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Mung Bean Biscuits aka 'Luk Tau Paeng' - CNY 2010




This is another Chinese New Year biscuit  ...... Mung Bean biscuit aka 'Luk Tau Paeng'.  Mung Bean is 'Luk Tau' in Cantonese.  I remember eating this during Chinese Lunar New Year when I was a child.  Traditionally, this biscuit is made with lard and chopped peanuts but now I've substituted with vegetable shortening and nibbed almonds.



This is the mould for the biscuits, also handed down by my mother.  Compared to the 'kuih bangkit' mould, this one is a bit shallow.


Plain flour, mung bean flour, rice flour, icing sugar and nibbed almonds all mixed together in a mixing bowl.
Shortening is added in.  Mix all together till it resembles bread crumbs.


Press some dough into the moulds, compress them ...... then knock  out and place on a baking sheet.
Baked Mung Bean biscuits fresh from the oven .... they're baked when tiny cracks surface.  A bit difficult to judge, must admit, because of its basic brown colour.



Although the colour is not too appealing, attributed to the slightly roasted brown mung bean flour, but when they melt in the mouth, coupled with the nutty taste of almonds, is enough to win your heart over and you'll reach for more!


Recipe for Mung Bean Biscuits aka 'Luk Tau Paeng'

Ingredients
  • 200 gm mung bean flour
  • 20 gm rice flour
  • 40 gm plain flour
  • 80 gm icing sugar
  • 65 gm nibbed almonds
  • 90 gm shortening
  • A bit of cooking oil to add when necessary
Method
  1. In a wok,very lightly heat up the mung bean flour together with the rice flour.  Let it cool.  Set aside.
  2. Once cooled, transfer it to a mixing bowl. 
  3. Sift in the plain flour and icing sugar, add in the nibbed almonds and mix thoroughly.
  4. Cut in the shortening, mix till the dough resembles bread crumbs.
  5. Knead a bit, press hard into the wooden moulds and knock out the biscuits.  Place the biscuits onto a baking sheet near to each other because they hardly expand.
  6. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for about 25 to 30 mins., or till tiny cracks appear.
  7. Cool completely before storing them in a cookie jar.
Note
  1. If the dough is too dry to handle, add a tiny bit of cooking oil.
  2. There is no need to flour the moulds.
  3. They do keep well in an airtight container.



Delicious with a hot cup of Chinese tea .............  Enjoy!

Comments

  1. Don't think can still find this in Singapore. Thanks for sharing. Already bookmarked!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Anncoo
    Ya, these are real traditional biscuits, down memory lane!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the mold that you used. Nice memories from your mom. I've been doing some of my mom's recipes too. When I was up visiting over Christmas we went through her old recipe box.

    Thanks for bringing us down memory lane with you. Will you do more?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I will enjoy reading all these CNY goodies. Wish I had some home made ones here :)

    Did you get my email address?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi
    pegasuslegend
    Thanks, they're very old, antique!

    Lyndsey
    Some of my posted recipes are from my mum. Will be posting another traditional biscuit soon!

    penny
    Aren't you going home for CNY? Will check out your email address shortly, pretty busy lately. Thanks!

    Tasty Eats at Home
    Thanks, like I said, they're good old oldies!

    ReplyDelete
  6. This is something new to me. I never had mung bean biscuits before. I actually hope that i have some of these biscuits with me. :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey.....you must be getting ready for Chinese New Year! These are my favourites. I remember eating lots of them when I was back home. They are so tiny. Yours look bigger. But looks like so much work. I think I'll just go to you for it :P

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi
    Divina
    Maybe can send to you via Fedex!

    Mary
    Have to, because the biscuits on sale are so expensive. It doesn't involve much work, if you make in small batches.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Cheah, these cookies make me feel like CNY already here! haha...I'm saving it up for later use. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi
    Thanks,Chow and Chatter!

    Kristy
    Not many weeks to go before CNY. Home made biscuits are on sale everywhere, but find them pricey!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks for sharing this recipe ... I got this mould (plastic, though)I am sooo happy. Can't wait to try this.

    One question though, can I just use oil instead of shortening??

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Tricia
    I've not tried with oil, but shortening is a safer bet, because the mixrure is very crumbly. I'm afraid that oil won't be sticky enough to make a lump of dough. You'll need to press real hard into the mould, then knock it out, and if it stays in shape, then it's ok. Hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the recipe. I love these biscuits! However, I don't have a mould like this. Is it possible to make the biscuits wothout using a mould?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Chin
    I don't think you can make this biscuits without a mould, because the dough is very crumbly, you'll really need to press them very hard into the moulds. Once you knock them out and they stay in shape, then it's the right consistency. Perhaps you can check this out at those shops dealing with baking ingredients. This mould of mine think dates back 40 years ago!

    ReplyDelete
  15. this looks like the recipe i'm looking for but here in Kuching, they don't add in almonds and it's being sun-dried, not baked. Do you have any idea of the kind of cookie i'm refering to?

    ReplyDelete
  16. delia
    Thanks for dropping by my blog. I've never been to Kuching and don't have any idea what's the type of cookie/biscuit you are looking for. I can try to find out for you. Do you mind leaving your contact?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi cheah
    I tried at 150 C for 20 mins and it is so hard inside. Any idea what has gone wrong? Did it happen to u before? Of course the mold I got is smaller
    Thank q in advance

    ReplyDelete
  18. Anonymous
    Thanks for dropping by! I made this twice and they were crumbly when you bite it, that's why it melted in the mouth. Before pressing into the moulds, they were loose, so what you need to do is press the dough real hard into the moulds and once they can be knocked out and stayed in shape, then it' ok. As you can see from the pictures, tiny cracks were appearing, that's why they were crumbly and melted in the mouth. Did you get the correct type of mung bean flour, it's a bit brownish in colour and have been pre-fried?

    ReplyDelete
  19. hello cheah,
    thx for replying, the flour is correct, it was light yellow/brown in colour and despite me getting all this temp and time messed up, it taste good.
    just could not understand why the layer outside is soft and melt in the mouth but the inside like crunchy biscuit. it tried again in lower temp at 140C for 20 mins instead of 150C, it is still quite the same. (at 150C the top already quite burnt) hence i do not dare try 180C.
    Furthermore this traditional cookie seems to be baked/dried under sun... so if i set oven at 180 sure no place i can control the heat. of course my oven is not those very high end... i wonder could it be 180C means you put the tray at the lowest rack?
    there is still a small amount of bean flour left, perhaps you could advise me some "miracle trick" to try my final round.
    could not figure out why the inside is darker and crunchier/harder.
    i got no skills in this cookie... hmmm....
    sorry to make u crack ur head a bit... so try at 180 or 150 or any other good idea ?

    thx thx
    joel

    ReplyDelete
  20. joel
    From what you said I've the impression that the cookies are hard inside and soft outside, is because of your oven temperature and not because of the mixing, etc. I don't know that these cookies can be sun-dried. Looks like your oven gets hot pretty fast, seldom we bake cookies at this temperature i.e. 150 degC., it's too low! Why don't you try to use 180 deg and place your cookies on the lower rack? Since your oven heat is not evenly distributed, I suggest you get an oven thermometer and place it in your oven to determine the actual temperature of your oven. Alternatively, you can go to my blog's sidebar and look at 'Useful links', there's some tips on how to check the oven temperature without the oven thermometer old fashioned it may seem but it's useful!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi,

    Can I use those Indonesia brand mung bean flour (white in colour)?

    ReplyDelete
  22. sushi
    Thanks for dropping by. I'm not sure about the Indonesia brand of mung beans. The one that I used is slightly brown in colour, roasted lightly, and I got it from the speciality shop.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks, No-Frills Recipes.

    ReplyDelete
  24. how many biscuits does the recipe make?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, sorry, I couldn't remember but from the recipe, there shouldn't be very many and moreover must also take into consideration the size of your cookies.

      Delete
  25. Mine turn out like ming bean cake.pls help? Is it because too much shortening?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure because I haven't tasted mung bean cake before. The dough should be crumbly and you'll need to press it real hard into the moulds.

      Delete
  26. Cheah, is ur cookies turns out crunchy or just melted when entering mouth. Tq

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi Cheah, seen Kit's post on this cookie. Where can I get the mung beans flour? Any other uses for this flour apart from making this biscuit?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bought it from the baking ingredients shop that I usually go to, Intrico Sdn Bhd. It's lightly toasted and a bit brown in colour. Other uses, I'm not soo sure.

      Delete
  28. wow wow wow... a very nice goodie for the imminent CNY! reminds me of the good old times.. i'd be thrilled if you can link this up to Best Recipes, that i'm co-hosting with Fion this month (you may want to check it out at my blog bakingintotheether.wordpress.com), featuring My Homemade Cookies.

    love to see you there soon :)

    ReplyDelete

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