Hakka yam abacus beads (算盘子) by Jess Chen

Yam beads recipe

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 small Thai yam, cut into small cubes (About 550g-600g)
- 300g Tapioca flour (I think I will increase this amount to ard 450g - 500g as my abacus beads are too soft in my first try)
- 1 1/2 tsp oil
- 3/4 tsp salt
- Sesame oil

Method:
- Steam yam until soft.
- Add oil and salt.
- Mash with a potato masher/food processor (I didn't mash too much as I prefer to have some pieces of yam in it)
- Add tapioca flour a bit at a time until it becomes a kneadable dough (I used my hand towards the end when it is too difficult to mix)
- Roll into a long roll and cut into smaller pieces
- Roll each piece into a ball and use your finger to create an indent in the middle
- If you are keeping them for another day, freeze them in the freezer. I saw somewhere online that it can keep up to 2 months
- If you are cooking immediately, boil some water and add the beads to the boiling water. Remove from the water once they float up and add sesame oil to them to prevent them from sticking to each other.

Stir fry recipe

Ingredients:
- A handful of dried shrimps, soften in hot water and dried with kitchen towel
- A handful of shredded dried cuttlefish, soften in hot water and dried with kitchen towel
- 10 dried mushrooms, soften in hot water and cut into thin slices
- 300g minced pork, marinated in a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil and white pepper
- A handful of black fungus, soften in hot water and shred thinly
- 5 tsp fried shallot oil and shallots (I used those ready made shallot oil)
- 1 clove of garlic
- Fried shallots for garnishing
- Parsley for garnishing

( Mix all sauces together with 2 tbsp of the water used for soaking mushrooms first)
- 1/4 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- A dash of pepper

Method
- In the wok, add fried shallot oil and garlic to stir fry.
- Add dried shrimps, shredded cuttlefish and shredded mushrooms and stir fry for 2 min.
- Add minced pork and shredded black fungus and stir fry for 2 min.
- Add abacus beads to stir fry for another 2 min and add the sauces.
- When pork is all cooked, serve with fried shallots and parsley.