Wakoucha Min Chiang Kueh: Incorporating Japanese Black Tea into a Southeast Asian treat

First, some introductions and pleasantries

Hi, this is Amanda, one of the interns at Obubu. Interning at Obubu has come with many surprises, one of which is learning that black tea is also produced in Japan. Japanese black tea or more commonly referred to as wakoucha has quickly become one of my favourite teas. I have even written a blog post on it here (describing its history briefly and the wide spectrum of flavour profiles of wakoucha that continue to astonish me).

I have noticed that many food recipes incorporating tea powders like matcha powder (mostly) and houjicha powder (to a lesser extent and primarily within Japan). Combined with learning about wakoucha, I wondered if I could incorporate it into a dish or, better yet, a traditional dessert common to my home country — Singapore.

That’s how this recipe was born — Wakoucha Min Chiang Kueh. Min Chiang Kueh is a large pancake made from a yeasted batter. The yeasted batter is cooked on stove-top to achieve a nice fluffy pancake with a crispy outer layer. A filling typically of crushed peanuts and sugar or fresh coconut and orange sugar is spread on one half of the pancake. The pancake is then folded over, creating a little semi-circle sandwich. It originates in Fujian, China but it has since spread to Southeast Asia. Growing up in Singapore at least, it is one of my favourite childhood snacks/desserts.

Here is the recipe that resulted from my little experimentation and I hope you enjoy it.

Wakoucha Min Chiang Kueh recipe

Ingredients

Pancake batter

• 160 mL brewed pine needle wakoucha (cooled to approx. 37°C)
• 3 g instant yeast
• 130 g plain flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp wakoucha powder
• 40 mL water
• 0.5 tsp baking soda

Filling

• 100 g red bean paste
• 3 tbsp roasted soy bean flour (adjust to taste)

Steps

1. Dissolve the instant yeast in the brewed pine needle wakoucha (which should be at approx. 37°C).
2. To the yeast mixture, stir in the plain flour, sugar, and egg. Leave this batter in a warm environment for 30 minutes.
3. In a separate container, mix in wakoucha powder and water to create a wakoucha paste.
4. After 30 minutes, the batter should have risen and appear bubbly. To the batter, stir in the wakoucha paste till it has been incorporated (a few streaks of concentrated wakoucha in the batter is fine).
5. Bring a 25 cm-wide non-stick pan to medium heat and oil the pan.
6. Scoop in 1 cup or 250 mL batter and swirl the pan to spread the batter. The batter should form a thin layer on the sides of the pan and pool in the centre.
7. Cover the pan with a lid and leave the pancake to cook for 3-4 min.
8. Once the pancake is ready, use a spatula to gently nudge it out from the pan. Slide the pancake onto a chopping board.
9. Spread the red bean paste on half of the pancake and scatter some roasted soy bean flour.
10. Fold the pancake in half to form a semi-circle sandwich.
11. Cut the pancake into quarters (as in the photo) or into whatever serving shape you prefer.
12. Enjoy!