Description
A traditional Chinese Red Bean Mooncake recipe featuring a rich, smooth red bean paste filling encased in a delicate, soft mooncake dough, often prepared with salted egg yolks for an authentic festive treat. The filling is cooked and emulsified to achieve perfect texture, while the dough is carefully mixed and rested to ensure tenderness.
Ingredients
Scale
Red Bean Filling
- 200 grams dried red beans
- 100 grams maltose
- 100 grams sugar
- 80 grams vegetable oil
Mooncake Dough
- 140 grams golden syrup
- 4 grams (3/4 teaspoon) kansui
- 50 grams vegetable oil
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 200 grams cake flour
Filling and Assembly
- 9 salted duck egg yolks, halved
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon milk or water
- 50 grams mooncake mold (for shaping)
Instructions
- Cook Red Beans: Place the dried red beans and 1 1/2 cups of water into an Instant Pot. Cook under high pressure for 45 minutes, then allow the pressure to release naturally to soften the beans thoroughly.
- Blend Beans: Transfer cooked red beans into a food processor and blend on the lowest speed until mostly smooth, leaving occasional small pieces for texture.
- Sweeten and Cook Filling: Move the red bean paste to a 9-inch nonstick frying pan. Add maltose and sugar and heat over medium until maltose bubbles. Lower heat to medium-low and stir constantly until sugars dissolve and the paste softens.
- Add Oil to Filling: Add vegetable oil gradually, about 2 tablespoons at a time, stirring vigorously and waiting until fully absorbed before adding more. Continue cooking and stirring for about 20 minutes until the paste pulls cleanly from the pan and forms a soft mound.
- Cool Paste: Transfer the red bean paste to a plate or shallow bowl, press out air pockets, cover with plastic wrap touching the surface, and refrigerate until completely cool and pliable.
- Make Dough Liquids: In a large bowl, combine golden syrup, kansui, vegetable oil, and salt. Mix well with a spatula until emulsified.
- Form Dough: Add cake flour and gently fold until just combined, avoiding overmixing. Shape into a soft, slightly sticky ball.
- Rest Dough: Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and let rest for 2 hours to relax gluten and improve texture.
- Portion Filling: For each mooncake, weigh 30 g of red bean paste. If using salted egg yolks, wrap half a yolk (7-8 g) inside the paste, shaping into a smooth ball.
- Divide Dough: After resting, divide dough into 20 g pieces, form into balls, and cover to prevent drying.
- Assemble Mooncakes: Flatten a dough ball, wrap it around a filling ball completely, and seal edges. Use a mooncake mold to shape and imprint patterns on the mooncakes.
- Brush and Bake: Lightly brush the mooncakes with an egg yolk and milk wash before baking as per baking instructions (typically baked until golden), though baking details were not provided here.
Notes
- Natural cooling of the red bean paste is critical to achieving the right texture for shaping.
- Adding vegetable oil gradually helps emulsify the filling and prevents greasiness.
- Do not overmix dough to avoid tough crusts; gentle folding is key.
- Resting dough improves pliability and mooncake texture.
- If salted egg yolks are unavailable, filling can be solely red bean paste.
- Chilling the filling before assembly makes shaping easier and cleaner.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes (for beans) + 20 minutes (for filling cooking)
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Chinese
Keywords: red bean mooncake, Chinese mooncake, traditional mooncake, red bean paste, salted egg yolk mooncake, festive dessert, Mid-Autumn Festival
