Hakka Abacus

Also known as yam coins, abacus is typically a Hakka dish (a dialect in Singapore for those foreign friends reading this blog). It is a dish of yam fried with minced pork, Chinese mushrooms and dried shrimps. The yam is boiled till soft and mashed before rolled into small round shapes that look like coins. The Hakkas believe that eating abacus siginifies more wealth and prosperity.

A plate of delicious Abacus

My mom is a Hakka and she grew up with this dish since young. As I like the abacus she cooks at home, I want to try to master this cuisine so it doesn't get lost in my next generation.

After much nudging and chasing, I finally managed to get hands on with it today. My domestic helper has mastered this dish so well that I'm now learning from her, not my mom! I stood by her in the kitchen for an hour or so and finally managed to get my hands on it. As recipes at home are mostly trial and errors, the quantity and weight of items are purely based on guestimations. But I try to be accurate as far as possible. However, individual taste buds and preferences vary so feel free to add or alter any portions.

Abacus is a dish that is savoury and rich in flavour due to the dried shrimps and mushrooms. It takes time and much dedication to get the texture, taste and colours right. And the proportion of yam to tapioca starch is important so it doesn't taste like it has too much flour. That's the difference of home made abacus.

Total time of preparation: about 45min

Total cooking time: about 30-45min in total

(A) Yam

150g yam (cut into small cubes)

Tapioca starch 50g

Water approx 1 1/2 cup
Dash of salt

Pepper

1 pot of water

1 bowl of tap water

1. Pour water (1 1/2 cup) and yam into a pot and bring it to boil till all water is dried (water must be enough to just cover all the cubes but not too much water that it gets too soggy)

2. Stir yam while boiling to ensure water is thoroughly absorbed.

3. When all the water is absorbed, mash the yam and add some salt and dash of pepper.

4. Add in tapioca starch to bind the yam together.

5. Using hands, knead the dough finely to ensure all mixture is incorporated together nicely.

6. Prepare dough in long thin strips then pinch off the end to roll into a small ball.

7. Roll each ball then indent the centre with your thumb to resemble an abacus.

8. Bring the pot of water to boil. When boiling, put all the yam inside and cover.

9. When the yam balls are cooked, they float. Transfer the yam balls to the bowl of tap water so they do not stick.

10. After couple of minutes, sieve them out to prepare for next stage.

Top: Mashed yam

Below: Well kneaded yam with tapioca starch

Neatly rolled yam balls

(B) Minced Pork
Dried shrimps approx 1 tbsp (washed and soaked in water)
Small onions (chopped)
Chinese mushrooms about 10-15 pcs, approx 15g (washed and soaked in water till soft. Cut into strips and keep the water aside)
Some carrots also cut into strips
Minced pork 50g

Top: Soaking dried shrimps in water
Below: Soaking Chinese mushrooms in water

Top: Carrots and mushrooms in strips
Below: Chopped onions

Seasoning

Corn starch 1/2 tbsp

Pepper

Oyster sauce 1/2 tbsp

Sesame oil 1/2 tbsp

Some oil for frying

1. Mix minced pork with the above seasoning.
2. Fry onions till brown and fragrant.
3. Add in shrimps and continue frying for few minutes.
4. Add in minced pork and stir followed by carrots and mushrooms.
5. Add in the water used to soak the mushrooms to give extra flavour.
6. Add in another 1/2 tbsp of oyster sauce.
7. Cover pan and let it simmer.
8. Finally add in the cooled and drained abacus and continue frying for another few minutes till well mixed. Add pepper if desired.

Serve and garnish with some coriander.

caution: you can't stop at one