Honey-flavored sesame balls are a famous Beijing snack, also known as sugar ears because of their shape. A traditional poem poses the question, “What is the best way to consume ears?” Often, when I share honey-flavored sesame balls with a partner, I ask them who has the best, pointing ahead to a specific locati0n. It also says, “Sugar ears and honey-flavored sesame balls are foods made by Muslims. The ingredients are nothing more than granulated sugar, flour, and small sugar, which is commonly known as thin sugar.”
To make the honey-flavored sesame twists (sugar ear), combine a well-mixed fermented dough with baking soda and another piece of dough with brown sugar. Divide the fermented dough into two pieces before making the twists. We roll out one piece and spread the brown sugar dough on top. The other piece of fermented dough is rolled out and spread on top of the brown sugar dough, creating a two-layered fermented dough with a layer of sugar dough on top. Use a knife to cut a 5 cm long strip, flatten one side to form a slope, join the thin and thick sides together, and then cut into 40 g pieces. Make a cut in the middle of the piece, then open it up, turn the thin side inwards, and fold the thick side over, and you have an ear-shaped blank. Heat the peanut oil to 50% of its heat and fry the blanks in batches until golden brown. Drain off the oil and, while still warm, dip them into the warm syrup for a minute. Then weigh the honey, and after soaking, drain them on a plate and let them cool. Be careful that they are fried thoroughly; otherwise, the honey will not soak in and the quality will be poor.
Honey-glazed dough twists (sugar ears) are brown and shiny, with a soft and fluffy texture and a sweet and delicious taste. Nanlaishun Restaurant in Nancheng has been making honey-glazed dough twists for many years. The consistency in quality stems from the use of the correct amount of alkali, the absence of a sour taste, thorough frying of the dough twists, and even distribution of the honey. The dough twists meet the quality requirements of being soft and fluffy, and in 1997 they were named “Beijing Famous Snack” and “Chinese Famous Snack.”.
Phoenix Lee https://chinese-tradition.com/honey-flavored-sesame-twistssesame-twists-sugar-ear.html