Crystal Fruit Mooncakes
For our family's Mid-Autumn Festival reunion, these mooncakes were a massive hit. They’re crystal-clear, delightfully springy with every bite, and one full steamer batch wasn’t nearly enough to go around.
Ingredients
Sago
250g
Cornstarch
as needed
Sugar
as needed
Mango
half
Red-fleshed Dragon Fruit
half
Instructions
1
Step 1
Take 250g of sago and place it in a bowl. Add an appropriate amount of sugar (adjust according to your preference—add more if you like it sweeter). Pour in purified water until it just covers the sago, and soak for 15 minutes.
2
Step 2
After soaking, the sago will have turned into a paste. Stir it with chopsticks until it breaks apart; once the grains are mostly soaked through, add an appropriate amount of cornstarch.
3
Step 3
Put on disposable gloves, knead into a dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest.
4
Step 4
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. I'm using mango and red-fleshed dragon fruit—you can choose any fruit based on your preferred texture. The important thing is to pick brightly colored fruits so the finished mooncakes look beautiful.
5
Step 5
Roll the rested dough into a long strip and divide it evenly into pieces of about 40g each.
6
Step 6
Roll the rested dough into a long strip and divide it evenly into pieces of about 40g each.
7
Step 7
Flatten a piece of dough and gently stretch it outward by hand. Place some of the prepared dragon fruit filling in the center, then slowly push the dough upward using the curve of your palm so the wrapper evenly encloses the filling. Pinch the seam closed and roll it into a smooth ball, making sure there are no gaps.
8
Step 8
Place the ball into a mold and press it down firmly. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on the work surface and press the mooncake directly out onto the paper, making it easier to transfer to the steamer.
9
Step 9
Repeat the same process with the mango filling, placing them in the mold and pressing them into shape.
10
Step 10
Finish wrapping all the mooncakes and press them all out onto the parchment paper.
11
Step 11
Add an appropriate amount of water to the steamer. Slide the steaming rack underneath the parchment paper, then lift the prepared mooncakes and place them into the pot.
12
Step 12
Cover with the lid, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and steam for about 15–20 minutes. Open the lid and your crystal mooncakes are ready.
13
Step 13
Plate them up. Aren't these colors beautiful? The mooncakes take on the color of whatever fruit you wrap inside—the two reddish ones were made by adding a bit of dragon fruit juice to the dough.
