Hakka Abacus Seeds 客家算盘子

Abacus seeds (the Taro ones) are unique to Hakka cuisine. My ancestral family originated from Dabu county in Meizhou City, Guangdong Province, China. Coincidentally, my husband's maternal family also originate from the same region.

When I was a kid, my grandmother would prepare Hakka abacus seeds every Chinese New Year (CNY). Hakka abacus seeds resembles the actual abacus board. The latter was used like a calculator in the past.  Hakkas prepare this dish  to signify wealth and abundance. I love the rich flavour of this dish and every family has their own special recipe.

For nostalgia sake, I'm recording my attempt at recreating this family dish.

My family's Hakka abacus seed recipe
(Serves 6-8 pax)

Ingredients:
1kg Yam or Taro
200g Tapioca flour

4 cloves of  garlic, finely chopped
200g minced meat (I used pork, but it can be substituted with any protein of your choice)
100g dried squid, julienne
200g dried mushrooms (soaked in water for an hour), julienne
1.5 tablespoon cooking oil
1 tablespoon dried shrimps
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon shaoxing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
A dash of white pepper


Method
1. Peel the skin of the yam/taro and cut them into cubes.
2. Boil the yam/taro for 15-20 minutes in a pot, until soft. (Use a fork to prick the yam. If it pricks through easily, it is cooked)

Boil the yam/taro in hot water

NOTE: The following processes have to be done while the yam/taro is hot. Do wear a pair of gloves if you need.

3. While the cooked yam/taro is hot, mash them in a large bowl with a fork or potato masher.
4. Add in the tapioca flour to the mashed yam/taro immediately, and mix well into a dough

Yam/taro dough

5. Grab handfuls of dough and shape them into balls. Each ball should be the size of a small walnut.
6.  Press the centre to obtain an abacus-shaped dough.
7. Cook the abacus seed dough in hot boiling water. When they are cooked through, the dough will float to the surface of the pot.
8. Remove the abacus seeds from the pot with a sieve and transfer them into an ice water bath immediately. Soak for 5-10 minutes.
9. Drain and transfer the cooled abacus seeds to a clean bowl and mix with a table spoon of oil (to prevent them from sticking together).

Shape the dough into abacus seeds

Boil the seeds in hot boiling water until they float to the surface

 10. Add half a tablespoon of oil into a frying pan. Turn on the fire to medium heat.
11. Add chopped garlic, shrimps and dried squid to the frying pan after the oil is hot.
12. Stir-fry the mixture till fragrant. Add the minced meat and stir-fry till the meat is partially cooked.
13. Add the abacus seed to the mixture and stir fry for 5 minutes.
14. Add soya sauce, fish sauce, pepper and shaoxing wine to the mixture. Stir-fry till the minced meat is well cooked.
15. Viola! Transfer the abacus seeds to a nice serving plate/bowl. Serve while it is hot. (The abacus seeds could store up to 1 week in the refrigerator too)

Hakka Abacus seeds