How To Make Hopia Onion? The 13 New Answer

Hopia is another popular “merienda” or snack for Filipinos. Hopia consists of thin puff pastry traditionally filled with mung bean paste (munggo). But these days there are more variations to choose from when it comes to the filling, the most popular being the Ube or Purple Yam and the ones I personally prefer.

The truth is, I’ve wanted to try making Hopia for a while (because of course you can’t buy them here in Germany), but I was kind of intimidated, it looks too complicated… just think of the flimsy puff pastry, encasing the filling… and how the heck do you shape it into this round flat disc shape!!! Creepy right?! But somehow I had to work up enough courage to try Hopia because a special lady called Shirley asked for it after trying the ensaymada recipe I posted here a while back (and I’m really glad she liked it has… wink! wink!). So, after some intense research, I was ready to make my very first Hopia.

As it turned out, it wasn’t all that difficult. Although it takes some muscle work to roll the dough as thin as possible and believe me I have had arm muscle pain for the past few days which lasted longer than my hopia which went away so quickly it was amazing…but it was all worth it!!!

Although Shirley only asked for Hopia Munggo, I also tried making some with ube or purple yam filling as I have already made some using my ube halaya recipe.

I like them both and so does Armin (apparently), but I like the Ube more, apart from the taste, the texture is more delicate, but the Hopia Munggo (I used red mung bean) gave me a sense of nostalgia, it brought back memories my childhood days when me and my siblings would go to our neighboring sari sari shop to buy hopia for our afternoon snack.

*Percent Daily Values ​​are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values ​​may change based on calorie needs.

Hopia Like It is a local bakery in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Gerry, Anette, Susan, John and James who are all family members. Their Hopia has been a cult favorite in Los Angeles for many years. They believe in quality not quantity and only use the freshest ingredients.

Sarap Now is honored to be able to ship Hopia Like It goodies to people across the country who may not have had a chance to try it in Los Angeles.

What are the most popular flavors of Hopia Like It?

These are the top 3 in no particular order: Baboy, Ube, and Yellow Munggo.

There is also an assorted version where you can try these flavors:

(2) Yellow Mongoose Hopia, (2) Baboy Hopia, (2) Guava Hopia, (2) Ube Hopia, (2) Nutella Hopia, (2) Buko Pandan Hopia

What is the shelf life/storage of Hopia Like It?

According to Hopia Like It, Hopia has a shelf life of 1-2 weeks at room temperature. Also, Hopia can be frozen for up to 6 months. Thawing: do not reheat or thaw. Leave at room temperature until ready to eat. To enjoy warm, microwave for 5-10 seconds.

What is the best way to enjoy Hopia Like It after receiving the package?

You can eat it straight from the bag or, if you’re enjoying your Hopia warm, pop it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.

When do Hopia Like It orders ship?

To ensure freshness, Hopia Like It orders ship on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. For example, if your order is placed on a Saturday, the order will not be dispatched until the following Wednesday.

Who would have ever thought that this humble and delicious Filipino staple had such an interesting history? Hopia is of Chinese origin and was introduced to Filipinos by immigrants from Fukiens in the early 20th century. It means “good pastries” in Hokkian, a dialect spoken in southern Fujian and Taiwan.

Hopia is part of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival tradition as a kind of inexpensive version of moon cake. However, here in the Philippines it is not uncommon to have it as a snack on any normal day.

We have two popular varieties of Hopia; the cube-shaped ones with a doughy texture and the round, flaky treats made from Chinese puff pastry. But quality hopia has always been about the filling.

Although traditionally made from mung beans (monggo), other varieties such as pineapple have emerged to suit Filipino palates. And it’s no surprise that ube hopia has become a popular choice over the years, with the purple yam being a distinctly Filipino staple. Speaking of which, Maya Kitchen’s own easy recipe for Hopia Ube is a must-try.

Hopiang Hapon, or “Japanese” Hopi, is an interesting variation that uses the red adzuki bean native to Japan. This variation uses cake batter instead of puff pastry and is prepared on a griddle instead of an oven. Of all the Hopia varieties, they are the most similar to moon cake. It is also very similar to the traditional Japanese pastry manju; also round with various bean fillings such as adzuki.

A savory option, Hopiang Baboy, has a pork filling that’s sweet, though it can be an acquired taste. The traditional recipe is a mixture of breadcrumbs, lard, sweetened kundol (winter melon) and pork loin bacon with spring onions. Simpler versions use condensed milk and garlic. Either way, it’s just delicious.

Over in Indonesia, Hopia is known as Bakpia Pathok, named after an area in Yogakarta. It’s just as popular there as it is in the Philippines. Also introduced by the Chinese in the 1940s, it was known as Tau Luk Pia and came in a variety of fillings including cheese, chocolate and even durian! Like our hopia, the traditional bakpia is filled with mung beans.

Hopia makes a relatively inexpensive, thoughtful, and delicious gift for family and friends. Although it’s readily available, why not challenge yourself by baking a batch? You can even experiment with the filling. We’d love to hear about your experiences, so share them by leaving a comment below!

Is it a takeaway? A dessert? A bite-sized piece of wealth? Whichever way you look at it, there’s a reason Hopia is so popular. Beneath the thin crust of each pastry lies a sweet, starchy filling with flavors unique to this continent, like bean paste or mashed yam. Brought by immigrants from Fujian in the 20th century, it has since become a popular dish in the Philippines and Indonesia (where it is known as bakpia). You can find them at the neighborhood panaderia, grocery store, and of course in Binondo, where it’s not uncommon to hoard packages for pasalubong.

There are a number of Hopia brands that have stood the test of time, although two stand out for having garnered national attention for their accessibility to locals beyond Binondo’s borders. These Hopia houses are Eng Bee Tin and Polland, whose expansion has resulted in these now widely available Hopia brands becoming the most well-known among Filipinos. Their imaginative flavors have ensured their brands remain relevant to the local market. With (relatively) fresh, pre-packaged Hopia, these brands offer the best of both worlds: the convenience of being readily available and the freshness you’re looking for like any baked good — at least when it’s kept in the fridge.

While Hopia can (and perhaps should) be enjoyed all year round, we couldn’t think of a better time to do a taste test than the Chinese New Year. We went ahead and tried three of each brand’s most popular flavors: Mongo, Ube, and Kundol. How did each brand fare?

mongo

Sweetened, mashed mung beans make up the simplest — but by no means boring — take on hopia. This flavor serves as our standard: get it right and you know the brand knows their Hopia well; Get it wrong and, well, it’s hard to expect much from the rest of the lineup. So how do they differ in interpreting the classic?

Eng Bee Tin uses a thin crust that’s more tender, easily giving way to a creamy, starchy filling with a fluffiness reminiscent of mashed potatoes. Not too sweet, the components add up to a unique feel that can feel one-dimensional, but we’ll admit we enjoy it nonetheless.

Pollands, on the other hand, offers a stronger textural contrast between the filling and the shell. It counters the bite with a flaky crust—what it says on the box is the defining characteristic of authentic Chinese-style hopia. While the crust admittedly feels matte straight out of the box, it really shines with a quick reheat in the toaster. Inside you’ll find a denser, more compact filling that tastes sweeter on its own but is offset by the thicker crust.

UB

Perhaps the second most popular (and uniquely Filipino) variant is Hopia stuffed with our own purple yam—or at least an attempt to emulate it—which was first introduced in the 1980s by Eng Bee Tin founder Gerry Chua. Ube has become part of the standard flavor range of many Hopia brands over the years, but can the original be beaten?

Underneath Eng Bee Tin’s softer packaging is a filling that doesn’t exactly taste like real ube, but does have the milky-sweet flavor that most people associate with most commercialized ube halaya anyway. The ingredients list “white beans” right next to purple yam — a bulking agent that contributes a smoothness we enjoyed.

Polland’s uses a shell similar to the Mongo. On one pack, some tasters pointed out a rancid aftertaste, which we attribute to the use of old oil; Luckily this was absent in another pack bought the next day. Although there’s no white bean filler in the ingredients list, the filling is denser and drier with a nuttier, almost savory finish.

Kundol

Now this is where it gets interesting. Kundol refers to winter melon – a flaky fruit that is candied and added to the filling. You can sometimes find it cooked with lard to resemble pork fat to make the sweet and savory variant known as hopiang baboy. For this taste test, however, we chose the variants that put the spotlight on the winter melon itself, rather than consciously seeking out its Baboy interpretation.

Eng Bee Tin offers only one version of kundol, listed on their website as “Vegetarian Interpretation of the Hopiang Baboy.” The casing, although tender like the others, appears to have been further toasted and has a scattering of sesame seeds on it. Inside you’ll find a filling that’s also mung bean-based, but with a nutty, almost savory flavor that we found intriguing. Without looking at the packaging, the tasters compared the flavor to “peanut butter”, “coffee”, “meat” – none of which are actually on the ingredient list (although onion powder was). The occasional bit of kundol here and there contributes a slight crunch where you find it.

Polland, on the other hand, offers two versions with winter melon: Hopiang Baboy and Hopiang Kundol. While the former is more stylistically in line with Eng Bee Tin’s version, we wanted to focus on the version that better contained the fruit itself – so we went with the latter. This take couldn’t be more different than the competitor’s, albeit not in a bad way. Its square shape takes on a crust that’s a hybrid of crumbly shortbread and tender cake, while the filling takes on a jam-like, gooey consistency with a mild flavor. Overall, this take is closer to Taiwanese pineapple cakes than Hopia as we know it, but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

the judgment

Across all flavors, we noticed that Polland makes excellent crusts that contrast with the filling. The shortcake crust on the kundol is crumbly yet tender with a subtle sweetness that balances the jammy interior, while the flakyness on the mongo and ube pays homage to what many consider traditional Hopia style. The caveat, however, is that the flaky crust pieces need to be heated to show their appeal; Otherwise, they’ll just come across as thick and floury, overwhelming the filling inside.

Eng Bee Tin, on the other hand, makes fillings with a creamier consistency and an appealing taste. While we lament the lack of contrasting texture, we appreciate how the unique fiddiness is reminiscent of what you’d find in brownies or under-baked cookies. Sure, many people will snub their noses at their modern deviations. But we’ll take them for what they are: soft, starchy, and satisfying.

Whichever brand you choose, rest assured that you will sink your teeth into a great piece of Sino-Filipino culture. So for happiness, prosperity, and longevity — assuming you still stick to the recommended serving size (we obviously didn’t, but hey, no regrets) — consider picking up a pack or two this Chinese New Year.

Are you loyal to a Hopia brand? Which flavor is your favourite? Sound off the comments below!

If you ask Filipinos what their favorite Chinese food is, chances are one of their answers will be Hopia. Hopia, whose name derives from the Hokkien word “ho-pia,” meaning “good pastry,” is a puff pastry resembling a mooncake, with a filling that can be sweet or savory. The most popular fillings are mung bean paste, ube, and pureed kundol (winter melon) cooked in lard, hence hopiang baboy.

The Hopia we know today was introduced by early Chinese settlers fleeing political conflict in China. The Sino-Philippine Museum Bahay Tsinoy writes on its website that 90 percent of the Chinese here are from Fujian or Hokkien Province, which explains why most of the Chinese foods incorporated into our cuisine, based on ancient recipes of classic dishes, come from these areas.

Key word: created. Although we can trace Hopia’s roots back to China, you will not find any pastries in China that are completely identical to those currently in Binondo or Banawe.

Where Hopia Began

“Chinese food has evolved from its original Chinese Hokkien version or Cantonese version to a Filipino version that caters to Filipino palates,” explains Bahay Tsinoy. This includes many Chinese dishes popular with Filipinos such as lumpia, pancit and of course hopia.

[READ: There’s no chop suey in China — and other dishes that aren’t truly Chinese

Hopia’s recipe is a local adaptation of “pia”, the Hokkien name for a type of flat and round pastry. “Pia” is usually a filled pastry with a flaky outer shell. Other popular variations of it from neighboring countries are bakpia in Indonesia and kompia in Taiwan and some parts of Southeast Asia.

“In Fujian, China, Hopia’s closest relative still looks the same as it did 100 years ago – bean paste in a creamy batter skin. Early Filipino versions sold in Quiapo were made with green beans and flour or red beans and flour,” writes Bahay Tsinoy on his website.

It’s traditionally baked in a pugon powered by charcoal — at least according to local Chinese bakery Ho-land, which has maintained this way of making the pastry since opening its first shop in the 1960s.

Why Hopia needed to be transformed

Considering how much we enjoy Hopia these days, it’s quite hard to imagine that the puff pastry wasn’t so popular among Filipinos in the past. This was partly because the original version tasted a bit bland to our taste buds. We’re talking about people who love their sinigang, which is cooked at its most sour, and finally their laing at its spiciest.

After inheriting Eng Bee Tin from his grandfather, who founded it in 1912, entrepreneur Gerry Chua created the very first Hopiang tube to cater to Filipino tastes.

The idea came from a conversation Chua had with a clerk at a grocery store, who told him that Ube was the top-selling ice cream flavor locally. This information turned out to be the key to making the pastry sweet enough to appeal to Filipino consumers who are always looking for a flavor boost in their food. Since then, Hopiang Ube became the trademark of Eng Bee Tin until other bakeries started selling it in the 1980s.

You’ve probably heard of Hopiang Hapon too – now you’re getting the head scratchers and the “So is this pastry Japanese?” queries. The answer is still a yes and no. Hopiang Hapon borrows elements from the Japanese bakeware and combines them with the localized version of Hopia.

In an interview with The Inquirer in 2017, Meah Ang See, executive director of Bahay Tsinoy, says: “Chinese of the older generation explained that Hopiang Hapon is so called because the ancient Hopi makers used the Japanese version [of making moon cakes] instead of the Chinese version used . It was a more desirable product because it stored well and was easier to make than the flaky Chinese version.”

With its rich history, Hopia is yet another culinary testament to how our culture has evolved and evolved over the years, absorbing and being influenced by other cultures. We adapt foreign customs and adapt them to our existing traditions, practices, beliefs and living conditions, resulting in a reinvention that we can call our own.

Who would have ever thought that this humble and delicious Filipino staple had such an interesting history? Hopia is of Chinese origin and was introduced to Filipinos by immigrants from Fukiens in the early 20th century. It means “good pastries” in Hokkian, a dialect spoken in southern Fujian and Taiwan.

Hopia is part of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival tradition as a kind of inexpensive version of moon cake. However, here in the Philippines it is not uncommon to have it as a snack on any normal day.

We have two popular varieties of Hopia; the cube-shaped ones with a doughy texture and the round, flaky treats made from Chinese puff pastry. But quality hopia has always been about the filling.

Although traditionally made from mung beans (monggo), other varieties such as pineapple have emerged to suit Filipino palates. And it’s no surprise that ube hopia has become a popular choice over the years, with the purple yam being a distinctly Filipino staple. Speaking of which, Maya Kitchen’s own easy recipe for Hopia Ube is a must-try.

Hopiang Hapon, or “Japanese” Hopi, is an interesting variation that uses the red adzuki bean native to Japan. This variation uses cake batter instead of puff pastry and is prepared on a griddle instead of an oven. Of all the Hopia varieties, they are the most similar to moon cake. It is also very similar to the traditional Japanese pastry manju; also round with various bean fillings such as adzuki.

A savory option, Hopiang Baboy, has a pork filling that’s sweet, though it can be an acquired taste. The traditional recipe is a mixture of breadcrumbs, lard, sweetened kundol (winter melon) and pork loin bacon with spring onions. Simpler versions use condensed milk and garlic. Either way, it’s just delicious.

Over in Indonesia, Hopia is known as Bakpia Pathok, named after an area in Yogakarta. It’s just as popular there as it is in the Philippines. Also introduced by the Chinese in the 1940s, it was known as Tau Luk Pia and came in a variety of fillings including cheese, chocolate and even durian! Like our hopia, the traditional bakpia is filled with mung beans.

Hopia makes a relatively inexpensive, thoughtful, and delicious gift for family and friends. Although it’s readily available, why not challenge yourself by baking a batch? You can even experiment with the filling. We’d love to hear about your experiences, so share them by leaving a comment below!

Hopia Like It is a local bakery in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, CA. It was founded in 1999 by Gerry, Anette, Susan, John and James who are all family members. Their Hopia has been a cult favorite in Los Angeles for many years. They believe in quality not quantity and only use the freshest ingredients.

Sarap Now is honored to be able to ship Hopia Like It goodies to people across the country who may not have had a chance to try it in Los Angeles.

What are the most popular flavors of Hopia Like It?

These are the top 3 in no particular order: Baboy, Ube, and Yellow Munggo.

There is also an assorted version where you can try these flavors:

(2) Yellow Mongoose Hopia, (2) Baboy Hopia, (2) Guava Hopia, (2) Ube Hopia, (2) Nutella Hopia, (2) Buko Pandan Hopia

What is the shelf life/storage of Hopia Like It?

According to Hopia Like It, Hopia has a shelf life of 1-2 weeks at room temperature. Also, Hopia can be frozen for up to 6 months. Thawing: do not reheat or thaw. Leave at room temperature until ready to eat. To enjoy warm, microwave for 5-10 seconds.

What is the best way to enjoy Hopia Like It after receiving the package?

You can eat it straight from the bag or, if you’re enjoying your Hopia warm, pop it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.

When do Hopia Like It orders ship?

To ensure freshness, Hopia Like It orders ship on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. For example, if your order is placed on a Saturday, the order will not be dispatched until the following Wednesday.

National City locals crave a fresh taste of Filipino cuisine at Ching’s Famous Hopia. Ching’s Famous Hopia offers both low-fat and gluten-free options.

The dream is to eat an amazing meal for under $15, and dreams come true at Ching’s Famous Hopia. Ching’s Famous Hopia is open to guests throughout the day (and night) and serves meals morning, evening, and noon. You don’t have to travel far for the best Filipino food. Ching’s Famous Hopia is ready and waiting to satisfy your appetite.