Hong Kong will soon be full of celebration when the Mid-Autumn Festival starts on Tuesday. Each year, people look forward to things like the Tai Hang fire dragon dance, lantern carnivals and, of course, mooncakes.
These pastries, which symbolise completeness and reunion, have rich fillings and delicate crusts and are usually enjoyed as an after-dinner treat with family. They have an unexpected past, too; it is said that people in China used them during the late Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) to deliver secret messages and plan their fight against their Mongol rulers.
In Hong Kong, mooncakes are available in many different flavours, with the three most popular types being traditional baked mooncakes, chewy snowy mooncakes, and lava custard mooncakes.
Kathy Ng Yiu-fan from Kat-Spirit Nutrition Centre in Hong Kong cautioned against eating too much of this seasonal treat. “These delicacies are probably every health professional’s nightmare. They are high in sugar, fat and cholesterol,” she said.
There are healthier versions of store-bought mooncakes that contain low-sugar lotus seed paste, are made with natural sweeteners such as dates, or only have one egg yolk. “But understandably, it is usually adults buying them, as mooncakes are quite expensive.”
Instead, you can “watch the serving size – half a portion for mini-sized mooncakes and a quarter for the regular ones,” she advised. “There is a lot of maltose, sugar, condensed milk and high fructose corn syrup used in the sweeteners packed in these seemingly small cakes.”
Traditional baked mooncakes are typically made with white lotus seed paste and two salted egg yolks, and every 100 grams contains 411 calories, 6.9 grams of protein, 22 grams of fat and 32.4 grams of sugar.
The main ingredients for snowy mooncakes include glutinous rice, sugar, and a variety of fillings like mung bean paste, durian or mango. Every 100-gram serving contains 310 calories, 3.6 grams of protein, 13.5 grams of fat and 25 grams of sugar.
Meanwhile, lava custard mooncakes use milk, eggs, sugar and oil in their filling. Every 100 grams contains 380 calories, 4.8 grams of protein, 20 grams of fat and 21.2 grams of sugar.
“Although lava custard mooncakes may have the least sugar, 21 grams is still equivalent to drinking a whole can of soda,” Ng pointed out.
If you have some free time and want to impress your family with a healthier version of mooncakes that tastes just as good, try this recipe for this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival.
All about the Mid-Autumn Festival, from the holiday’s history to how to celebrate
Reduced-sugar snowy mooncakes
Ingredients and tools (makes 4 mooncakes)
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100g glutinous rice flour
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40g icing sugar
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65ml of cold water
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15 grams of softened butter
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two different food colourings
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low-sugar lotus or red bean paste filling
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mooncake mould stamp
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cling wrap
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weighing scale
Directions
1. Mix the glutinous rice flour and icing sugar in a large bowl.
2. Mix the butter into the dry ingredients. Then, add cold water and knead until it turns into a dough.
3. Split the dough in two. Add one droplet of food colouring to each portion. Knead the dough for about five to 10 minutes. It should become smooth and elastic and should not stick to your hands.
4. Divide the dough into 30-gram portions and flatten each one into a round disc. Put some lotus or red bean paste filling into the centre of each disc and roll it into a ball.
5. Sprinkle flour onto the dough. Then, wrap each ball with cling wrap. Put it into the stamp and press hard on it. Place the mooncake to the side and work on the next one.
6. Place the mooncakes in the fridge for at least an hour and serve chilled.
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