Almond-kernel paste
杏仁糊
“Grind it fine, cook it slow. No hurrying.”
Ingredientsserves 4
百子櫃Bitter apricot kernel· the bitter kernel, one tenth of the sweet, never more; leave out for children19 g, about 25 kernels
Equipment
- A blender that will run several minutes
- A muslin bag or cloth to squeeze the kernel milk
Method
- Rinse the sweet and bitter kernels and the rice together and soak them at least two to four hours, better overnight; soaked kernels give more milk. The bitter kernels must be soaked through and cooked through, and their amount is not scaled up with a bigger pot: this half 兩 is the amount for four bowls.
- Blend the kernels, rice and 200 ml of the soaking water at high speed for four minutes, pour into a muslin bag and squeeze out the milk; put the meal back in the blender with another 200 ml, blend two minutes and squeeze again; repeat once more with the rest of the water, about a litre in all.
- Pour the milk into a pot and bring it slowly to a bare simmer over low heat, stirring without stopping, ten to fifteen minutes, until the rice starch thickens it to a thin cream. Stop stirring and it forms a skin and lumps.
- Add the rock sugar and dissolve. A grainy paste was not strained or not blended long enough; a medicinal or bitter one had too much bitter kernel, or it was not cooked through.
- For the egg-white almond tea: keep the pot at a bare simmer, never a boil, stir in a teaspoon of cornflour slurry first, then pour the loosely beaten egg whites in a thin stream in two goes, stirring gently after each, so they set as fine white threads rather than a clump; poured fast, or into a pot that is too hot, they seize into lumps.
- Serve hot. The 糖水舖 太極 is this and 芝麻糊 poured into one bowl from two jugs at once.
Take care
- Bitter apricot kernels contain amygdalin, which releases cyanide: soak them through, boil them thoroughly and keep the amount small, which is the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety's instruction; the adult limit is about 3 to 10 g at a time. This pot's 19 g across four bowls is about 5 g a bowl; do not scale it up with the pot, and leave it out for children. Sweet to bitter is at least four to one; this pot is ten to one.
- Apricot kernel is not on Australia's declared-allergen list, but it is a Prunus seed like almond and English packaging often calls it almond; anyone with a tree-nut allergy should treat it as one. The egg-white version contains egg.
The story
杏仁茶 is the sweet of the old teahouse and of the Shanghai and Guangzhou dessert houses, and egg-white almond tea is its Hong Kong banquet form, poured from a jug at the end of a 酒樓 dinner. The bitter tenth of northern kernels is the whole secret: without it the bowl tastes of nothing; with too much it tastes of marzipan and medicine.
Same wall
Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.