Sticky Rice Cake Recipe – “Mini Pumpkins” By: Lei Penland Ingredients:  Half of a medium size pumpkin / squash  4 to 6 cups of sticky rice flour  1 cup of regular flour  ¼ cup of sugar  Sweetened red bean paste  Raisins Note: You can usually get the Sticky Rice flour and Sweetened red bean paste in an Asian store. It usually comes in a can or in a plastic bag or container.

Remove the center (seeds / guts) Put a plastic microwave dish cover over the pumpkin and put it in the microwave on full heat for about 12 to 15 minutes or until it is soft enough to mash with a fork or spoon Add the sugar to the mashed pumpkin and mix it into a smooth paste

Add the sticky rice flour and regular flour gradually to the pumpkin mix and fold it in by hand until it is well blended and looks like the yellow dough in the picture to the left Put the red bean paste in microwave to heat it for about 3 to 5 minutes, then stir it until it is cool and a little dryer than it was before Divide the pumpkin dough into mini balls of about 1 inch in diameter flatten the mini balls by hand into flat discs but not too thin Roll the red bean paste by hand into mini balls and put one on each disc

Close the discs around the red bean paste balls and roll them until smooth Use the back side of the knife to carve 8 lines on each ball, then flatten slightly until the balls are the shape of a pumpkin Dip the mini pumpkins bottom into some cooking oil to keep them from sticking to the steamer, then place them into the steamer as shown to the right Steam them for about 6 to 8 minutes after the water boils

After the steamer pot cools down, take the mini pumpkins out If you want to bring them to a party, then dress them nice and put a raisin on top of each one, making them look real nice You can also roll them in potato starch to keep them from being sticky These are very pretty and taste wonderfully delicious, and well worth the time it takes to prepare them It took me several times to finally get this recipe right and make them look presentable. You may have to experiment with it a little before you get them the way you want. Good luck and enjoy the results