Black Sesame Mooncake Filling (For Snow Skin Mooncakes)
Servings: 10 servings
This recipe features the deep, toasty, sweet, and slightly bitter taste of black sesame and is bound together with mung bean, which provides a smooth mouth feel. Snow skin mooncake fillings don't need as much fat in them as traditional mooncake fillings, so this recipe is just slightly different from my traditional black sesame filling recipe.Note that this recipe makes enough filling for 10 small sized mooncakes (50g mold), but can easily be scaled up for larger 100g molds, or larger batches.This recipe is also naturally vegan, gluten free, and vegetarian.
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Ingredients
- 35 g split peeled mung bean see notes
- 70 g toasted black sesame seeds
- 70 g granulated sugar
- 1.5 Tbsp glutinous rice flour
- 20 g coconut oil see notes
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Rinse the mung beans in cool water, then cover with an ample amount of water (they can absorb 2-3x their volume in liquid) and let soak overnight. If you're in a time crunch you can speed up there process a bit by using hot water for soaking, and soaking for a couple of hours.35 g split peeled mung bean
- The next day, drain the mung beans and line a steaming basket with baking parchment (it will extend up the sides and over the top of the steamer, but this isn't a problem). Pour the soaked mung beans onto the parchment and spread them out in an even layer. Steam over medium heat until very soft/mushy in texture — about 20-30 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool until warm or room temperature.
- Place black sesame seeds, salt, and sugar in a food processor. Process until the sesame seeds are fairly fine in texture, no larger than medium sized pepper grounds.70 g toasted black sesame seeds, 70 g granulated sugar, pinch salt
- Add the steamed mung beans, coconut oil, and glutinous rice flour. Pulse a few times to combine everything; the mixture will be very thick and ball up around the blade. With the processor running, slowly stream in a tablespoon of water at a time until the mixture is still thick, but flows freely around the blade as a paste. The goal is to add as little water as possible to achieve a thick paste texture.1.5 Tbsp glutinous rice flour, 20 g coconut oil
- Transfer the smooth paste to a nonstick pan and heat over medium heat, constantly flipping and folding the mixture with a heatproof spatula. Once the mixture becomes very smooth and cohesive and can hold its shape like play doh, continue to cook for another 5 minutes to ensure you drive off as much moisture.
- Transfer paste to a container, cover with a loose fitting lid or plastic wrap with a little gap to let some steam out, and let cool to room temperature.
- This mixture can be used right away after cooling, or you can wrap it tightly in plastic and refrigerate it for up to a week. To wrap mooncakes, work small pieces of the dough in your hands to warm it up and make it pliable. Note that this paste does take on a shiny appearance and oily texture when you're working with it, but this is normal and necessary to ensure the proper texture once shaped into mooncakes. Use gloves when working with the mixture for easier handling and cleanup.
Notes
- Split peeled mung beans can be found at most Chinese, Indian, and Korean markets, but are less common at Japanese grocers. Don't confuse them with their unpeeled cousins — the kind you're looking for should have a yellow hue, not green.
- Feel free to use either refined or unrefined coconut oil for this recipe, but note that you'll get a different flavor profile depending on your choice. Unrefined coconut oil (my preference) lends a noticeable coconut flavor to the filling, so if you're not a fan of coconut, use refined, which will be almost flavorless.