Crystal Mooncake- gluten free and vegan!
It’s almost to mid autumn festival. It usually falls on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Lunisolar calendar. In Chinese culture, we usually eat mooncake to celebrate the event. It is one of the most important holidays in China. Now I see a lot of Asian grocery store selling mooncakes. As much as I like the traditional mooncakes, usually made with a flour dough and dense filling, it is sometimes a little heavy. Thus, I’m looking for alternative recipes that will look pretty and delicious. This crystal mooncake fits the bill and so simple to make! Best of all it’s gluten free and vegan too!
The outside skin is made from….sago! Yes! The type you use to make mango sago dessert can also be used for crystal mooncakes. For the filling I’m using store bought red bean paste. You can also find green tea or white lotus filling which are also great option. I also have a post on red bean paste if you prefer to make your own! In addition, if you like the filling to be a bit more colourful, you can do purple yam or pumpkin so the colours will show through.
Other posts you might like:
Ingredients
Crystal mooncake
- 1 cup sago
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 3/4 cup hot water (60-70oC or 140-158oF)
- DON’T CHANGE THE AMOUNT OF WATER, THIS WILL GIVE THE MOST IDEAL TEXTURE AND LOOK.
- 1-1.5 cups red bean paste (store bought or homemade)- divided into 15 gram balls
- rice flour to prevent sticking
You will need a moon cake mold. They are easy to find and can be found on amazon. If you don’t have one, you can use a cookie stamp so just shape it roughly and stamp it gently but firmly with a cookie stamp. If you do with a cookie stamp it will become more flat but it will still taste great! The ones I’m using is about 2 inch in width and can make 50g of moon cake
How to make it
Crystal mooncake prep
- In a bowl add in sago, sugar and warm water.
- Mix and cover for 30-40 minutes
- Roll the red bean paste into about 20g or about 1/2 inch in diameter on a baking tray
- Place the tray into the freezer for better handling
Making the crystal mooncake
- Knead the dough until it sticks to each other
- Then on a dough mat, knead for 2-3 minutes
- Take a small piece (about 30g), flatten it place the red bean paste in the middle
- Use your thumb and index finger.
- Form a ball and place into some rice flour to prevent sticking
- Place the ball into the mooncake mold and press into the sides first
- Flip the mooncake mold over and push the lever to stamp the design and shape into the mooncake. Each mooncake should be about 2 in in diameter and 1-1.5in in height
- Place into a lined steamer basket.
- Boil water in a pot, once it’s boiling, place the steamer over the boiling water.
- Steam on medium heat for 25 minutes, then turn the heat off, leave it covered for 5 more minutes
- Let it cool slightly and enjoy.
- If you can’t finish it all, place into a container lined with parchment paper and steam for about 10 minutes before eating.
Pro-tip
- It’s important to knead the sago dough, you want to get rid of some of the individual sago particles to form a relatively smooth dough. You won’t get rid of all but the rest will be cooked when steamed. If you donโt knead then there is a chance that you will end up with uncooked sago dough.
- DON’T try to play around with the water and sago ratio. I’ve tried so many times, if I put too much water in, the dough is way to runny. If I put too little water, it won’t dissolve the individual sago particles and you will get up with uncooked sago in the final product, no matter how long you cook it.
- I recommend rolling out the red bean into balls and freeze for 20 minutes. Do this while you are letting the sago rest.
- The sago doesn’t have elasticity like wheat flour so when you are putting the red bean paste into the sago dough, you want to use your index and thumb to push the sago dough towards the middle. You might also want to use your other thumb to hold the red bean in place.
Crystal Mooncake
Ingredients
- 1 cup sago
- 2 ยฝ tbsp sugar
- ยพ cup hot water 60-70โ or 140-158โ
- 1-1ยฝ cup red bean paste (store bought or homemade) rolled into 20g balls
- rice flour to prevent sticking
Instructions
Crystal mooncake prep
- In a bowl add in sago, sugar and warm water.
- Mix and cover for 30-40 minutes
- Roll the red bean paste into about 20g or about 1/2 inch in diameter on a baking tray
- Place the tray into the freezer for better handling
Making the crystal mooncake
- Knead the dough until it sticks to each other
- Then on a dough mat, knead for 2-3 minutes
- Take a small piece (roughly 20-30g), flatten it place the red bean paste in the middle
- Use your thumb and index finger.
- Form a ball and place into some rice flour to prevent sticking
- Place the ball into the mooncake mold and press into the sides first
- Flip the mooncake mold over and push the lever to stamp the design and shape into the mooncake. Each mooncake should be about 2in in diameter and 1-1.5in in height
- Place into a lined steamer basket.
- Boil water in a pot, once it’s boiling, place the steamer over the boiling water.
- Steam on medium heat for 25 minutes, then turn the heat off, leave it covered for 5 more minutes
- Let it cool slightly and enjoy.
- If you can’t finish it all, place into a container lined with parchment paper and steam for about 10 minutes before eating.
