Hanoi-style sweet coconut and lime doughnuts

Ratings: 3.0 / 5 FROM 2

NZ Woman's Weekly 19/6/2013

These doughnuts, or bánh tiêu, are made by street vendors in Hanoi fresh, each morning.

½ tsp	Yeast
50 ml	Water
½ tsp	Sugar
50 ml	Coconut milk, chilled for drizzling
1½ cups	Plain flour, Extra flour for kneading
½ cup	Coconut shreds, or 1/3 cup dessicated
¼ tsp	Salt
1 to fry	Rice bran oil
1 to garnish	Lime, zest
1 to garnish	Black sesame seeds

In a bowl, mix the yeast with the warm water and sugar until dissolved, and cover.
Set aside for 5 minutes until the yeast bubbles, indicating it is alive and ready to go to work.
Add 50ml coconut milk, flour, coconut and salt, and stir with a knife to combine.
Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until the dough comes together and springs back to the touch, 5 to 7 minutes.
Place back in the bowl, cover and let sit in a warm spot for 30 to 40 minutes or until it doubles in size.
Turn out, knead again and shape into a long tube, then cut into 12 to 15 small pieces, kneading each into a ball.
In a small pot, pour rice bran oil to a depth of 10cm and heat until it shimmers on the bottom of the pot.
I test fry one ball and, when it is golden, the oil is hot enough to fry the rest.
Deep-fry each ball until golden brown and puffy. Drain on paper towels.
Serve warm, drizzled with chilled coconut milk and sprinkled with black sesame seeds and lime zest.

Comments

sneeble
added 66 days ago
These are amazing, however there are some tricks. Do in small batches and handle the dough as little as possible. It is delicate and like scones becomes heavy when over handled. Doing any more than touching the dough after the first rise is over-handling. A light touch is essential and you will be well rewarded with the result.
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