Small Hemp Candy

Small Hemp Candy

    Introduction to Small Hemp Candy

　　   Small Hemp Candy is a delicious and famous dessert, belonging to the cuisine of Hebei Province. It comes from Wu'an City, Handan, Hebei. It is a unique New Year food in Wu'an. Just as many places fry New Year cake for the holidays, every household in Wu'an fries small hemp candy at the start of the year. The first step is to prepare the dough starter — find some yeast (old dough), mix it with white flour using warm water, then cover it and let it ferment in a warm place for about one night. The next day, add more white flour, persimmon or white sugar, a little bit of alkaline flour, and a few eggs to the fermented dough, then continue kneading. Set the kneaded dough aside to rest. Once rested, roll the dough out into a large long strip, adding oil while rolling, then use a knife to cut the long strip into many small strips about 3 cm wide and 5 cm long. At the same time, make a cut in the middle of each small strip to create a small hole. Stack two holed small strips together, pinch one end, and pull it through the small hole in the middle. Stretch it slightly, and it’s woven into a twisty little hemp candy. Fry it over high heat, keeping a close eye on the time to avoid burning. Once fried, scoop it out with a strainer. Its characteristics are fragrant, crispy, flaky, and sweet. In the past, they made a lot, enough to eat until the second day of the second lunar month. Nowadays, it seems they don’t make as much. Because small hemp candy can go stale after a while, you can soak, bake, or steam it before eating.

　Method and Recipe　

1. Ingredients: 120g brown sugar, 180g crushed peanuts, 70g black sesame seeds, 1 tsp white vinegar.

2. Roast the peanuts until done, remove the skins, let them cool, then crush them into peanut pieces. Don’t crush them too finely — just press each peanut into three or four pieces.

3. Roast the black sesame seeds over low heat until done, which takes about two or three minutes. They’ll start to “dance” in the pan when ready. Remove and let cool for later use.

4. Making the syrup: Pour about half a bowl (roughly 100ml) of cold water into a pot, add 120g of brown sugar, and simmer over low heat, stirring continuously until the sugar turns a deep brown color and stops bubbling, then add 1 tsp of white vinegar.

5. Dip a chopstick into the sugar, then dip it in cold water — if it can be pulled into fine threads, the sugar is ready. Making the syrup requires patience. If the heat is too low, it won’t be sticky enough and may fall apart; if the heat is too high, it will overcook, taste bitter, harden too quickly, and be hard to mix evenly.

6. Continue cooking over low heat, quickly add the prepared sesame seeds and crushed peanuts, and stir until well mixed. Once evenly combined, pour the mixture into a prepared container and press it flat, making it as compact as possible. After it sets, cut it into pieces while still hot on the work surface.