple Bun?)
So you want to know why Pineapple Buns are called such? It’s a simple explanation but it seems sometimes it is lost in translation.
Pineapple Bun (bor lor bao)
Pineapple (courtesy of timesonline.typepad.com)
The original way of creating the crust of the Pineapple Bun is to make diagonal cuts across the surface. After baking, it looks like the surface of a Pineapple. This method is sometimes lost due to individual bakeries. The bakers probably don’t bother and slap the crust on since most bakeries make it so cheap (under $1 usually) and lots of it, where as high end bakeries will charge 3-5x more for it.
