Mung Bean Pork Mooncake

Make the mung bean filling

Step 1

In a medium bowl, cover the spilt mung beans with water. Soak for 4 hours at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.

Step 2

Partially fill a large wok with water and place a steamer rack in the middle. Bring the water to a rolling boil over high heat. Drain the soaked spilt mung beans through a fine-mesh sieve and transfer them to a heatproof bowl for steaming. Pour ¾ cup water over the mung beans. Put the bowl on top of the steamer rack and cover. Steam until the split mung beans are soft and can be smashed easily with the back of a spoon, about 35 minutes.

Step 3

当cool enough to handle, transfer the steamed spilt mung beans with any remaining reserved water in its steaming bowl to a food processor. Add the sugar, and pulse on medium speed until it turns into a paste, about 3 to 5 times. Do not over process; it will become rubbery and inedible. It should look crumbly and soft, like wet sand.

Step 4

热的猪油一套锅小火,加入sweet mung bean paste, and stir with a silicone spatula until the lard has melted into the paste and the paste begins to resemble the texture of mashed potatoes, about 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, and transfer to a plate. The paste will start to firm up as it cools down. When it’s cool enough to handle, shape into 15 balls, about 43 g each. Cover with plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out and set aside at room temperature.

Make the pork filling

Step 5

在一套锅中火加热猪油。当it’s hot and shimmering, add the ground pork and cook, stirring, until the edges are opaque, about 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low, and add the soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar. Cook, stirring continuously, until the sauce has completely been absorbed and the ground pork is slightly dried out, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the fried shallots, sesame seeds, white pepper, and five-spice powder (if using). Turn off the heat and let it cool down.

Make the water dough

Step 6

In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the all-purpose flour, lard, sugar, and salt. Stream in the water and mix to form a shaggy dough. Knead with your hands until it’s smooth and cohesive, about 5 minutes. (Alternatively, knead in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment on low speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.) Divide into 15 even pieces, about 30 g each, and roll them into individual balls. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for at least 20 minutes.

Make the oil paste

Step 7

In a medium bowl, mix the cake flour and lard, and combine with your hands until it forms a cohesive mass. Divide into 15 pieces, about 15 g each. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest.

Step 8

Take a ball of mung bean paste and gently create an indent in the middle with your thumb. Stuff 1 scant tablespoon of the pork filling inside the indent, and seal it up into a smooth ball. Repeat with the remaining mung bean paste and pork filling. If the mung bean paste is too crumbly and dry and does not hold together, mix a bit of water into it. Keep the balls covered with plastic wrap.

Step 9

Take a water dough ball and flatten it with your palm into a 3-inch disc. Place an oil paste ball at the center of the disc and wrap the disc around the oil paste, pinching it closed and rolling it in your hands so it’s smooth, larger ball. Cover with plastic wrap and repeat with all the remaining water dough and oil paste balls. Let them rest for 10 minutes.

Step 10

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

Step 11

Take a dough ball and, with a rolling pin, flatten it into an elongated oval, about 6 inches long. From the narrow, bottom tip of the oval, roll it away from you like it’s a burrito to form a cigar. Rotate the cigar on the table 90 degrees so that it’s vertical. Flatten it up and down with a rolling pin again into another long oval, also about 6 inches long. Once again, roll it away from you like it’s a burrito. Stand it up on the table like an erect pillar so that one of the swirled ends points up to the ceiling. Flatten it with your palm into a disc. It will look a bit like a swirly snail shell. Cover with plastic wrap and repeat with the remaining dough balls. Let rest for another 10 minutes.

Step 12

With a rolling pin, flatten one of the snail shell–shaped discs into a round disc, about 4.5 inches wide. Place a mung bean and pork ball in the middle, and gently envelop the dough around and over it. Pinch the dough together to seal. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

Step 13

Arrange the mooncakes on a parchment paper-lined baking tray with the pinched side of the dough facing down, leaving at least 1 inch of space between each mooncake. Push down on the center of the mooncakes with the heel of your palm so that they look like a fat hockey puck with a subtle indent in the middle.

Step 14

Dip the tip of a chopstick into the red food dye, and lightly dab 3 or 5 dots in the center of each mooncake.

Step 15

Bake the mooncakes on the lower rack of the oven for 8 minutes. Then put a sheet of aluminum foil over the mooncakes to prevent them from browning, and bake for another 14 to 17 minutes, until they poof up. The cakes should come out ivory white. Enjoy while hot if you’d like, though because this pastry is often given as a gift, it’s usually eaten at room temperature. To store, put them in an airtight container. They will last 3 days at room temperature, a week in the refrigerator, or a couple of months in the freezer.