Wednesday, September 5, 2012

in the kitchen :: mooncakies

this so didn't happen in MY kitchen! but i played a little part in it so im tagging myself! 

one of my favorite festivals in singapore is mid-autumn festival. (shortly followed by dragonboat festival) but mostly because of the food that comes along with them! 


since i was in town, i shamelessly asked to be taught how to make traditional mooncake.
from scratch! :) 


tonnes and tonnes of ingredients...


my awesome aunt and her old school weighing scale! 

when daniel heard that i was going to spend the day being a mooncakie apprentice, he shamelessly asked "why not pineapple tarts?" (cos mister, you gotta wait till chinese new year for that!) 


separating salted egg yolk..


lotus paste in ballies...
big balls for baked mooncakies and smalls for pinpi (snowskin)


pinpi is my favorite. it tastes like chewy mochi and is eaten chilled. you're meant to slice it up into dainty nibbles and savour it with chinese tea. but i could totally inhale an entire cakie in one bite. 


ready to go in for a second round of baking! 
but don't they look profesh?? 


i love the pattern of these but not a big fan of these baked piggies! 
you fit them in little red piggy baskets!! a perfect gift for children! 

thought of the day:: i'd gladly pay for my mooncakies in future cos its sooo much work, skill and money! but it was fun hanging out with my aunts, nibbling while baking and practicing my cantonese!!

xx

16 comments:

  1. I love crust , so the piglets are my favourite! Love ping pi and the double yolks too!

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    1. hmmmmm i like quadruple yolk! she taught me how to make it. and it was SOOOOO much work!!! no wonder they cost so much!!!

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  2. wow homemade mooncakes! i never even knew it was possible. they look amazing though - just like the ones I'm used to! Do they taste different from the store-bought ones?

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    1. so super old school right?

      they taste the same (except more special cos they were hand moulded by us!!) but my aunt was very generous with the nuts and ingredients! :)

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  3. WOWWWW your aunt is a pro!!! Have never made my own mooncakes before and dont intend to any time in the near future... the only ones I acutally really like are the ones with flaky pastry on the outside and fresh minced meat inside.... Yummmmm

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    1. isn't she? she used to make mooncakes for the major hotels in singapore. so her mould and recipes are all authentic! :)

      ooooo i know what you're referring to! she made us a batch before we visited!!

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  4. i always thought with mooncakes, we're paying for the pretty packaging?? so they are a pain in the butt to make!!!! waaah. i didn't know that.

    i'm big on the durian ones with snow skin. i know you're not a keen fan hey? haHahaha!! kinda like the weird, ang moh inspired ones as well: earl grey skin, dark chocolate mousse, lychee martini, champagne, truffle....... must be a "mongrel" thing. haHaha!!

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    1. i always thought so too! but now, i'd gladly pay every single cent!!

      oooo i know what kind you like! im not super keen on the durians (just the fruit itself) BUT i love the fancy angmo ones!! raffles hotel has a whole bunch of yummy ones!! we pick some up every year for the "mongrel" husband!

      p.s. did you like "ang-mo" xiao long bao? they have truffles, chilli crab, all sorts these days!!

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    2. i do!! i do like them "ang mo" xiao long baos!!! haHahaha!! how did you know?? its awful to like something so "bastardised" in the name of fusion cuisine, but i love it for some reason :D

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    3. heehee!! :) i love the chilli crab XLBs! but found the truffle a little overwhelming!!

      funniest thing is, daniel is a purist when it comes to asian food, the exact style he first ate it in melbourne. so he likes his laksa with yellow noodles! i tease him ALL the time! :)

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  5. I heart ping pi mooncakes!

    They look so good!

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    1. did you know that the white is banana flavored and the green is pandan!? i NEVER knew!!! :)

      i think im leaking trade secret! it was prolly a bad idea to teach me! :)

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  6. I'm so so missing moon cakes right now. My fave is the one with salted egg yolk and lots of lotus seeds.

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    1. me too! :) im sure you can whisk out a batch in your fab kitchen!! x

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