Introduction 簡介
The first time I saw a s’more, I immediately thought of Maltose Cracker Sandwiches, one of my earliest food memories. When I was five or six, my grandparents would twist thick maltose around a chopstick, place it between soda crackers and gently press them together. The ingredients were humble, but the ritual was part of the pleasure.
第一次見到 s’more，我即刻諗起麥芽糖夾餅——我最早嘅食物回憶之一。我五、六歲嗰陣，爺爺嫲嫲會用一支筷子捲起濃稠嘅麥芽糖，放喺梳打餅中間，再輕輕壓埋一齊。材料雖然簡單，但製作過程本身已經係樂趣嘅一部分。
Accounts of 1950s and 1960s Hong Kong describe children eating maltose sandwiched between crackers.[1] Maltose Cracker Sandwiches were also a street snack.[5] One reader of a nostalgia post recalled that plastic from the uppers of old slippers could be exchanged for a maltose treat instead of paying cash.[2] Another remembered trading a beer bottle for one maltose cracker sandwich.[3] When I asked my grandmother-in-law about this, she remembered exchanging plastic chopsticks for ding ding candy—a traditional Hong Kong sweet made with maltose and broken into pieces with a chisel—in the 1950s.[6] She said she broke the chopsticks first—perhaps so the hawker would know they were no longer useful at home, rather than something a child had taken just to get sweets. Yet my parents-in-law, both born in the 1960s, seemed to have no idea what she was talking about. Taiwan’s folk-culture records describe a similar practice of exchanging worn plastic slippers and other scrap for maltose.[4]
有關五、六十年代香港嘅記載提到，細路會將麥芽糖夾喺餅乾中間食。[1] 麥芽糖夾餅亦係昔日嘅街頭小食之一。[5] 有網民喺懷舊帖文留言回憶，當年唔一定要畀錢，用舊拖鞋面嘅膠都可以換到麥芽糖小食。[2] 亦有人記得，一個啤酒樽就換到一塊麥芽糖夾餅。[3] 我特登問過我先生嘅嫲嫲，佢記得五十年代用膠筷子換過叮叮糖，仲話會先將筷子拗斷。或者係想畀小販知道，呢啲筷子已經用唔着，唔係細路為咗換糖，特登攞屋企仲用得嘅嘢出去。不過，我先生嘅父母（六十年代出世），就唔係好知有呢樣嘢。台灣嘅民俗文物記錄亦提到，以前有人用舊膠拖鞋同其他廢物換麥芽糖。[4]
Maltose Cracker Sandwiches are no longer a familiar sight in Hong Kong, and you can barely find them on the street.[5] But if you happen to have some maltose at home—perhaps left over after making the glaze for Hong Kong Char Siu—you can easily recreate this traditional snack, one whose story began long before my generation.
麥芽糖夾餅而家喺香港已經好少見，喺街上幾乎搵唔到。[5] 如果屋企整叉燒用剩啲麥芽糖，不妨拎包梳打餅自己整嚟食下。
The Star Ingredient: Maltose 主角：麥芽糖
Maltose gives this simple snack its character. The thick, stretchy syrup clings to a chopstick, making it easy to wind up a small portion and place it between two crackers. The crackers bring salt and crunch; the maltose brings chew and sweetness. That contrast is the whole pleasure of the sandwich.
呢款小食嘅滋味，全靠麥芽糖。佢濃稠又黏韌，可以用筷子捲起一小團，夾喺兩塊梳打餅中間。餅乾鹹香脆口，麥芽糖就甜而煙韌；呢個對比，就係麥芽糖夾餅最令人回味嘅地方。
What is maltose? 麥芽糖係咩？
The maltose used here is a golden, sticky syrup. Traditionally, it is made by mixing sprouted wheat with cooked glutinous rice, then boiling the liquid down until it becomes thick.[4] Its stretchy texture is part of the snack: as you lift the chopstick, the syrup pulls into a long strand before you twist it into a portion for the crackers.
呢度用嘅麥芽糖，係金黃色、黏稠嘅糖漿。傳統做法會將發芽嘅小麥同煮熟嘅糯米混合，再熬走水分，煮成濃稠嘅麥芽糖。[4] 佢嘅黏韌唔單止係口感，亦係整夾餅嘅樂趣：筷子一拉，糖漿就扯成長長嘅糖絲，再捲成一小團夾入餅乾。
Buying maltose 買麥芽糖
Look for a tub labelled “maltose” or “maltose syrup” at an Asian grocer. For this recipe, choose the thick, stretchy kind rather than a thin, pourable syrup. The glaze for Hong Kong Char Siu is also made with maltose.
去亞洲雜貨店買嘅時候，可以搵標住「麥芽糖」或者「maltose syrup」嘅盒裝糖漿。呢個食譜要用濃稠、拉得起糖絲嗰種，唔係稀薄、可以直接倒出嚟嘅糖漿。港式叉燒嘅糖漿亦係用麥芽糖整嘅。
References 參考資料
- 香港仔 — 尋味 思港情（壹）
- Facebook, 似水流年 — Julianna Tam’s comment on 「麥芽糖 麥芽糖夾餅」 — a personal recollection of exchanging plastic from an old slipper for a maltose treat.
- Facebook, 似水流年 — Soleado Tsang’s comment on 「麥芽糖 麥芽糖夾餅」 — recalls exchanging one beer bottle for “one piece”.
- Taiwan Historica — 臺灣民俗文物辭典：麥芽糖
- Time Out Hong Kong — 十大最令人懷念的童年滋味甜食糕點
- Hong Kong Intangible Cultural Heritage Database — Ding Ding Candy Making Technique
Maltose Cracker Sandwiches 麥芽糖夾餅
Description 簡介
Chewy maltose sandwiched between crisp, salty soda crackers—a simple Hong Kong street snack.
鹹香脆口嘅梳打餅夾住煙韌嘅麥芽糖，一款簡單嘅香港街頭小食。
Ingredients 食材
Instructions 做法
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Break each soda cracker in half.
將每塊梳打餅折成兩半。
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Dip two wooden skewers into the maltose. Lift them out and rotate them, as you would when handling honey, to gather about ½ tbsp maltose.
用兩支竹籤蘸入麥芽糖，拉起後像取蜜糖般轉動竹籤，捲起約半湯匙麥芽糖。
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Place the maltose on one cracker half. Top with another cracker half and gently press them together.
將麥芽糖放在一半梳打餅上，再放上另一半梳打餅，輕輕壓合。