Everytime mum cooks yam for dinner, I'd know that we'll be having her Hakka specialty Yam Abacus Beads for breakfast the next day, and probably for one2two too.What she does is add tapioca flour to the leftover yam, kneads the mix into long strips of dough, breaks them into little cubes, hand-roll them into mini balls and expertly presses the middle (of each and every one of them mini balls) with her thumb and index finger to form the abacus beads.
(It's so easy and so much fun, we kids love to join in).
Next, she drops the yam abacus beads into a pot of boiling water. And scoops them up when they emerge on the water surface.
Mum then places the cooked abacus beads onto an oiled, hot wok, add in stir-fried minced pork, mini dried scallops and mushroom strips. She'll work the wok till sauce thickens slightly, sprinkle some freshly chopped spring onions, and it's ready to serve.
The secret to a delicious bowl of Hakka Yam Abacus Beads is the portion of yam and tapioca flour, as well as the strength applied in the kneading of the dough.
You'd know it's perfect when the overall texture is smooth, and they're 'bouncy' with each chew.
But it's difficult to find good Yam Abacus Beads these days. And soon it'll be yet another lost treasure if nobody takes the trouble to learn from their mums.
There'll be a shortage of mathematicians.
And we'll all lose our ability to count.
Or so says my mum when we don't eat Yam Abacus Beads.
But well, what does she know, right?
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