North

Chumbeque 

This sweet is traditional from the northern gastronomy of Chile, Chumbeque is a sweet traditionally consumed in the Norte Grande regions of Arica and Parinacota, Tarapacá and Antofagasta. The sweet is currently patented in the name of Arturo Mejía Koo, grandson of a Cantonese couple who first made this famous sweet.

Story

In 1920, the Cantonese Kaupolín Koo Kau settled in Iquique, where he Spanishized his name to Ernesto Koo Flores. Due to his knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine, he worked as a doctor for the workers in the saltpeter offices. With the imminent closure of the saltpeter offices due to the decline of saltpeter production, Koo decided to emigrate to the town of Pozo Almonte, where he met his wife, Petronila Bustillo Sandoval, who was a pastry. There, Koo learned about the traditional sweets or alfajores of Pica, and remembering some bean sweets that a fellow countryman of his named Kung made in Canton, Koo prepared his sweets with what he remembered and thus gave birth to this new sweet. Koo called it Kung-Queque, and the locals Spanishized it as chumbeque. Both would have been the creators of the sweet, mixing a traditional Cantonese recipe with the products of the Norte Grande area. 

Ingredients

For the mass:4 kilos of flour, 1½ k of vegetable shortening, warm 120 g of bicarbonate dissolved in 1 liter of warm water

For the lemon honey:2 kilos of sugar 1 cup of lemon juice

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to medium temperature (180 ° C).

2. Prepare the dough. On a smooth surface place the flour and make a crown; Add the butter and the warm water with bicarbonate to the center and work to form a soft dough. Still warm, divide the dough into three portions, place each portion on three baking trays and stretch the dough with the uslero until the entire tray is covered. Prick the dough with a fork and bake until lightly golden, about 20 minutes.

3. Prepare the lemon honey. In a saucepan place the sugar, lemon juice and 7 cups of cold water; Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and cook over medium heat until honey thickens slightly; remove and reserve in the heat.

4. As the dough sheets cook, stack the sheets sprinkled with lemon honey until they form three layers. Let stand and cut square or rectangular chumbeques.