Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Chicks

Fukuoka Specialty  ‘Hiyoko’ ひよこ SweetsDSC_5156

Craving makes you slightly insane I think. But what if the item is not available in a store, at least not within a 50 mile radius from my home then the only viable option is to make it? …right? Thank goodness for Google search, I found the recipe for this 100 year old popular sweets. The story behind it was even sweeter.DSC_5142

The birth place of Hiyoko, is a coal mining town of Iizuka, Fukuoka (飯塚、福岡) where sweets making flourished in the Meiji era. Japanese pasty shop owner Shegeru Ishizaka (石坂茂) who inherited the Yoshinodo (吉野堂) from his father was brainstorming new pastry shapes,  non traditional and more adorable style for a while. Then one night chicks appeared in his dream…okay...that sounds a bit strange but .. it was a huge success. Eventually they opened a factory in Saitama, near Tokyo in 1964 the year the Tokyo Olympics were held. Hence, chicks population exploded!DSC_5145

To make this I have to start with white sweet bean paste. Unlike sweet azuki bean paste, white sweet bean paste is…well…not in the store. Oh shucks!  I spent an entire afternoon stirring, washing many pans. cleaning kitchen,  I was just trying to make it to the finish line, refraining from a strong desire to tear the recipe up. I seriously thought about calling my son for a big box of chicks…express delivery of course.DSC_5123

Ingredients and Instruction for white sweet bean paste yield about 200g
(Print Recipe here)

Necessary equipment : food scale, food processor, colander, fine mesh sieve

  • 250g white kidney beans Substitute option: large lima beansDSC_5100
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 150g more or less sugar.  I used made-in-Japan light brown sugarDSC_5113
  • Pinch of salt
  1. Soak beans in plenty of water for at least 5 hours, overnight if possible.DSC_5101
  2. Drain water and place beans in the pot and pour water ( three or five times the weight of beans ). Bring to a full boil for 5 minutes then drain water.
  3. When the beans are safe to touch, peel off shell from the beans. discard shells. Return the beans to the same pot and add plenty of water to cover and the baking soda and cook at medium–low heat ( low boiling stage) until the beans are soft. 20 to 30 minutes. Skim off scum periodically.DSC_5110
  4. Drain the water. Put cooked beans in the food processor and puree. DSC_5115DSC_5116
  5. Rinse the same pan quickly, put pureed beans in. Add sugar and salt and cook at low heat,stirring constantly with wooden spatula. Careful not to burn the bottom. Cook till puree is like stiff mashed potato – when you lift spatula, puree won’t drop,15 to 20 minutes.DSC_5120DSC_5121

Ingredients and instruction of  6 Hiyokos

Necessary equipment: Spray Mister

  • 200g white sweet bean paste – see recipe above
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 15g rice flour I used Joshinko (上新粉 –Top rated rice flour)DSC_5129
  • 1/2 egg
  • 5g sugar
  • 5g corn syrup
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder –sift with flours below
  • 45g low viscosity flour
  • 10g  bread flour
  1. Make sweet egg paste - Add egg yolk to the white sweet bean paste and mix well. Put rice flour in the egg/ bean paste mixture and combine well. Divide in 6 then shape like marshmallow ‘peep’. Set aside. I’m on a roll…  made 8 peeps.
    DSC_5128
  2. Make skin -Double boil egg stirring constantly at low heat, 1-2 minutes Add sugar and light corn syrup until incorporated. Remove from double boiler. Add sifted baking powder, flours. Knead with wooden spatula well. Rest for 30 minutes.
    DSC_5130
  3. Heat oven to 340 F. Set aside small amount of dough and roll out the rest of dough in a very thin sheet. Divide in 6ths. Cover the ‘peep’ shaped sweet paste (step # 1) from top and tuck underneath of peep, reshape to the way you want it to look. Use the set aside dough to make a tiny beak and stick to center of the face (I used water as glue) Make eye holes with tooth pick. Place on the baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment paper. Cover with damp cloth to avoid drying out while you make the other chicks.
    DSC_5135DSC_5137DSC_5138DSC_5140
  4. Mist entire peeps with mister. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Mist again and immediately wrap with plastic sheet  and cool.  Warning: If you don’t mist and wrap right away the skin will harden quickly.
    DSC_5147DSC_5229

I’m embarrassed that mine looked like seals (with big nose) rather than loveable chicks. I’m sure my chick making skill will improve with more practice… The question is, will be a next time?

In hind sight, I should have doubled the white sweet bean paste recipe and freeze it since it’s very hard to find item in store..Duh moment really.
And you know what? While I researching Hiyoko story, I saw that Amazon sells this! Boy they have everything! Amazoning! I mean Amazing!

Garden diary - I don’t remember planting those but a nice surprise!….fingerling potatoes my husband dug up.DSC_5167 And Peter Pan Kabocha – I don’t want to grow up….size of baseball…fine, be that way.DSC_5168Found the sweet 100…twin…IMG_1992

All kidding aside, we did some serious weekend projects – cleaned the gutter,  prep for winter, citrus scented Quince made into Jelly,  the white flesh turned to gorgeous ruby…so magical!DSC_5235

The Lemmon Salt will be ready in a week. IMG_2001

And get ready for trick-or-treaters! IMG_2002

Happy Halloween!

30 comments:

  1. those chicks look almost too cute to eat!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Danae. Thinking about you and your husband a lot lately. Take care.

      Delete
  2. Ah...you've been playing in the kitchen again :) sweet looking chicks...I'd definitely prefer that to roast chick-en!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Annie.How was your trip? Can't wait to see photographs of the trip.

      Delete
  3. わお!ご苦労様でした! とても愛嬌のあるかわいいひよこができましたね。わたしも挑戦 とはちょっと言いづらいですが やはり和菓子はいいですね。今度 花びらもち(ごぼうが一本はいったあの裏千家が好むお正月の和菓子)作って!塩レモンって何に使うのですか?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. コメントありがとうございます。 花びらモチって、なんだろう、興味しんしん。レモン塩はふつうの塩の代わりに何にでも使えて、ヘルシーで爽やかな味です。 いつか、ブログで紹介します。

      Delete
  4. these are adorable enjoy your time at the corn maze

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Rebecca. Not good weather for corn maze, too much rain and windy last week...we will try again soon.

      Delete
  5. ひよこ饅頭、力作ですね。ひよこ饅頭好きですが、和菓子は手間が、かかりそうで、なかなかトライする気になれません。でもご紹介ありがとうございました。
    Have a nice day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. コメントありがとうございます。 はい、確かに手間がかかりました。もう2度目はないかもしれませんが、いい経験でした。 Sarahさんの写真素敵でした。奈良って、いいところですね。

      Delete
  6. Thank you for sharing the history of these cute sweets. I think they look beautiful! They seem also very original... I have never heard about the use of white bean paste in sweets, only red ones. Thank you for this discovery.
    I'm looking forward to see how you'll use the lemon salt!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Sissi! After I saw your curry post, suddenly I'm craving for curry...looks so good!

      Delete
  7. Wow, and wow! Hiyoko manjyu is one of my favorite manjyus. I really take my hat off to your passion and persistence to make what you really want! You did make Hiyoko sweets from scratch. I like your way of narrative which makes us readers feel more familiar to you and your sense of humor as well. Thank you for enjoyable post as always . Happy Halloween to you!

    Yoko

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for your kind comment. I think your blog is fantastic, looking forward to see more.

      Delete
  8. wow, what a cute lil chick!!!!
    i din't had heart eaten it actually,
    i always enjoy scrolling down throught out your preparation photograph my friend!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Chef. Your cooking skill is just sooo astonishing!

      Delete
  9. Olá amiga,vim retribuir sua carinhosa visita ao meu cantinho.
    Obrigada,volte sempre e pegue o meu selinho de agradecimento!
    Beijos Marie.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those chicks are too adorable to eat! They look definitely worth all the time and efforts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Angie. I can't wait to try your gluten free chocolate muffins. They look marvelous!

      Delete
  11. Wow nice recipe, and blog greeting from Belgium
    MONS MA VILLE EN BELGIQUE - LOUISETTE BLOG

    http://louisette.eklablog.com/arne-quinze-designer-belge-gantois-mons-2015-a113032366

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Merci beaucoup! Je suis etudient francais. Je suis heureux que vous avez visite mon blog. Okay....hopefully my French will improve with time.

      Delete
  12. I just had a chance to try Hiyoko recently. So glad you shared this recipe with us. Am thinking to try it at home one of these days. :).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Ann. I enjoyed looking through your blog. You have great technique to make everything so beautiful!

      Delete
  13. Cute chicks! That is such a wonderful treat.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete