Banh Ran Duong Mat (Hanoi Glazed Mung Bean Doughnuts), Sweetened with Monk Fruit
Sweets and drinksFried CakesVietnam1 hour resting the dough, about 30 minutes frying and glazing
Banh ran duong mat from the old quarter has a shatteringly crisp shell, a hollow middle and a dry coating on the outside. The mung bean filling is cooked down with shredded coconut, fragrant and rich without turning cloying.
The frying is the hardest part, since oil that runs too hot browns the shell while the inside stays raw. Mashed sweet potato worked into the dough is what keeps the shell crisp and never leathery. Medium heat, constant turning and a hollow ring when a chopstick taps the shell are the markers.
This batch weighs about 1.4kg, at roughly 184 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 90 g sweet potato, cut it small and steam it for about 20 minutes, then mash it very smooth.
Mix 300 g glutinous rice flour, 45 g rice flour, 67.5 g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 5 g baking powder and the mashed sweet potato, then add 200 ml warm water a little at a time, kneading as you go.
Knead the dough until it is completely smooth and let it rest for 1 hour.
Soak 300 g split mung beans in warm water for about 20 minutes, then boil them with half a teaspoon of salt, the water sitting about a finger joint above the beans. Once it boils, lower the heat and simmer until the beans are completely soft.
Blend the beans smooth, put them in a pan with 45 g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 60 ml coconut oil, and cook until thick, then turn off the heat and stir in 30 g shredded coconut.
Divide the dough into pieces of about 12 to 15 g and roll the filling into balls of about 12 g.
Flatten each piece of dough, wrap it around a ball of filling, then roll it round or press it flat as you like.
Deep fry over medium heat, turning constantly for even color, until the shells are deep golden and ring hollow against a chopstick. Fry a few at a time so they do not stick together.
For the coating, put 108 g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 60 ml water in a pan and stir. Once the mixture turns opaque and white, add the doughnuts and toss until the coating clings dry around them.
Serve the doughnuts the same day, while the shells are still crisp.
Tips
Mashed sweet potato in the dough is the key to a shell that stays crisp and never turns leathery.
A hollow ring when a chopstick taps the shell means the frying is done.
Starting the doughnuts in warm oil and raising the heat gradually lets them puff evenly and hollow out inside.
A filling cooked slightly on the dry side will not leak and split the shell during frying.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so the coating needs steady stirring and enough time for the mixture to turn opaque and white.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.