PART OF International Eats

How to Make Snow Skin Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional festival based on the lunar calendar celebrated by many Asian cultures. Like Thanksgiving, great importance is placed on gratitude, and on gathering with family and loved ones. Of the festival's many traditions, one of the most important is making and sharing mooncakes. In Chinese culture specifically, the mooncake's round shape represents the moon and symbolizes completeness and reunion.

By Amy Ho

recipe

Taro & Coconut Snow Skin Mooncakes

Traditional moon cakes have a sweet lotus seed or red bean paste filling with a baked golden-brown exterior. Some mooncakes will have a whole egg yolk in the middle to symbolize the full moon. Through the years, however, less traditional mooncakes have started to emerge, including the snow skin mooncake.

Unlike a traditional baked mooncake, the wrapper of the no-bake snow skin mooncake is a mixture of glutinous rice flour, rice flour and tapioca starch. The combination of these three ingredients gives the mooncakes its signature soft-yet-slightly-chewy texture. The filling of snow skin mooncakes can be anything from jammy fruit to aromatic taro or custard. The possibilities are endless.

These snow skin mooncakes are inspired by another traditional Chinese dessert soup: coconut taro sago. The filling is a mix of creamy mashed taro and coconut milk, studded with transparent sago pearls. Purple yam is added to give it a vibrant purple color.

Pick Your Molds

There are several types of mooncake molds, ranging from traditional wooden ones that require you to shape the mooncake in the paddle itself and plastic ones that have a stamp and plunger that allows the mooncake to slide out easily. Most mooncakes molds usually come in two sizes: 50 grams and 100 grams. The size is based on your preference and it doesn’t affect the outcome of the mooncakes much.

Start with the Wrapper

In a large measuring cup, whisk together the coconut milk and oil. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the glutinous rice flour, rice flour, tapioca starch, and sugar. While whisking, slowly add the coconut milk mixture. Whisk until smooth.

Note: Glutinous rice flour (sometimes called sweet rice flour) and rice flour cannot be used interchangeably.

Add color

Divide the wrapper batter evenly into two small bowls. Color each bowl with a drop of food coloring. Transfer the bowls into a steam basket, then steam the batter over medium-high heat until the mixture turns translucent, about 30 to 40 minutes.

Get Started On the Filling

Peel taro and purple sweet potato and cut into 1-inch cubes.

Full Steam Ahead

In a separate pot with a steamer basket, steam the root vegetables until they're fork-tender, about 30 minutes.

Wrapper Batter Becomes Dough

Once the wrapper batter is translucent, remove the bowls from the heat. Using a spatula or chopsticks, stir until it becomes springy and smooth, about 10 minutes. The resulting dough will be be chunky at first.

Plastic Wrap Means Less Mess

Once the dough is smooth, transfer it onto a piece of plastic wrap. The dough will be hot, so be careful!

Time to Knead & Cool

Using the plastic wrap, knead the dough until it becomes uniform and has a glossy sheen. The dough will be springy. Flatten the dough into a disc and wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least two hours. Hot dough will be too sticky to work with.

Mash the Filling

While the dough is cooling, make the filling. Transfer the steamed taro and purple yam into a large bowl and add sugar and coconut milk. Mash with a large spoon or spatula until smooth. Fold in the cooked sago pearls. Wrap the filling bowl with plastic wrap and chill until the dough is ready to be rolled out.