Pumpkin Pancakes with Red Bean Paste

This recipe, Pumpkin Pancakes with Red Bean Paste (南瓜豆沙饼), is an upgraded version of my previous pumpkin pancakes recipe that I shared two years ago. I added red bean paste to give the pancakes a sweet filling.

In this version, I reduced the amount of sweet rice flour (glutinous rice) flour by half. I then added almond flour to make up the reduced half. This makes the pancakes more carb-friendly.

Gluten Free, Vegan

Preparation Time:  30 minutes (not including time to make homemade pumpkin purée and red bean paste)

Total Time:  40 minutes

Servings: 10 to 12 pumpkin pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup tightly packed pumpkin purée ¹
• 1/2 cup almond flour ²
• ~1/2 cup sweet rice (glutinous rice) flour ³
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup fine red bean paste ⁴
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• ~ 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Preparation:

1. Make sure the 1 cup of pumpkin purée is smooth by whisking a few additional times before adding it in a large mixing bowl. Then add the 1/2 cup of almond flour, 1/2 cup of sweet rice flour, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Mix with a fork until a golden ball of dough forms. Add 1 to 2 more tablespoons of sweet rice flour if the dough is too sticky on your the fingers. The dough is quite fragile and should be much softer than your normal flour dough.

2. Separate the mixed pumpkin dough into two equal portions. Then divide each portion again into 6 smaller balls. Separate 1/2 cup of fine red bean paste into 6 equal portions. Use your palm to roll the red bean paste into oval or cylindrical-shaped balls. With the amount of ingredients above, expect to make 10 – 12 dough and red bean paste balls.

3. Take a pumpkin ball and press softly with your fingers to flatten the round dough into a circular wrapper. Place the oval or cylindrical shaped red bean paste inside the wrapper. Wrap the red bean paste by gently folding the wrapper into a moon shape (similar to folding dumplings). Pinch the edges softly to seal the red bean paste inside the wrapper. Gently mold the pumpkin pancake into an oval/rectangular shape. Transfer it to the bowl with the toasted sesame seeds. Press and flip the pumpkin pancake gently to cover it in sesame seeds. Repeat the same process with the remaining dough to make around 10-12 seed-covered pancakes. See pictures.

4. Heat a large non-stick pan under medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and spread the oil evenly with a brush. When the pan is warm, carefully lay the pumpkin pancakes onto the pan in one layer. Cook each side for 2 to 3 minutes until all the pumpkin pancakes are lightly golden. Transfer to a plate. Enjoy either warm or cold with tea or coffee!

Bon Appétit

Notes:

1. You can use either canned pumpkin purée or make your own. I find homemade to be more flavorful. You can follow note 1 from my Easy Chinese Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes to make homemade pumpkin purée.

2. Almond flour is much more carb-friendly and has more protein and fiber than glutinous rice flour. But for this recipe, since the pumpkin pancakes have red bean paste inside, it requires more elasticity to “glue” the almond flour together. That is why I still use sweet rice flour. The mixed almond flour and sweet rice flour dough is especially soft, so handle with care. If you do not care about carbs, you can just use sweet rice flour and skip the almond flour entirely. You can also use all purpose flour, but the result will not be as soft. If using all purpose flour, reduce the amount of flour by about half.

3. You can get sweet glutinous rice flour from any Asian grocery store. Many western chain grocery stores also sell sweet rice flour in their Asian section.

4. You can use either store-bought fine red bean paste or make your own. You can follow my Red Bean Paste recipe to make homemade fine red bean paste from red beans.

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