Longan-shaped egg cookies (banh nhan)
Banh nhan is a well-loved dry sweet from Nam Dinh province: tiny glutinous rice balls the size of longan seeds, fried until crisp and then coated in a white sugar crust scented with ginger. The outside is crunchy, the inside is light, hollow and gently sweet, and they are perfect with a pot of hot tea for guests during the Lunar New Year.
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rising or chilling
- 50 min
- Total time
- 2 hr 5 min
- Method
- Fried
Ingredients
Dough
Frying oil
Ginger sugar coating
Instructions
Step 1
Mix 200 g glutinous rice flour with a pinch of salt, make a well in the center and add 80 g egg yolks and 10 g melted lard, then gradually add 60 g water and knead by hand. The yolks give the cookies a golden color and richness, and the water should go in a little at a time so the dough does not turn mushy. The dough is ready when it is smooth and pliable, does not stick to your hands and the edges do not crack when you squeeze it.
Step 2
Wrap the dough tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Resting lets the glutinous rice flour absorb the water evenly, so the balls roll round with fewer cracks. The dough is ready when it feels softer than right after kneading and the surface looks slightly glossy.
Step 3
Pinch off small pieces of dough and roll them in your palms into balls no bigger than a longan seed, about one and a half centimeters. The smaller and more even the balls, the more evenly they cook and crisp from outside to center. You are done rolling when the balls are all the same size and smooth with no cracks.
Step 4
Heat the frying oil (to taste) to about 140°C, add the balls and fry over low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring them gently and constantly with chopsticks. Oil that is not too hot lets the moisture inside escape slowly, so the cookies puff up light and hollow instead of burning outside while staying raw inside. They are done when they float fully to the surface, turn pale golden and feel light when you lift them out.
Step 5
Lift the cookies into a basket lined with paper towels, spread them out and let them cool completely. They must be completely cool and free of oil for the sugar coating to stick. They are ready when they no longer feel warm and crunch dryly when squeezed lightly.
Step 6
Peel and smash 10 g fresh ginger and put it in a saucepan with 150 g granulated sugar and 50 g water. Cook over medium heat without stirring until the syrup thickens, then remove the ginger. Not stirring while it cooks keeps the sugar from crystallizing too early. The syrup is ready when a drop in a cup of cold water sets into a soft thread that stretches long without snapping right away.
Step 7
Turn the heat down very low, tip all the cookies into the syrup and toss them quickly and constantly with two long chopsticks until the sugar coats every one. Tossing as the syrup cools makes the sugar crystallize into a fine white coating instead of running into candy. They are ready when each cookie is covered in an opaque, chalky white layer and they separate from each other instead of clumping.
Step 8
Tip the cookies onto a wide tray, separate any that are still stuck together and let them dry in an airy spot for about 30 minutes. Drying lets the sugar coating harden and turn crisp so it does not get damp in the jar. They are finished when the sugar is dry, does not stick to your fingers and smells faintly of ginger.
Equipment
- Deep skillet
- Small saucepan
- Mixing bowl
- Spatula
- Thermometer
- Kitchen scale
- Wire cooling rack
Tips
- If you have duck egg yolks, use them instead of chicken egg yolks for a deeper golden color and the rich flavor of traditional banh nhan from Hai Hau.
- Fry a test batch of about ten cookies first to judge the heat; if they split open, the oil is too hot, and if they soak up oil, it is still too cool.
- When coating, keep the cookies ready next to the stove, because the syrup changes very quickly and you need to add them the moment it is ready.
Storage
Kept in a glass jar or airtight container in a dry place out of the sun, banh nhan stay crisp for two to three weeks. Do not keep them in the fridge, as the moisture will make the sugar coating run and the cookies go soft.
Common problems and how to fix them
- The cookies crack or burst open in the oil.
- The oil was too hot or the dough was dry. Next time, knead in a little more water to soften the dough and keep the oil over low heat, and the cookies will puff evenly without cracking.
- The sugar turns into clear, sticky candy instead of a white coating.
- The syrup was overcooked or you did not toss long enough. Turn off the heat as soon as the syrup pulls a thread and keep tossing until it cools down and turns white.
- The cookies are golden outside but dense and chewy inside.
- The balls were rolled too big or fried over high heat, so the outside cooked first. Roll smaller balls and fry them longer over low heat.
This recipe is based on the common ratios for this bake and is written entirely in our own words.
