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Susan Jung

Cardamom is a spice I love, even though I do not use it often.
I add a small amount of the ground spice when I make Danish pastries and delicate chickpea-flour cookies, and use a pod or two when I am cooking an Indian- or Middle Eastern-inspired dish, but that is about the extent of it.
It is a spice that should be used sparingly: with most preparations, a subtle hint of its distinctive flavour is much better than a strong jolt of it. I once accidentally bit into a whole cardamom pod I had used in a biryani, and it was some time before I could get the bitter flavour out of my mouth.
Cardamom comes in two main varieties: black and green, with the former being much stronger and the latter used in a wider variety of cuisines.

Both can be bought as whole pods or ground. You get a better flavour if you buy the whole pods and grind them as you need them. If you must buy the ground spice, store it in the freezer.
Cardamom can be used on its own or mixed with other spices; it is particularly delicious with saffron and is often part of spice mixtures such as ras el hanout and garam masala.
Rice pudding
Green cardamom is good when used in milk or cream-based desserts, such as panna cotta or baked flan. I love it in rice pudding, which I make by baking rice with milk, a small amount of sugar, a few green cardamom pods and a pinch of saffron threads.
When the rice has absorbed all the milk and is tender, remove the cardamom pods and let the mixture cool. Stir in a little orange flower water, then fold in some whipped cream. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios and pomegranate seeds before serving.
Danish pancakes
Aebleskivers, ball-shaped “pancakes”, are fairly unknown outside Denmark and communities with large Danish populations such as Solvang, California, where I first tasted them.
To make these, you need a special pan with half-sphere indentations. I have never seen an aebleskiver pan in Hong Kong so I use an inexpensive cast iron pan made for takoyaki – Japanese octopus balls; they are cooked in a similar way to aebleskivers, although takoyaki are slightly smaller.

You can buy the pan at shops specialising in Japanese household products, such as Apita in Hong Kong’s Taikoo Shing neighbourhood and Sogo in Causeway Bay.
The cooking technique described below sounds much more difficult than it is; while your first attempts might not yield perfectly round balls (although the aebleskivers will still be edible) they will improve quickly with practice.
It might take a little time to figure out how your hob heats the pan – on mine, the batter browns much more quickly in the centre indentations, so once the aebleskivers become firm, I move the ones in the middle to the outside indentations and vice versa so they all brown and cook evenly.
This recipe is based on one from the eGullet website.

250 grams plain (all-purpose) flour
1/2 tsp ground cardamom (optional)
25 grams sugar
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
3 large eggs, at room temperature
450ml whole milk
8 grams dry yeast
30 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
Cooking oil, for greasing the pan
Icing sugar, for dusting
Fruit preserves, for serving (I use strawberry or raspberry jam)
1. In a saucepan, heat the milk to a simmer then remove from the flame. Cool to 35 degrees Celsius (95 Fahrenheit), whisking occasionally. Stir the yeast into the milk and let it stand for five minutes.
2. In a bowl, whisk the flour with the cardamom, sugar and salt. Whisk together the eggs, milk/yeast mixture and butter, pour over the flour and combine – the mixture will be slightly lumpy. Leave at room temperature for about an hour (the mixing bowl must be large enough so the batter does not overflow as it rises).
The mixture can be used immediately or covered with cling film and refrigerated for up to a day. If you refrigerate the batter (it should be stirred periodically), let it stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes before using.
3. Transfer the batter to a measuring cup with a pouring spout. Heat an aebleskiver pan over a medium flame then add a few drops of oil to each indentation. Use a paper towel to evenly spread the oil in the indentations. Pour enough batter into each hole to fill it almost completely then leave for about 45 seconds, or until the bottom sets.
4. Use a small fork or a wooden skewer to give the aebleskiver a quarter “turn” so the batter in the centre flows out into the pan. Cook to set the bottom then give it another turn so more batter flows out of the centre into the pan, and the first cooked side is on top. You will need to give each aebleskiver two or three partial turns – if you just flip it over once, the aebleskiver will collapse slightly and be an ellipsoid, rather than a ball.
5. Once it is set, cook it to brown the bottom and set the interior, then flip it over to brown the other side, adjusting the heat if they brown too quickly or slowly. Stir the batter and coat the pan with oil before cooking each batch.
6. For each portion, put three aebleskivers on a plate, dust with icing sugar and serve with a spoonful of jam.
This content was first published in Post Magazine in 2012 and 2013.


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The bitter spice comes in green and black varieties with the former more intense. It is used sparingly in Indian dishes and desserts


The bitter spice comes in green and black varieties with the former more intense. It is used sparingly in Indian dishes and desserts.


Dessert recipes

Susan Jung's recipes

What is cardamom good for? How to make the most of the spice, its varieties, and a recipe

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The bitter spice comes in green and black varieties with the former more intense. It is used sparingly in Indian dishes and desserts

The bitter spice comes in green and black varieties with the former more intense. It is used sparingly in Indian dishes and desserts