Tepee

Not surprised. Mooncake manufacturers are extremely innovative in creating over the top mooncakes. Abalone and oyster? Hai yah! Even if there are miniscule slivers of it, the mooncake will be labelled as Abalone and Oyster as the star ingredient. Now Sue-On has us mouth-agape waiting for her taste description....

I did it that (yeowwwwwCH!!! Hot!) way too, a long time ago, for vegetable dumplings. But, I don't recall it being so glassy.

I said this upthread... Ah...now that Jack has managed to find mooncake-paste-in-a-can, my mind can rest easy. I'm nagging, but make sure they specify it's for mooncakes or has a picture of mooncakes on the can .

Nope, never made them. Cook-off, Sue-On? That wrapper in the pic looked incredible, doesn't it?

Trillium, thanks for the recipe for making salted eggs. Salted duck eggs cost slightly more than 3 times the cost of a regular unsalted chicken egg.

Awwww....I am so proud of you, Jack!! Your mooncakes look absolutely delicious! And, an excellent how-to! The teeny ones are so cute , a great tip. Little comments: 1. Before you put them into the oven, roll the balls nice and smooth, then elongate them ever so slightly. Use your palms. Yours look wonderfully rustic, though. 2. Did I tell you that you're not supposed to cut them immediately? Let it rest for half a day at least, cuts better, less crumbly. For traditional cantonese mooncakes, you're to let them rest 3 days, for the oil to seep/distribute into the skin nicely. Yes, I know the torture of waiting... Is that why you made the bite-size ones - so that you can pop them into your mouth warm....mmm... 3. Cracks. Adjust your oven to 10 degrees less the next time. p/s I'm glad you managed to find the lotus mooncake paste, saves a lot of work. Did you find it too sweet? I use white lotus paste as it's less sweet.

The har gow is so beautiful in its translucency, almost transparent! Sigh.

Oh. I thought this was a Msian and Sporean phenomenon, what with the "kiasu" (hokkien word for geng shee=cantonese, scared to lose out) syndrome. Doesn't apply to me, though..don't go much for buffets because I know I won't do justice to the food. Besides, I follow the wrong order, stuffing myself at the dessert counter first. Not a good strategy.

Hi Five, Suzy!! If you can't find Koh Fun (cooked glutinous rice flour), scroll down here for instructions on how to make it from plain glutinous rice flour.

Sheetz, I copied your post from the Mooncake thread here to answer a couple of your questions. They can be purchased online. I'm somewhat intrigued by the moon cookie molds, but I don't know how much filling I could put in them. They would definitely make nice gifts, however. How much filling? Very little. Not much space in that mould after all. Lotus seeds? Not likely. Pumpkin seeds? Yep. Red beans? Maybe, but I know I can get the premaid paste in a can. Maltose? Possibly. Alkaline water? Don't think so. However, I think I can buy most, if not all, of these online. Please note that there is a difference between paste for regular chinese pastries and baos, and mooncake pastes. Mooncake paste is cooked longer and is firmer, has oil added. I doubt if your can-paste is suitable for mooncake. However, there could be a possiblity that you can turn it into a mooncake paste.

Dai Ga Cheh Sue-On has given the mandate to start this cook-off. You guys don't know how pleased I am to see some interested parties already. Sheetz and Trillium and *a secret candidate*, let's make mooncakes! Come one, come all! Different kinds of Mooncakes Bing Pei/Snow skin (Unbaked mooncake) - Interesting recipe here and here, here, mine (the simplest) Cantonese Mooncake Chue Chai Paeng/Mooncake Cookies - here # Teochew Spiral Mooncake - here # Yolk Pastry Mooncake - here Jelly Mooncake (lots of variations) - here, here, here, scroll down mid-way to Aug 12 entry, article plus recipes # Shanghai Mooncake - I'll post the recipe below. # No moulds needed. Moulds can be purchased online here and here. This list is by no means exhaustive, but I'm exhausted posting all those links. Whew. Feel free to add recipes, ideas, experiences, and post, post, post your mooncake pics. Shanghai Mooncake Crust 300 g plain flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 T custard powder (I used Bird's) 150g butter 1 egg (weight 70g with shell) 100g icing sugar The recipe is enough to make 11 mooncakes; 50g crust dough to 100g filling paste which makes a very thin skin before baking, but will show more after baking. When weighing, make allowance for the egg yolk if you intend to add it.

OK, where do I start? Ideally, I just want to make simple, traditional ones like the ones we buy with lotus seed paste and egg yolks. But I would be willing to try some less popular fillings if they are easy to make and I have access to the ingredients. I live in a small town without a large chinese grocery so I would have to make do with what I have. I happen to be one of those people who loves mooncakes. I could easily scarf off a couple of boxes around Moon Festival time. However, I think homemade mooncakes would make a great gift for over the holidays in place of the more traditional fruitcakes that Americans give to one another. Being an aspiring baker I also know that store bought pastries rarely come even close to the quality of good homemade ones, so I think learning how to make them is definitely worthwhile. ← YES! YES! I've won over one person at least! For one who likes mooncakes so much, all the more reason why you MUST make them yourself. Let's see....you'll be needing a mooncake mould. I've updated my page on Mooncake Moulds Do you have anyone in chinatowns in the US who can get it for you? If not, I'd be happy to shop for one. Do your grocers carry lotus seeds, melon seeds (I reckon it'll be easier for you to get pumpkin seeds which will do), red beans (preferably from Tianjin), maltose, alkaline water? For starters, you might like to go into http://www.kuali.com and key in mooncakes...there are lots of recipes. Lotus paste Mooncake.

Yes, commercially packed dried foodstuff is no problem, but they are more leery about food with short expiry dates and are more perishable. Laksa, no wonder you look in the pink of health...thanks to all the swallows' hard work.

You should be afraid, because by then the mooncakes would be puh-reety mouldy.

1) Excuses, excuses...it's not that difficult. You've got a ready and willing teacher at your disposal. 2) A wedge? I don't know "which crack that would have got stuffed into" (mg chee suk chor bin chek la). Y'all must be picturing a very obese TP, but I tell you, I can consume more than a box of mooncakes throughout the season. Conclusion: Something must be wrong with the mooncakes you're buying (too sweet? too artificial-tasting? too oily? too dry?) for you to eat so little, unless, of course, you are the sort who don't care for sweets. But then, I, too, also eat only a wedge or 2 of store-bought ones. Once you have tasted a good homemade mooncake, however, it'll be very hard to go back to storebought ones. Yeah, yeah...on my family...watch it, the Yeo and Choo hordes are going to descend upon your town before you know it.

I baked and decorated this cake for a cyber-friend's wedding anniversary 2 years ago, packed nicely in a tin and padded box, all ready to send off by courier. Was I heartbrokened when on the morning I was to send it, the courier company (several, in fact) got back to me and said they can't do it for me; it will be rejected by the US customs. So, my dear Ben-sook sook, I'm afraid the spirit is very willing but customs mechanisms are in the way. I wonder how online stores manage to do it.

Leave the cost of the mooncake moulds out. After all they last forever and can be passed down to posterity if not abused. From my current experience, our homemade mooncakes cost less than a third of our storebought ones, even if the best ingredients are used. Used to be even cheaper but the ingredients seem to cost more and more each year. Reading Hz's account, our storebought mooncakes generally cost less than half of yours. I don't make my own mooncakes because it's cheaper to do so, but for the following reasons: Freshness (don't want to stumble on stale stuff, no thank you) Best ingredients Hygiene You can control the sweetness level, especially, if you make the filling yourself. Great gift of love...people appreciate homemade more than storebought Sheetz, go for it! I'm feeling a little lonely here...

17!!!!? Although I love the stuff, I don't think I've taken more than 10 at a go. To be on the safe side, think moderation. Anyway, a yuon soup helps you offset some of the bad heat in your body and enjoy a calm dreamless sleep.

There's really no limit, Abra, (gosh, how many do you intend to consume??? ), not unless you're in your early stages of pregnancy . The nuts are said to be dook (toxic) to a tiny foetus. A few nuts in the later stages are fine.

If the nuts are very fresh, they will keep for at least 3 weeks in the fridge. An alternative to the nutcracker, is using a pestle. Hold the nut on its side (ie. with the sharp side resting on a towel for grip).Lightly knock the other sharp side with the pestle. You just need to crack it a little, too much pressure may squash your pak gor (as we call it in cantonese). The nuts should be plump and smooth, throw away any nuts which have any shrivels, are hard, or grey. Yup, blanch in hot water to soften the skin and peel. Some people don't like the bitter light green thingy (*blush* I don't know what you call it) in the middle. So, using a toothpick, that can be removed with a push from the bottom to the top. Use them in stir-fries and even stews....with green vegetables or mushrooms, anything. It's taste is neutral, yet very pleasant, at least to me. It's commonly boiled in a tong sui (dessert soup)...you can see a tiny corner of a bowl of gingko nut soup here. Wash a cup of pearl barley, then boil in a pot, with, oh 10 cups of water, throw in as many cleaned gingko nuts as you wish, add hard-boiled quail eggs and bean curd sheets. Sweeten with rock sugar. If you like, you can add some egg 'flower'...crack an egg into the boiling soup, and separate it with chopsticks or fork. This soup is said to be very yuon...soothing for the system.

because i'm gonna give the waiter my credit card before they arrive ← Um...is that wise? Someone told me not to even let my credit card go out of sight. I've got my card cloned twice already, so can't help being paranoid.

Shiewie, you're making me hungry. I'll say 'Aye' to all of them, though I haven't been to Ah Yat Kor and Noble House, but have been to their PJ counterpart Oriental. Sam, your gf is Msian, right? Does she have any favourites or know which is her parent's favs? You'll be feeding at least 5 people here for the same amount you pay for one person's London restaurant dining. If that is not enough to tickle you, your loose change will be enough to satisfactorily fill you where hawker food is concerned. How long will you be in KL? Edited a major boo-boo...forgot to insert one person

On hawker food, we'll be taking a foreign eGulleteer (or 2 or 3) to sample as wide a range as is humanly possible on August 31. I suppose we'll do an update after that. Can't make any other recommendations now...too sleepy. Nitey nite.

makes sense, nice surroundings, whats the food like? ← East...rather, Msian, meets West. The one time we went was at least 10 years ago, so I can't speak for the food, but yes, it has a wonderful view of KL and beyond on a clear night. See the reviews for yourself.

Do they live in KL or PJ or somewhere else? Some folks don't like to travel too far for dinner.