Well here’s a crazy idea I’ve been tossing around for a while. These sweets don’t really jive with the Mexican food we’re eating at the moment, but hey—I thought of this back when I was making Japanese Curry. And this is kind of… maybe.. sort of… okay, vaguely… Asian, so in my mind it works :P

I’m not really sure what to call this concoction. It’s a dim-sum wrapper made with sweet glutinous rice and pumpkin instead of sweet potato; on the inside, there’s a pumpkin puree spiced with the cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg, sugar and grated crystallized ginger. So basically I crossed jin deui with pumpkin desserts and this odd little deviant child came out. And if I haven’t scared you yet, there are more mutant babies inside my head at the moment. Parents: this is what happens to your kids when they play with their food as wee children.

NB: Glutinous rice does not actually contain gluten, but is so dubbed because it is very sticky.

Ingredients for the Wrapper
204g glutinous rice flour, plus extra
1 large sugar pumpkin
½ cup Splenda
1 tsp molasses
⅛ cup water

Additional Ingredients for the Filling
Splenda
Vietnamese Cassia Cinnamon
All Spice
Crystallized Ginger, grated or chopped finely
Nutmeg

1. Cut the sugar pumpkin in half. Scrape out the seeds and fibrous interior with an ice cream scooper or a melon-baller. Bake the pumpkins for 40-50 minutes in an oven preheated to 350°F. The pumpkin skin should easily separate from the flesh, so just peel it off and discard. Use an immersion blender or a food processor to puree the pumpkin flesh until silky. NB: For a tasty snack, save the seeds, toast them in the oven until crispy and very lightly brown, and toss with your favorite blend of seasonings.
2. To assemble the dough for the wrapper, first mix 284g pumpkin puree with the rice flour. Then, in a small cup on the side, combine the Splenda, the molasses, and the water; place the cup in the microwave for 30s or 1 minute, until the mixture is boiling hot. Immediately add the sweetened liquid to the container with the puree and rice flour. Mix until the combination forms a thick, wet paste. Add additional rice flour if necessary, but be careful not to make the "dough" too dry or it will fall apart when you try to wrap up the filling.
3. Mix the remaining pumpkin puree with the Splenda, crystallized ginger, and other spices to taste.
4. Place one heaping tablespoon of the dough on a lightly floured surface (use rice flour). Dip the tips of your fingertips in water, then gently pat out the dough into a roughly circular shape. Place a little filling in the center, wrap the dough around the filling, and seal. Repeat this process for as many pastries as you want to eat tonight. NB: I recommend using a pastry scraper to get under the dough, lift, and fold over. The dough is very tender and requires gentle handling.
5. Add peanut oil to a small pan; the oil should be about ¼ inch thick. Heat the oil until ready to fry. When the oil is very hot, add the pastries to the pan. If properly prepared, each side should be a beautiful golden brown in about 20-40 seconds. Turn the pastries as needed. When completely browned on all sides, remove to a paper towel. Gently roll to remove excess oil.

The good: this dessert has quite a bit of potential. I love the contrast of the crispy, chewy exterior with the soft, moist interior. There are similar fried, pastry desserts, but usually the crispy crust is flaky instead of chewy, so the glutinous rice is a nice change in texture. Furthermore, the recipe is very simple and can be adapted to multiple flavors and fillings. The bad: there’s lots of room for improvement. I was quite tentative about trying this idea for several reasons, so I didn’t develop the dish concept very far beyond a test run. However, I believe there are several issues to address:

1. The texture, and possibly the flavor, of the filling could be improved. I would like to introduce some kind of creaminess to the pumpkin, but as additional liquid is not an option (the filling would be too wet), I'm not exactly sure what would work best. Sweetened cream cheese? That might be too heavy and too traditional. But what about a coconut whipped cream? The coconut whipped cream would hopefully lighten the filling, bring creaminess to the table, and add flavor without overriding the pumpkin. It's hard to tell without trying it first. And as I don't have the ingredients in front of me...
2. The original jin deui is rolled in white sesame seeds. Since Tyler requested black sesame seeds on his bagels, I just don't stock the whities. Also, I'm not exactly sure what pumpkin and sesame would taste like... it's just one of those things you need to try first hand. If the coconut whipped cream works, shaved coconut might be even better.
3. The molasses on the plate isn't the best choice (too intense). A brown sugar syrup or a dark maple syrup would be more appropriate.