i loved these as a kid. i still love them. i watched my mother make them, and eagerly waited as each golden, crispy pretzel was plucked from the hot oil, and placed on some paper towels. as soon as they were cool enough to grab, i ate them right off of the paper towels they were draining on...... crunchy, sweet, so good...... so i decided to try and make some. doing this project made me start thinking..... how these are Chinese? i tried looking it up, and only found recipes, but no origin...... but, i guess they are Chinese? one recipe i found called them "Tong Wan", but when i looked up tong wan, it showed some herbal thing. and then, how are they pretzels? they're not bready or covered in salt granules. they actually taste more like fortune cookies kind of...... meh, its too confusing, lets just forget it - its best not to question it too much, and just enjoy, shall we? they're awesome, really they are - but only when you make them correctly :P i am still working on that last part. i found a recipe that looked easy enough, so i tried making it last night. THIS RECIPE, turned out to be crazy thick like dough, and nothing like the batter my mother used to use. i had to doctor it a bit to make it usable. i'm sure you're asking, "why didn't you just use your mother's batter recipe?" well - that would take a lot of digging on her part, and neither of us have time for that! although, i'm now considering it b/c last nights batch came out "okay", and not great. to make these, you're going to need a Swedish Rosette iron = which again makes me think these are less and less Chinese, but whatever..... you can get these irons in Hawaii at the Complete Kitchen, or at the Executive Chef. both have a good selection. here is a shot of the doctored batter, and my rosette iron..... the batter should look like a not-so-thick pancake batter. also make sure you season your iron before using it. i had no idea how to do this, so i called my mother..... she said "rub it with vegetable oil and sprinkle a little salt on it." i have no idea what this does, so don't ask me :P FRYING! check out how crazy it gets in that pot! insanity. FYI, sometimes the batter doesn't come off of the iron nicely, so just use a wooden chopstick to help nudge it off. when the're golden brown, take them out of the oil..... i burned some, and it smelled like burnt popcorn - weird, i know. drain on paper towels, and WAIT till they cool to eat them.... .trust me. by the looks of that.... i'm still trying to get the timing down. finally, after many tries, i got the timing down.... the end product were nicely browned (not burnt), crispy, "Chinese" - "pretzels". and yes, i'm hiding the burnt ones on the bottom. :)
CHINESE PRETZELS * Canola oil * 2 eggs * 1 cup sugar * 2 cups flour * 1/4 cup cornstarch * 3/4 cup milk or water (i used soymilk, and added about 1 to 2 additional cups, 3/4 is NOT ENOUGH) * handful of sesame seeds, and more on the side mix all the ingredients together until you have a not too thick pancake batter consistency. heat oil over medium / medium high, when hot, dip your iron into the oil to heat the iron. take out and wait a few moments before sticking in the iron into the batter. if you do not wait, the batter will "cook" on to the iron, and will not come off clean. place iron into batter, and DO NOT let batter go over the top of the iron - only on the sides. dip batter covered iron into the oil, and hold there until batter begins to release. if it does not eventually come off, use a wooden chopstick to help it off. fry until golden brown, and drain on paper towels. add more sesame seeds to the batter as needed.
9 Comments
Laura Lutao
8/17/2012 05:29:47 am
I also love them I want to start making it but I cant find the IRONS. can yo help me on this?
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8/18/2012 10:11:41 am
Hi Laura, i sent you an email the other day in reply to this comment. If you're in the Honolulu area, these irons can be found in the Complete Kitchen at Kahala mall, or the Executive Chef in Ward center. I tried looking on-line for this product, but it is strangely hard to find. Email me, and i'll be happy to try and help you out. Thanks for reading!
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wendy
6/3/2014 03:34:44 am
You can find the irons on amazon for about $12 a set....u have to search for Scandinavian rosette...There is history on there too. I think a priest came to China on a mission then learned how to make it and since he loved it so much too the iron and recipes back with him and made it in his native land but their batter is off too....i thing it's a wrong conversion from grams to cups....i had to add 2 cups of water to my batter....The corn starch helps the batter not burn so quick...hence it's used in tempura to give crisp but keep color light not brown. ...i found that if I got it to release from iron and i dip in my next pretzel the one before it is good to come out its crispy even if it not brown...total 30 seconds in oil each. 6/2/2014 10:13:46 am
When you look for the Irons they are called Rosette Cookie Irons. Amazon has them.
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Rina
9/26/2012 06:56:17 am
I am from Hilo, Hawaii. I too have been seeking for the iron but i don't see we have it here? Could you tell me where I can get it? Or If I have to order it from where? I thank you kindly! Have a great day! Aloha!
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9/26/2012 09:45:52 am
Hi Rina, i had mentioned to Laura (up above) that if you're ever in the Honolulu area, you can pick these up at the Complete Kitchen, Kahala mall, or at the Executive Chef in Ward..... but, i realize that coming out to Honolulu may be harder for some. i did another search online and you can buy them from Amazon.com for about $23.00 OR on Bed Bath and Beyond's website for $24.99.
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Hi there, I am glad people are also quizzical about this Chinese treat. This is the first time I've heard them called "Chinese pretzels" because I too call them "tong wan" in Cantonese. Makes it hard to Google though! My mom learned from her sister (my aunt) in Singapore -- I think there are some origins in Malaysia too? In any case, so delicious and I really need to get my mom's recipe...
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6/2/2014 08:15:00 am
To find this tool go to Amazon and ask for Rosette Iron. Or wherever ask for Rosette Cookie tool.
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Lilikoi
12/30/2015 04:39:05 am
Aloha, from Honolulu, living in Sweden for over 9 yrs now. Amazon expensive and they don't ship to Sweden that exact item. I found that Swedish and Norwegians have similar cookies, this one looks good and will check if they ship to me.
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