When I was a child, my cousin would come stay with us during school holidays. One year, he became an apprentice at a Chinese restaurant and every night after work, he would return with his creations. My favorite was Red Bean Pancakes—a crepe like pancake stuffed with sweet red bean paste, deep-fried to golden brown, and speckled with sesame seeds.

In the past, I had to make the red bean paste from scratch, which takes hours! Nowadays, I am just as happy with the store-bought,