Chinese egg tart and other Chinese flaky pastries
Howdy,
It's been awhile since I've wandered into this site (I've been working long hours recently). Anyways, I've been trying to learn how to make some Chinese breads/pastries lately. My boys have sesame/nut allergies so if I don't learn to make them, then they won't get a chance to try some of these treats from my childhood.
I've been looking around the internet for an "easy" recipe for Chinese egg tarts (aka custard tarts) that are common dim sum treats. The best egg tarts are make with a flaky crust (made from a laminated dough). Many internet recipes have a shortbread type of dough which would taste fine but are not the same as the more authentic (and more daunting to make) flaky crust. The flaky crust appears to be made from two types of doughs (one water and one oil) and then rolled out. When baked it then forms the laminated layers like puff pastry, although perhaps not as tender. This type of dough is also used for a baked curry chicken turnover also seen in dim sum. So, any hints/tips at how to do this type of dough/crust would be helpful.
Is there an easier recipe/technique out there rather than the traditional puff pastry techniques? What about some variation of the quick puff pastry recipes that I see in the internet (Cook's Illustrated has a quick puff pastry recipe)? Has anyone tried to adapt these puff-like recipes to Chinese treats?
Just wondering,
Mr. Peabody
P.S. I'm finally happy with my bao (fill bun) recipe. The dough recipe that I now use is a fast food processor technique that is infinitely simpler and more reproducible compared to my old grandmother's recipe.