Snow skin (Mochi) mooncake is a non-baked mooncake eaten during Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. The mooncake skin texture is quite similar with mochi: soft, chewy and milky. While snow skin mooncake can be filled with variety of things, lotus seeds paste is my favorite. Lotus seeds are used extensively in Chinese cooking, especially in the form of paste. The paste can be made in advance and keep refrigerated or frozen. Snow skin mooncake should be kept refrigerated in airtight container and typically serve cold. You shall be able to find all the ingredients and the mooncake mould in Asian markets or Amazon.

Makes about 20 pieces (50g each piece)

Homemade lotus seeds paste filling 莲蓉馅 (yield 450g lotus seeds paste)

150g           dry lotus seeds 白莲子

800ml          water

110g           granulated sugar 白砂糖

15g            glutinous rice flour糯米粉

75g            cooking oil

3 tablespoons    water

¼ teaspoon      salt

Wrappers (yields about 640g snow skin/Mochi）

350g                      milk

35g                                        cooking oil

100g       glutinous rice flour糯米粉

80g        rice flour米粉

40g        wheat starch 澄粉

80g        powdered sugar糖粉

1 teaspoon  green tea/cocoa powder（optional）

A few drops  food coloring (optional) or use natural coloring like pumpkin juice or carrot juice

50g        glutinous rice flour糯米粉 (cooked, instructions below) for dusting

Method

Step 1  make the lotus seeds paste

Wash and rinse 150g dried lotus seeds. Soak for a few hours or overnight in the refrigerator (depending on the dryness of the seeds). Soaking help lotus seeds to cook evenly and reduce cooking time.Split the seed in half and remove the bitter-tasting germ (green sprout).

Drain the add in 800ml water, bring to the boil, reduce to low heat and cook for 1 hour and half. Keep the pot partially open to prevent boiling over. Try to use a spatula to stir from the bottom every 20 minutes to keep it sticking to the bottom.

Puree until smooth using a blender. If your lotus seeds seem too dry, just add a few tablespoons of water. Sift the lotus seeds puree for smoother paste texture.

In a small bowl, mix 15g glutinous rice flour and 3 tablespoons of water. Add the mixture into the pot together with 100g sugar, ¼ teaspoon salt and 75g cooking oil.  Stir well.

Cook over medium-low heat until smooth paste formed, stir constantly. It takes about 40 minutes, cooking time may vary slightly depending on your cooking temperature.

Cook until puree thicken, smooth and silky paste formed. Wrap with cling film and keep it in the fridge for a few hours. Paste will harden slightly when fully cooled.

Step 2   make the wrappers （snow skin/Mochi）

Add in all snow skin ingredients, mix until smooth. Sieve the mixture into a bowl. 过筛

Cover the bowl with clingy film and steam over medium-high heat for 25 minutes.

Mix the cooked dough with chopsticks while still hot. (it makes easier to handle than with spatula).   After the dough has slightly cooled down, wrap it with clingy film and keep refrigerated for 2 hours, or until fully cooled.

Step 3   Assemble

Prepare the dusting flour by cooking the flour. Place a small amount of glutinous rice flour (50g) evenly in a dry pan and cook for about 10-15 minutes over lowest heat. Stir from time to time. It is done when the flour slightly turns yellow.

Lightly dust the inside of the mooncake mould with cooked dust rice flour.

Divide the dough and filling into small equal portions (dough/wrapper 30g each; filling 20g each). Lightly coat your two hands with dusting flour. Flatten the dough piece with palms, top with filling, then fully wrap the filling with dough.

Shape the filled dough into ball, then put into the mooncake mould to create pattern on it.

Chill the mooncakes for 1 hour before serving for a better texture.

Tips：

1. You can make bigger or even smaller mooncakes. Just remember to keep the ratio of filings and wrappers 2:3. I’ve used 20g filling and 30g wrapper to make one 50g mooncake.

This hearty and savory rice bowl would work well with any type of either summer or winter squash.

A friend gave me a beautiful squash harvested from her garden yesterday. I thought it was a type of snappy and watery summer squash or just a giant zucchini. It is still summer, isn’t it? While doing research on how to cook it, I found it actually belongs to the winter squash family. I then removed the thick and tough rind. I also precook the flesh in microwave to help soften the flesh. If summer squash, such as zucchini, is used, you can skip the ‘peeling’ and ‘microwave’ steps.

Serves 2-3

2 pounds     winter squash with skin (you will probably get 1 pound after skin and seeds removed)

2 tablespoons                  cooking oil

1 spring onion, minced

1 teaspoon   sesame seeds

cooked white rice

Seasoning sauce

½ teaspoon                      salt

½ teaspoon                      white sugar

1 tablespoon              light soy sauce

1 teaspoon                      dark soy sauce, optional

1 tablespoon          Japanese Mirin or Chinese cooking wine

2 tablespoons      chicken stock or water

1 teaspoon         sesame oil

Method

1. Remove the tough skin and seeds from the squash.  Then cut the flesh into half-inch pieces in thickness.

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2. Place all the squash pieces flat in a plate, cover the plate with cling film then microwave over high heat for 2-3 minutes till softened.

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3. Make the seasoning sauce by combining all the ingredients.

4. Add two 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. When the oil is hot, place into the squash pieces, pan fry for 3-4 minutes till golden, flip the pieces to fry the other side. Pour into the seasoning sauce evenly onto the squash pieces. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until seasoning sauce well absorbed by the squash. Turn off the heat.

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5. Add one-serving cooked rice in a bowl. Place cooked squash on top of the rice. Sprinkle minced spring onion and sesame seeds. Repeat the process for  the other 1 or 2 servings.

6. Ready to serve.