Hong Kong nutritionist’s recipe for a healthier red bean rice pudding
This traditional treat can be good before a workout or hike when made with high-quality ingredients.
Red bean rice pudding may look easy to make, but don’t be fooled! Photo: ShutterstockEvery week, Talking Points gives you a worksheet to practise your reading comprehension with exercises about the story we’ve written.
Hong Kong’s dessert scene is full of trendy creations. But sometimes, all we want is the simple comfort of a traditional treat. A couple of pieces of red bean rice pudding (缽仔糕) is often the perfect answer.
This steamed snack can be found in many Chinese bakeries, street stalls and eateries. They are usually eaten on the go. It is a deceivingly simple-looking snack that requires a lot of hard work and practice to perfect. For example, the red beans need to be soft but not too mushy, the snack chewy but not too sweet. It should also remain jiggly even when left in the open for a few hours.
Made with red beans, sticky rice flour, glutinous rice flour and slab sugar, each piece of red bean rice pudding contains 140 calories, 32 grams of carbohydrates, two grams of protein, 10 grams of sugar and zero grams of fat. Slab sugar is a type of rock sugar that has a molasses-like flavour.
According to Kathy Ng Yiu-fan from Kat-Spirit Nutrition Centre in Hong Kong, this gives the dessert a slightly caramel taste. It also enhances the taste of the red beans. Slab sugar is sold in small rectangular blocks that can be broken easily.
The senior nutritionist compared red bean rice pudding to coconut split pea pudding and steamed red date cake. One serving of 100 grams of coconut split pea pudding contains 130 calories, 18 grams of carbohydrates, 3.9 grams of protein, 4.8 grams of fat and 14 grams of sugar. The same amount of red date cake contains 190 calories, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 0.5 grams of protein, 1.7 grams of fat and 19 grams of sugar.
While steamed red date cake may be the healthiest of the three, teenagers may not be excited to eat it. Ng said: “The snack’s texture is somewhat dense and sticky, and the red date has a slight medicinal taste that some might find unappealing. Coconut split pea pudding can be an acquired taste too.”
In contrast, red bean rice pudding has a more appealing flavour and texture. It can also serve as a quick power-up snack before a workout or during a hike. The nutritionist said red beans contain complex carbohydrates, which take longer for our bodies to break down. “This is important for workouts because you don’t want a sudden burst of energy followed by tiredness,” she explained.
It is better to use high-quality beans, like Adzuki beans. The best way to guarantee the use of high-quality ingredients is by making it yourself using this recommended recipe.
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Nutritious red bean rice pudding
Ingredients (makes 12 mini rice pudding cupcakes)
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42 grams rice flour
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28 grams wheat starch
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55 grams brown sugar
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1 cup water
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1 cup low-sugar canned Adzuki red bean paste
Directions
1. Add rice flour and wheat starch to 1/4 cup of water and stir well.
2. Use 3/4 cups of water to dissolve the sugar over medium heat. Bring the mixture to a boil. Pour it into the flour mixture and continuously stir while pouring until the ingredients are smooth.
3. Transfer the mixture into a mini muffin tray (or any mould) and steam over high heat.
4. After five minutes, add some sweetened red bean paste to the surface of each rice pudding and continue to steam for another five minutes. Serve at room temperature.
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