Growing up in Taiwan, there was one comic book series that I loved as a child called Doraemon ドラえもん or 小叮噹. This was a comic series from Japan that was translated into Chinese. The story is about a robot cat from the future that travels back in time to help Nobita to create a better life for him and his descendants. What was mesmerizing for all the kids was that Doraemon, like Inspector Gadget, has a special pouch where he can produce various tools and gadgets to help human beings. Two of the most popular gadgets include a bamboo-copter that the kids can stick on their heads to fly to different locations. Another one is the “anywhere door” which is basically a portal that takes them from one location to another location instantaneously. As a child, I always dreamt about owning an “Anywhere Door” so I won’t be late to school. I even pretended that my bedroom door was that door but every time I wished really hard and opened the door, it was still my bedroom and not the classroom.
Well, Doraemon had a weakness which is dorayaki. It’s like kryptonite to superman. Every time he sees a dorayaki, he forgets his mission and goes after the dorayaki. I had always imagined what that dessert would taste like since it was not readily available in Taiwan. When I worked in Japan after college, I was finally able to eat fresh dorayaki, not the prepackaged type and the difference was night and day. The sweet red bean paste sandwiched between fluffy pancakes that has a wonderful aroma of honey and paired with matcha also became my weakness as well. Fortunately, I did a lot of walking in Japan so I didn’t turn into a Doraemon.
The dorayaki – 銅鑼燒 in Chinese and どら焼き in Japanese – is the main reason why I started this red bean paste series. What better way to bring a climax to this series than the dorayaki? A few things to note in this recipe:
- No cake flour no problem, you can either mix 2 tbsp cornstarch with 1 cup less 2 tbsp of all purpose flour – or just use all purpose flour
- No honey no good – must have honey!
- Sweetness is a preference and if you want things to be sweeter, add more sugar or honey. I prefer the pancake less sweet and the red bean paste sweeter 🙂
- In order for the dorayaki pancake to brown evenly, control your heat and use a non-stick pan for better success – patience is virtue
- Dorayakis freeze pretty well so I always make a large batch
- Feel like experimenting? Try cocoa powder or green tea powder for the pancakes – just add about 2 teaspoons to the batter
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 ¼ cup cake flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 cup red bean paste
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup sugar
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 ¼ cup cake flour
- 1 ¼ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 cup red bean paste
- Combine eggs, sugar, and honey into a large bowl
- Beat the eggs until light and fluffy
- Stir in flour and baking powder, mix until even
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes
- Depending on the consistency of the batter, you may need to add 1 or 2 tbsp of water until the batter falls like smooth ribbons
- Using a non-stick pan, add some oil and wipe off with a paper towel
- On medium-low heat, pour about 2 tbsp of batter into pan
- After about 1 to 1:30 minutes, the pancake should start to bubble up, flip and cook the other side for about 30 seconds and remove
- Keep the pancakes covered in a damp cloth while you finish making the rest
- Scoop about 2-3 tbsp of red bean paste onto one of the pancakes and cover with another like a sandwich
