Filling:
1 lb Red azuki beans
Water
3/4 c Lard
1 3/4 c Sugar
Water-shortening dough:
2 c Flour
5 tb Lard
10 tb Water
1/4 ts Salt
Flaky dough:
1 c Flour
5 tb Lard
Red food coloring for
- design
Soak red beans in water to cover 2 hours. Drain and discard the
water. Cover with 8 cups fresh water and bring to a boil, then
simmer over low heat 1-1/2 hours or until skins open. Strain the
beans and discard the skins. Place the strained beans in several
layers of cheesecloth and squeeze out any excess water. Place in a
saucepan with the lard or oil and the sugar. Cook, stirring
continuously, until almost all the moisture has evaporated. Let
cool. You will need 2 cups of filling for the mooncakes. Divide
this into 20 portions and shape into balls.
Dough: Mix ingredients for the water-shortening dough and the
flaky dough separately until smooth. Divide each dough into 20
equal portions. Wrap one portion of flaky dough inside each
portion of water-shortening dough. Roll out each piece of dough,
then fold in thirds to form three layers. Roll out again, and once
more fold in thirds to form three layers. Flatten each piece of
dough with the palm of your hand to form a 3" circle. Place one
portion of filling in the center. Gather the edges to enclose the
filling and pinch to seal. Place the filled packet in the mold,
gently pressing to fit. Invert and remove the mold. Dilute red
food coloring with water and pour onto a damp paper towel on a
plate. Take some food coloring onto the cookie-design stamp, then
press on top of the mooncake. Repeat process for remaining
mooncakes. Arrange mooncakes on a baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes at
350 degrees. Let cool before serving.
The original author notes that making mooncakes is fairly
complicated, and this recipe uses two doughs that are folded and
rolled together in a manner similar to French puff pastry. Also,
the mooncakes are formed in a special decorative aluminum mold and
stamped with a Chinese cookie-design stamp, which might be
available in better-stocked Chinese kitchenware stores. If
necessary, you could substitute a miniature Bundt pan or fluted
brioche pan and a Western cookie-design stamp. Finally, while this
recipe has a sweet filling of red beans, you could mix in other
ingredients, such as Chinese chopped dried fruits and chopped
nuts.
