Tau sar (red bean paste)

"Chek siu tau" or "che(4) xiu(4) dou(4)"

• not quite the usual red beans - they're slightly longer & slimmer, look a little boxy and are a darker maroon than the usual ang tau.
• bought them from Spices Shop (basement 1, Eastpoint Mall) - $2 for a 300g packet

Pick out & discard deformed, disfigured and discoloured beans.
Cook in a pressure cooker for 20-30 mins. Make sure the water covers the beans adequately. Used 600g of beans with about 1.5L of water; also threw in some pandan leaves but that didn't add any fragrance at all.

Scoop out beans and mash while they're hot. Dont' throw the water just yet - while mashing or puree-ing the beans it will probably get a tad too dry - add some of the water then (don't add to much or it will take longer to dry out while frying!)

I tried using my trusty handheld Braun - didn't work this time - there were still bits of hard white stuff. Had to pass the entire lot through a metal sieve - wasted half the orginal amount in the process.

Heat wok, heat oil, fry sugar, throw in red bean paste and fry - the mixture will turn a little watery cos of the melted sugar. Keep frying until the mixture is quite dry (should leave the sides of the wok as it's "tossed" by the fying slice)

Ta da!

Doesn't look as appetising as the stuff that can be bought from Phoon Huat but it's edible and, hey, it's homemade.

Mother knows best

• Should've soaked the beans in hot water before cooking them.
• The beans musn't be soaked in cold/lukewarm water before cooking otherwise they won't cook so easily & will tend to be hard when cooked.