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Home » Desserts » Walnut Biscuits and Hong Kong Food City

Walnut Biscuits and Hong Kong Food City

20 January, 2020 by Tara 10 Comments

Hong Kong Food City, written by Tony Tan, features some of the best of the city’s vibrant cuisine in 80 recipes ranging from traditional to modern. A few highlights include Char Siu (Barbecue Pork), Bo Lo Bao (Pineapple Buns), Scallop and Chive Dumplings, Cantonese Soy Chicken, and Wonton Noodle Soup. I will also be sharing his recipe for Walnut Biscuits following the review.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from Murdoch Books in exchange for my honest review. All comments and opinions are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you.

Three Walnut Biscuits (cookies) on a wooden platter with more in the background on a black wire rack.

Tony Tan

Born in Malaysia and fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese, Tony Tan is a food writer currently based in Melbourne, Australia. He trained at La Varenne, France and Leith’s School of Food and Wine in the United Kingdom. He has traveled around the world as a guest chef and has presented master classes throughout Australia, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, New Zealand, and Spain.

Tony was also an international judge at Hong Kong’s Chinese cuisine challenge, The Best of the Best Culinary Competition. His work has appeared in magazines and newspapers in Australia and internationally.

Hong Kong Food City

Hong Kong Food City cookbook cover- Background of Hong Kong with a pair of chopsticks holding a dumpling over a bowl and words Hong Kong Food City, Tony Tan in pink letters.

Tony begins with a brief history of Hong Kong and the development of its food scene into the incredible variety found today. He even includes a basic guide to the Hong Kong pantry with photos; names in English, Mandarin, and Cantonese; descriptions; and substitutes when available. I especially enjoyed the helpful notes dispersed among the recipes such as how to separate a chicken Chinese-style, work with rock sugar, the best way to devein an unpeeled prawn, and more.

Chapters are divided based on course: A Brief History of Hong Kong; Hong Kong Pantry; Starters, Soup and Cold Dishes; Meat; Poultry; Seafood; Vegetables; Rice and Noodles; Dim Sum; Desserts and Pastries; and Basic Recipes.

The photography is provided by Greg Elms with styling by Caroline Velik. Most of the recipes are accompanied by a beautifully styled full-page photo of the finished dish along with a scattering of scenes from the city.

Measurements are listed by weight (grams and ounces). Titles are written in English (occasionally the Cantonese name will be mentioned below). Each recipe includes a headnote with personal stories, background information, serving size, and tips.

Walnut Biscuits

Walnut Biscuits (cookies) on a black wire rack

These Walnut Biscuits (Hup Toh Soh, 核桃酥) are perfect for festive occasions such as the upcoming Lunar New Year. Toasted walnuts are crushed and combined with flour, baking powder, baking soda, egg, vegetable oil, and sugar to create a light dough with a crumbly texture.

The mixture is formed into tablespoon-sized balls (20 grams, 3/4 ounce), gently flattened with a fork, and topped with a walnut half before brushing with an egg wash and baking until golden.

Tony was given the recipe by the chefs of Dim Sum Library in Pacific Place. He mentions that the cookies were once made with baking ammonia and lard. Baking powder and baking soda are now often used to replace the baking ammonia and vegetable oil (or shortening) for the lard.

After mixing in the wet ingredients, the cookie dough will be a little crumbly and have a consistency similar to sand. It should still hold together as you form each piece into a ball.

The cooled Walnut Biscuits will last for around a week in an airtight container.

Other Dishes

Other Dishes from Hong Kong Food City: Sweet and Sour Pork, Tomato Noodles, Steamed Beef Balls, and Dan Tat.

I also tried the Sweet and Sour Pork, Tomato Noodles, Steamed Beef Balls, and Dan Tat.

The Sweet and Sour Pork (Gu Lou Yuk, Pork with a Long History) had a perfect balance of flavors. Pieces of pork are marinated briefly, coated in a combination of potato and rice flour, then deep fried until crisp and golden. They are tossed with stir-fried onion, red chillies, garlic, red pepper, pineapple, spring onion, tomato, and a delicious sweet and sour sauce before serving with rice. 

The recipe for Tomato Noodles is inspired by Sing Heung Yuen, on of the last remaining dai pai dong (open-air food stalls) in Central. Udon (or instant noodles) are cooked until al dente, then served with a rice tomato broth and a sprinkling of spring onions.

The Steamed Beef Balls were a favorite with the kids. Ground beef is combined with pork fat, then flavored with tangerine peel, ginger, soy sauce, sugar, baking soda, and spring onion. After resting for about an hour, the mixture is formed into balls and steamed until cooked through. They were perfect paired with Worcestershire sauce for dipping. This recipe was inspired by Tony’s experiences at Lin Heung, a traditional Hong Kong teahouse operating since 1926.

Inspired by the Portuguese and British, the Cantonese Dan Tat (Egg Tarts) were created in the 1940s. A basic short pastry (Tony mentions that some shops such as the Honolulu Coffee Shop in Wan Chai use puff pastry) is cut into rounds and used as the base to hold the rich egg and evaporated milk custard filling.

Looking for more recipes from Hong Kong?

Try 

  • Hong Kong-Style Milk Tea
  • This Hong Kong Style French Toast

Three Walnut Biscuits (cookies) on a wooden board with more on a black wire rack and tea in the background.

Hong Kong Food City is a wonderful choice for those interested in the food of Hong Kong. There is a nice range of recipes for everyone from dim sum and starters to meat, poultry, seafood, vegetables, and desserts (no drinks). Some take a bit of effort and planning, while others come together in less than 30 minutes and are a great option for weeknights.

Having a market with Chinese/Southeast Asian ingredients will be helpful for locating items such as dark soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine, rock sugar, Chinkiang vinegar, Sichuan peppercorns, goji berries, potato flour, fresh seafood, chickpea flour, coconut sugar, dried shiitake mushrooms, dried shrimp, doubanjiang, and Sichuan preserved vegetable.

Walnut Biscuits Recipe

Excerpt from Hong Kong Food City

Print Pin
5 from 4 votes

Walnut Biscuits

A recipe for Walnut Biscuits from the cookbook, Hong Kong Food City.
Course Dessert
Cuisine Chinese
Keyword biscuit, China, Chinese, cookie, dessert, lunar new year, new year, walnut
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 23 minutes
0 minutes
Total Time 43 minutes
Servings 25 Biscuits/Cookies

Ingredients

  • 140 grams (5 ounces) raw walnut halves
  • 300 grams (10.5 ounces, 2 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 egg lightly whisked
  • 150 milliliters (5 1/2 fl oz) vegetable oil
  • 150 grams (5 1/2 ounces) caster (superfine) sugar
  • Pinch salt
  • 1 egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water for egg wash

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F) and bake the walnuts for 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside 50 grams (1 3/4 ounces) and crush the remaining walnuts with a rolling pin.
  • Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl. Mix in the crushed walnuts.
  • Whisk the egg, oil, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a separate bowl until emulsified. Fold in the flour mixture and stir until combined.
  • Line baking trays with baking paper. Use your hands to roll tablespoonfuls (about 20 g, 3/4 oz) of walnut mixture into balls. Place the balls on the trays 5 cm (2 inches) apart, flatten lightly with a fork and press a walnut half into the centre of each. Brush with eggwash and bake for 15 mintues or until light golden.
  • Cool the biscuits on the trays, then store in airtight containers. They will keep for around a week.

Related

Filed Under: Asian, Desserts Tagged With: asia, asian, China, chinese, cookbook, cookie, dessert, hong kong, walnut

Previous Post: « Voisilmäpulla (Finnish Butter Eye Buns)
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Taylor Kiser

    20 January, 2020 at 11:49 am

    The cookbook sounds wonderful! And these walnut biscuits look so delicious!

    Reply
  2. Maike

    20 January, 2020 at 12:51 pm

    I’ve never had walnut biscuits, but they sound amazing. My stepson lived in Hongkong for many years and this recipe book looks great. Since his birthday is coming up, I’m so excited to stumble across the recipe and the book.

    Reply
  3. Jacqueline Meldrum

    20 January, 2020 at 1:13 pm

    It’s always great to a recommendation for a cookbook you’ve never heard of and those biscuits look lush!

    Reply
  4. Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry

    20 January, 2020 at 1:15 pm

    I might have to pick up a copy of the cookbook, it sounds fab. Those walnut biscuits look ever so tasty!

    Reply
  5. Andrea Metlika

    20 January, 2020 at 2:12 pm

    These cookies look and sound delicious. I can’t wait to make them.

    Reply
  6. Christie

    2 January, 2021 at 5:22 pm

    5 stars
    Such a delectable treat, thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  7. Saif

    2 January, 2021 at 5:49 pm

    I haven’t tried walnut biscuit but this looks delicious and beautiful. This blends well with hot tea.

    Reply
  8. Cathleen

    2 January, 2021 at 10:42 pm

    5 stars
    These cookies look amazing!! I am definitely going to give this a go, thank you so much for this recipe 🙂

    Reply
  9. Dannii

    3 January, 2021 at 12:37 am

    5 stars
    I have never had walnut biscuits, but they sound delicious. I can’t wait to give them a try.

    Reply
  10. Mirlene

    3 January, 2021 at 2:16 am

    5 stars
    The walnut biscuits sounds really good and I cannot wait to give it a try.

    Reply

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