Thursday, February 19, 2009

Hopia: the Final Stages (3/3)


This is my final hopia post in a series of 3. I am writing this while waiting for my cinnamon rolls to rise (using supersoft ensaymada dough).

Photo above shows my first batch, with experimentations on different wrapping. Slideshow below shows few hopia I made with the last roll of dough I prepared before (one of 4 rolls), baked in oven toaster set at 450 deg F for 15 minutes or so. Each roll of dough could make 4-5 pieces of good-sized hopia. (Suggestion: Maybe a better method would be to flatten the whole roll and then punch out circles before putting filling in, rather than flattening each piece. )

The slideshow is pretty much self-explanatory.

While my first batch was baked in my oven set at 350 deg F, I figured, I would try baking at almost the same temp I bake my empanada. The main objective anyway is to cook and brown the dough wrapping. The filling itself was precooked, so there is no danger of underbaking.



And since I was left with only a roll of the dough I prepared earlier, I had only 8 pieces to bake. I did not feel like wasting that much energy by heating up the big space of conventional oven, so I opted to use the oven toaster. The only thing to keep in mind when doing this is not to burn the ones closest to the heating element; i.e., the middle row. So after about 10 minutes, I rotated the pieces so that the brownnest ones I placed at the periphery and vice versa, to achieve even browning of all pieces.

Baked at this temp, the crust had more crunch to it, which will only hold true for when it is freshly baked, of course. If you refrigerate then reheat later, you might not have the same crunchiness anymore. Not that a lot of Filipinos will miss this "freshly baked" sensation because a lot of us are used to the already cold hopia in the bakeries. I myself had only a few chances of getting really freshly baked hopia when I was still in PI. The hopiang baboy my Manong and the other bakers in our cheap (neighborhood type) bakery was not one I really liked, mainly because I knew there really was no "baboy" in it; only lots of onions in oil. (That said, please know that I will never have a recipe here for hopiang baboy. Now that I have shared how to make the dough and wrap the filling, it will be up to you to experiment making hopiang baboy or hopiang hapon (although I think hopiang hapon uses a different dough recipe/method).

UPDATE: Here is a recipe for hopiang hapon by Mrs. Rusty. (Note to Mrs. Rusty: Many times I would have wanted to leave a message on your site but I would have to register in Multiply so I back out. I tried to look for a way to send you a message, but it's the same thing. Please know that I love visiting your site!)

I HOPIA all enjoyed my hopia series!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

"HOPIA all enjoyed my hopia series!"
Manang..that's funny. Tinakam mo ako so I went to Queens yesterday (where most of the Fil Restaurants/Stores are located) and I bought Hopia Munggo. Di pa kaya ng powers ko to make hopia.
Hopia understand...
Thanks!
Pam NYC

Donna said...

yey!!! all done! it really looks yummy manang!! thanks for the encouraging words you gave. I will try to make the supersoft ensaymada this week. Wish me luck! Thanks again!

Tangled Noodle said...

Thanks, Manang! My sisters in CA and parents back in the Philippines are going to be so impressed when I make these (and other dishes) for them. I can't wait to see what you have next! (I'm going to buy soft tofu today for taho).

Manang said...

Hi TN,
You are so welcome! Thanks for trusting my recipe! :)May I suggest that instead of individual sizes when rolling the dough, maybe you can make larger then just use some cutters (maybe inverted bowl or something to punch out several circles. I just thought rolling out individual sizes of dough were too tedious. Maybe if you have kids, involve them in the process as well, to do some sort of assembly line type of hopia making. :)
Enjoy your taho!

Anonymous said...

Hi Manang! I just tried your ube cake but not roll. I used round pan with cream cheese frosting. Maya tikman ko. Nagworry nga ako kc alang butter nor oil or milk. Then etong hopia, d ba klangang ibrush ung ibabaw. Kasi yung iba parang shiny ung ibabaw.

Anonymous said...

puwede po ibigay ang recipe sa tagalog kc puro comments lang po ang nababasa ko

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