Honey-Glazed Golden Dates

Honey-Glazed Golden Dates

　　Honey-Glazed Golden Dates is one of the classic Shandong cuisine dishes, primarily made with honey. The cooking technique centers on creating a glossy honey glaze, and the flavor is sweet. Feature: Resembling golden dates in shape with a golden color, it boasts a rich and fragrant taste. This is a dish crafted to resemble dates—made by wrapping mashed yam around date paste filling to form date-like shapes, then deep-frying until golden. After that, a honey syrup is prepared, and the fried golden dates are simmered in the sauce until the glaze thickens. Though not real dates, they capture their essence. With their golden appearance and richly sweet flavor, they even surpass the real thing.

　　Ingredients

　　　　Main ingredients: 500g yam, 100g dried dates

　　Side ingredients: 25g wheat flour, 10g plums, 20g broad bean starch

　　Seasonings: 20g honey, 3g osmanthus jam, 10g white sugar, 2g essence, 40g peanut oil

　　Cooking Method

　　　　1. Wash the yam, steam until cooked, remove the skin, and mash it into a fine paste with a knife;

　　2. Mix the yam paste with flour evenly, and shape it into 40 round patties, each 3 cm in diameter;

　　3. Wash the dates, steam until cooked, remove the skin and pits, mix with an appropriate amount of sugar to make date paste;

　　4. Divide the date paste into 40 portions, wrap each portion inside a yam patty to form date-shaped balls;

　　5. Insert a piece of green plum at one end of each ball as the stem, and roll the outside in dry starch;

　　6. In a wok, heat the peanut oil over medium heat until it reaches 60% heat. Fry the date balls one by one until golden, then remove and drain excess oil. Honey-Glazed Golden Dates – Making Process

　　　　7. Leave some oil in the wok, add white sugar, and stir-fry over medium heat until it turns red. Add 100ml water, sugar, honey, and osmanthus jam to make a thick glaze;

　　8. Pour the thickened glaze over the fried golden dates, simmer for half a minute, then toss to coat evenly in the glaze. Serve on a plate.

　　Making Tips

　　　　1. This is a sweet honey-glazed dish. Mind the heat to avoid making the sugar thread; avoid using iron woks when making the glaze, as it can turn dark and cloudy—preferably use a copper or aluminum wok;

　　2. Due to the deep-frying process, prepare 750g of peanut oil. Health Tip: This dish helps nourish the lungs and enhance complexion.