Teochew Pan-Fried Shreds

A Teochew Cooking Innovation

Pan-fried shreds is a unique dish characteristic of the Teochew region, and is often served at banquets or feasts. Its main ingredients – pumpkin, sweet potato, and taro – are all local to Teochew, and among the region’s most famous produce, giving the dim sum dish a strong Teochew flavor.

Did you know?

Pan-fried shreds is a relatively new innovation in the world of Teochew street food, originating in the 1990’s. Besides the standard Teochew flavors of pumpkin, sweet potato, and taro, versions of the dish also use local produce like luffa, winter melon, and water chestnut as main ingredients. Although the cooking methods for each stay largely the same, the different versions are often named after the produce used.

Chinese Dim Sum Teochew Pan-Fried Shreds

Ingredients

1/2 cup (100 grams) pumpkin
1/2 cup (100 grams) sweet potato
1 cup (100 grams) taro
1/3 cup (50 grams) peanuts
1/3 cup (50 grams) winter melon

Seasonings

5 teaspoons (20 grams) white sugar
corn starch as desired/needed
cooking oil as desired/needed

Please see measurements in grams to be more exact for all ingredients and seasonings.

Cooking Directions

Preparations

Peel and wash the pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and taro. Use a food processor or grater to shred the peeled produce, and chop the winter melon into small pieces.

How to make pan-fried shreds mixture

Heat a pan, and stir-fry the peanuts over low heat until the shells begin to blacken. Remove the peanuts and allow them to cool slightly. Gently rub to remove the shells, and blend the peanut kernels in a blender.

Mix together the pumpkin, sweet potato, and taro shreds with the peanuts, winter melon, sugar, and corn starch, stirring evenly. Let this mixture sit for 5 minutes.

Put it all together

Heat a frying pan, and add cooking oil. Evenly pour the mixture onto the heated pan, and fry under medium heat until reaching the consistency and form of a round cake.

Tip: Make sure to pour an even and thin layer onto the pan to achieve the desired crispiness.

Once the flat cake is formed, pour more cooking oil onto the pan and continue to fry until crispy. Remove from the pan, and cut into slices toward the center.

Tip: Be sure to cut the pan-fried shreds into slices while still warm. It will be harder to cut clean slices once cooled and hardened.