Green Bean Mini Cakes

Green Bean Mini Cakes

　　Green Bean Mini Cakes are mainly made from rice and green broad beans. First, non-glutinous rice and glutinous rice are mixed in proportion, then washed, soaked, and pounded into cake flour. The boiled green beans are then kneaded into the rice flour, giving it an emerald green color. The cakes are steamed using only three small steamers with a 30mm diameter opening, used alternately. Brown sugar is added in the middle, and the two halves are combined to form the final cake, which is steamed hot and sold fresh. With their jade-green color, soft texture, and rich aroma of green beans, Green Bean Mini Cakes are truly green food.

　　Green Bean Mini Cakes are a seasonal snack available only during the green broad bean season. Made mainly from rice and green broad beans, they have a vibrant green color, a fluffy and smooth texture, and a strong fragrance of green beans. They taste sweet, fragrant, sticky, and chewy, and are believed to have weight-loss and beauty-enhancing benefits, making them truly green food.

　　How to Make Green Bean Mini Cakes: A large lidded pot is used, with several fist-sized holes drilled in the lid, along with a matching number of small wooden round steamers. These small steamers are uniquely shaped—round on top and pointed at the bottom—with small air holes in the iron partition in the middle. The small steamers fit perfectly into the holes in the pot lid. The pot is filled with water and placed over the fire. Non-glutinous rice and glutinous rice are mixed in proportion, then washed, soaked, and pounded into cake flour. The boiled green beans are then kneaded into the rice flour. Once the water boils, the prepared rice and green bean mixture is spooned into the small steamers, with two steamers steamed together at a time. In just two or three minutes, using the steam’s heat, the cakes in both steamers are cooked. One of the cakes is then spread with sesame seeds and brown sugar, and the other steamed cake is flipped over on top of it. After about another minute of steaming, the cakes are removed from the steamers and placed on a plate. A serving of fist-sized Green Bean Mini Cakes is complete. “One combined cake” means two cakes joined together, with brown sugar and sesame seeds sandwiched between them.