Eloise Praino - Honey Yam Dumplings
Makes 10

Ingredients
Honey Yam Dumplings
½ cup dired, sweetened black soybeans, roughly chopped; or 1/3 cup sweet red bean paste
1 tbs sake
½ tsp hatcho miso
500g honey yams
Pinch salt
2 tbsp plain flour
½ egg yolk
Oil, to deep fry
Caramel
100g Wagyu beef fat, chopped
1 tsp hatcho miso
1 cup sake
¼ cup caster sugar
Daikon pickled in cherry blossom
Salt
Reserved pickled daikon, grated finely with excess liquid squeezed out, to serve
Pickled cherry blossom flowers, to garnish
- Pre-heat oven to 180C. Pre-heat deep fryer oil to 170C.
- For the Honey Yam Dumplings, mix soybeans, (or red bean paste) sake and miso together in a small bowl to form a rough paste. Season and set the filling aside until needed.
- Roast honey yams in preheated oven, directly on rack, until cooked through and tender about 25-30 minutes. Peel off skin and discard. Place flesh in a bowl and mash with a fork. Add the flour, egg yolk and salt and combine well to form a soft dough.
- Using wet hands, divide dough into 10 balls. Using your thumb, make an indent in each ball and fill with 1-2 teaspoons of filling. Fold dough around filling carefully to enclose. Repeat for remaining dumplings.
- Deep fry the dumplings in batches, in the pre-heated, until golden brown, about 5 – 6 minutes. Once cooked, remove from the oil and set aside to drain on paper towel until needed.
- Meanwhile, for the Caramel, render beef fat in a small saucepan, adding a small amount of water occasionally, to yield 3 tablespoons of fat. Strain the fat into a medium bowl, discarding solids.
- Meanwhile, simmer sake over a medium heat until reduced by half.
- Add the sugar and continue heating until reduced to around 3 tablespoons liquid.
- Add the strained beef fat, miso and pickling liquor and combine well. Season with salt.
- To serve, place Honey Yam Dumplings on plate. Place mound of grated daikon alongside.
- Garnish with the pickled cherry blossom flower. Serve Caramel in ramekin on the side.