Sip and savor the soothing warmth of the ginger tea with brown sugar. It's a comforting and invigorating beverage, perfect for cold days or as a pick-me-up.
Adjust the amount of brown sugar based on your taste preferences.
Feel free to experiment with additional ingredients such as lemon slices or a dash of honey for added flavor variations.
I was inspired by one of the popular Taiwanese chefs while watching a TV show and created my own version.
Ingredients:
250g Ginger
100-150g Brown Sugar
1L Hot Water
Instructions:
1. Sslice the ginger into thick pieces.
2. Use a kitchen tool or the back of a knife to smash the ginger slices. This helps release the flavors during brewing.
3. In a pan, lightly fry the ginger until fragrant. You can char it a bit.
4. Pour 1 liter of hot water into the pan with ginger. Bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes. This simmering process ensures the ginger infuses its essence into the water.
6. After simmering, add brown sugar to the ginger tea. Start with 100g and adjust according to your sweetness preference. Stir well to dissolve the sugar.
7. Strain the ginger tea to remove the ginger pieces (it will get very spicy if you keep it in)
This year, I bought a mooncake mold and tried my best to make some by myself. I can say it's a labor-intensive task. It also requires a bit of skill because I ended up with some broken dough, which made the filling visible. Although they're not perfect, I'm happy with the result since it was my first time making mooncakes. While searching through many recipes, I noticed that all of them used golden syrup, which I couldn't find anywhere.
I tried two combinations. First, I replaced the golden syrup with honey, and I think the result was really good, although the flavor wasn't the same as the original. The second time, I used sugar and water. Although it's possible to do, I would recommend using honey. The dough was a bit drier and less flexible, which led to some broken spots when I tried to put the filling in. Flavor-wise, the mooncakes were still really good though.
I'm a big fan of Hong Kong-style mooncakes, so that's the version I made. I filled one with cheesecake (a very unusual filling) and another with red bean. I also attempted one with taro and mochi inside, but I think I bought the wrong taro paste (probably just blended taro, not paste), as it was impossible to maintain the shape, resulting in a lot of filling leakage.
You can find the recipes at the bottom of my post!
What are a Mooncakes?
A mooncake (月餅) is a bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) in parts of Asian countries. The festival is about lunar appreciation and moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or family while celebrating the festival.
Typical mooncakes are round pastries with a rich and thick filling, usually made from red bean paste or lotus seed paste, surrounded by a thin 2–3 mm crust. They may also contain yolks from salted duck eggs, symbolizing the full moon. Traditional mooncakes have imprints on top consisting of the Chinese characters for "longevity" or "harmony," as well as the name of the bakery and the filling inside. Additional decorations may include imprints of the Moon, Lady Chang'e on the Moon, flowers, vines, or a rabbit (symbol of the Moon).
Traditional fillings include:
Lotus seed paste (蓮蓉) - Considered by some to be the original and most luxurious mooncake filling. White lotus paste is even more premium. Sometimes, white kidney bean paste is used as a filler due to the high price of lotus paste.
Sweet bean paste (豆沙) - There are various pastes commonly used as fillings in Chinese desserts. While red bean paste made from azuki beans is the most common worldwide, regional preferences exist for bean paste made from mung beans or black beans.
Jujube paste (棗泥) - This sweet paste is made from ripe jujube (date) fruits. It has a dark red color, a slightly fruity/smoky flavor, and a slightly sour taste.
Five kernels (五仁) or mixed nuts - A filling made of coarsely chopped nuts and seeds, held together with maltose syrup. Different regions use various nuts and seeds such as walnuts, pumpkin seeds, watermelon seeds, peanuts, sesame seeds, or almonds. Candied winter melon or rock sugar pieces are often added for additional flavoring.
Traditional mooncake crust include:
Chewy - This crust, commonly used in Cantonese-style (Hong Kong style) mooncakes, has a reddish-brown tone and glossy sheen. It's made using a combination of thick sugar syrup, lye water, flour, and oil, resulting in a rich taste and a chewy yet tender texture. Maltose syrup can be added to increase chewiness.
Flaky - Flaky crusts are indicative of Suzhou- and Taiwan-style mooncakes. The dough is made by rolling alternating layers of oily dough and flour that has been stir-fried in oil, resulting in a texture similar to puff pastry.
Tender - Mooncakes from certain provinces of China, such as Shanghai-style mooncakes, have a tender crust instead of a flaky or chewy one. The texture of this crust is similar to the shortcrust pastry used in Western pie crusts or tart shells. It's made with a mixture of sugar, oil, flour, and water. This type of crust is also commonly used in other types of Chinese pastries, such as egg tarts.
Crumbly - Yunnan-style mooncakes have a dense, crumbly crust made using a hot water crust pastry that combines different kinds of flour with oil, salt, and hot water. This type of crust is uncommon in other regions.
Less traditional types of mooncake crusts can be made with:
Glutinous rice - This crust has a texture similar to mochi and is known colloquially as "snowskin mooncakes". Snow skin mooncakes are non-baked mooncakes originating from Hong Kong. snow skin mooncakes can be filled with a variety of fillings such as mung bean paste, fruit, green tea, jam, strawberry, chocolate, coffee, and cheese. Other flavored fillings include durian, sesame, mango pomelo sago, and purple yam.
Jelly - A crust made from gelling mixtures such as agar, gelatin, or konjac, flavored with a wide variety of fruit flavors.
How to make Mooncakes?
Making mooncakes takes plenty of time (or maybe I lack experience). The first time I made cheesecake filling, so yes, it took longer as I had to bake the cheesecake first. But the second time, when I made 40 mooncakes with strawberry filling, it took a total of 3.5 hours. I think that's quite a long time, and I was really tired at the end, lol.
All the recipes call for golden syrup, which I searched for in several shops, but unfortunately, it was nowhere to be found. In my first attempt, I used honey. I think the texture of the dough is quite nice, although it lacks flavor and color, but it's not a big deal. Using sugar melted with water isn't a very good idea. I found the dough much more difficult to work with than the one with honey, and it was a lot less flexible. I will still share both variations I used.
Mix cream cheese (at room temperature) with sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix until smooth. I used a 6-inch square pan to bake it. Bake for about 15-20 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. It's also possible to steam it instead, but I prefer the flavor of baked cheesecake. Allow it to cool down and then divide it into 12 pieces, rolling them into balls. Each piece should be 30g in size.
-> Preparing mooncake crust:
Mix all the dough ingredients together until a smooth dough forms. Divide the dough into 12 pieces, with each piece weighing 20g.
-> Assembling:
Roll or flatten a ball of dough in your hand. Place the filling in the middle and then cover it with the dough. Roll it into a ball. Repeat this process with every piece. Dust the mooncake mold with some flour or cornstarch. Place each ball in the mold and press down gently to shape it.
-> Baking:
Once all the mooncakes are shaped, place them in a preheated oven at 190 degrees Celsius. Bake for 5 minutes. After this time, remove the mooncakes from the oven and gently brush them with egg wash. Place them back in the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius or until they turn golden brown.
-> Storing:
Mooncakes can be stored for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.
Mix sugar with warm water until all is melted, and syrup forms. Add oil and flour, mix until a smooth dough forms. Divide the dough into 20 pieces, with each piece weighing 20g.
-> Preparing filling:
Divide the bean paste into 20 balls, each weighing 30g.
-> Assembling:
Roll or flatten a ball of dough in your hand. Place the filling in the middle and then cover it with the dough. Roll it into a ball. Repeat this process with every piece. Dust the mooncake mold with some flour or cornstarch. Place each ball in the mold and press down gently to shape it.
-> Baking:
Once all the mooncakes are shaped, place them in a preheated oven at 190 degrees Celsius. Bake for 5 minutes. After this time, remove the mooncakes from the oven and gently brush them with egg wash. Place them back in the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes at 170 degrees Celsius or until they turn golden brown.
-> Storing:
Mooncakes can be stored for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the fridge.
Nian gao (年糕), a Chinese New Year's cake, is a food made from glutinous rice flour. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time of the year because nian gao sounds like "higher year" or "grow every year" (年高) in Chinese, symbolizing a wish for a prosperous year. The traditional nian gao is round in shape with an auspicious decoration such as the character for prosperity (福) on top.
This sticky sweet snack was believed to be an offering to the Kitchen God, with the intention of sticking his mouth with the cake so that he would not badmouth the human family in front of the Jade Emperor.
There are several types of nian gao: Guangdong, Fujian/Hokkien, Jiangnan/Shanghainese, and Northern. Similar cakes can also be found in different countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and Indonesia.
In Guangdong, sweet nian gao is dipped in egg and pan-fried. It's usually sweetened with brown sugar, resulting in a distinct dark yellow color. The batter is poured into a cake pan and steamed until it solidifies. Once heated, the nian gao becomes stretchy and extremely sticky.
In the southern region of Fujian, nian gao is mainly used for New Year rituals and gifts. It is made of glutinous rice and taro, sliced and cooked before eating. It can also be wrapped in egg or cornstarch and fried.
Shanghai-style savory fried nian gao is made by mixing rice with glutinous rice powder. The softer version has a higher proportion of glutinous rice. Cooking methods include steaming, frying, slicing and frying, or using it in soup. The Shanghai style keeps the nian gao white, which is its distinct feature. When served as a dish, the most common method is stir-frying. There are three general types: savory with ingredients like scallions, beef, pork, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage; sweet using standard white sugar; and almost tasteless but enjoyed for its chewy texture.
Northern nian gao can be steamed or fried and is mainly sweet in taste. Beijing versions include jujube with either glutinous rice or yellow rice. Shanxi makes nian gao using yellow rice and fillings such as red bean paste or jujube paste. Hebei uses jujube, small red beans, and green beans to make steamed nian gao. Shandong nian gao is made of red dates and yellow rice, while the Northeast type is made of beans on sticky sorghum.
Steamed Nian Gao Recipe
Typically, in Taiwan, Guangdong-style Nian Gao is commonly eaten.
Ingredients:
300g glutinous rice powder
1200g dark brown sugar
220g water
Egg (for coating)
Oil (for pan-frying)
Instructions:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine glutinous rice powder, dark brown sugar, and warm water.
2. Mix well until you achieve a smooth, lump-free batter.
3. Line a cake tin with parchment paper to prevent sticking.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
5. Place the cake tin in a steamer.
6. Steam the mixture for 1 to 1.5 hours until it solidifies.
7. Allow the steamed cake to cool to room temperature. For best results, refrigerate overnight to let it harden.
8. Once the cake has hardened, remove it from the cake tin and slice it into your desired pieces.
9. Beat an egg in a bowl.
10. Dip each slice of the rice cake into the beaten egg
11. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
12. Place the egg-coated rice cake slices into the pan, cooking each side until golden brown and crispy.
13. Serve your pan-fried glutinous rice cakes warm.
I also have a video tutorial on my YouTube channel that you can check out for reference.
Baked Nian Gao Recipe
I also prepared another version of Nian Gao, which is not traditional but similar to Hawaiian Mochi Cake. Instead of steaming, it is baked, but it is still very easy to prepare.
Freshly baked, this cake boasts a delightful gooey texture. For the best experience, I recommend consuming it within the first three days. Refrigeration, while possible, may lead to a firmer texture as the cake continues to set. Enjoy the gooey goodness while it's at its prime!
Ingredients:
140g glutinous rice flour
80g brown sugar
200g milk
50g oil
2 eggs
4g baking powder
40g chopped walnuts (for topping)
Preparation:
1. In a mixing bowl, combine glutinous rice powder, oil, eggs, dark brown sugar, and warm milk.
2. Thoroughly mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
3. Line a rectangular or square baking tin with parchment paper.
4. Pour the prepared mixture into the lined baking tin
5. Sprinkle a generous amount of chopped walnuts evenly over the top of the mixture in the tin. The walnuts will add a delightful crunch and flavor to the cake.
6. Place the baking tin in the preheated oven [180°C (356°F)] and bake the sticky rice cake for approximately 45 minutes or until it is fully set. 7. Once the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool.
8. Freshly baked cake is nicely gooey. I don't recommend to keep it more than 3 days, as the cake will harden more once refrigerated.
I also have a video tutorial on my YouTube channel that you can check out for reference.
I've much more time currently, so I've started cooking different Asian and Polish dishes. Lately, I've been making dumplings (I don't remember ever making them from scratch before). Taiwan has plenty of options for dumplings, but they are usually savory, such as baozi (steamed buns), tangyuan (glutinous rice dumplings), or mochi (Japanese rice cakes). These are often sweet and filled with sesame, peanut paste, custard, taro, or red beans. While I enjoy them, there are still some flavors I miss from my childhood. In Poland, we have savory dumplings, usually filled with meat or cabbage and mushrooms. In the past, I wasn't a fan of savory dumplings and barely ate meat, so my all-time favorite was filled with blueberries, strawberries, and cream cheese. The only exception was Ruthenian Dumplings, which are filled with a potato and cheese mixture spiced with pepper.
Another difference in eating dumplings is that in Taiwan, they are often dipped in soy sauce, sometimes with added ginger. In Poland, we would cover them with sauce as well. For savory dumplings, we often fry onions with fatty meat or bacon. For sweet dumplings, we would use sour cream and sugar.
When it comes to dumplings, the dough is usually made of flour and water. In Poland, we have different types of food classified as dumplings in English, such as potato dumplings (kopytka), Silesian dumplings (kluski śląskie), lazy dumplings (pierogi leniwe), potato plum dumplings (knedle ze śliwkami), or "Little Ears" dumplings (uszka).
Potato dumplings (kopytka) are made by mixing cooked potatoes with flour and egg. The dough is then rolled into thin rolls, flattened, and cut into little hoof shapes (kopytka). After boiling, they can be served sweet or savory.
Silesian dumplings (kluski śląskie) are also made from boiled potatoes, but potato flour is used instead of wheat flour. The dough is rolled into small balls, flattened, and pressed in the middle to create a little hole.
Lazy dumplings (pierogi leniwe) can be made with or without potatoes, using cottage cheese (twaróg), eggs, and flour. They are rolled and cut in a similar way to kopytka.
Potato plum dumplings (knedle ze śliwkami) are also made with a potato-based dough. They are round in shape with a plum inside.
"Little Ears" dumplings (uszka) are made similarly to regular dumplings, but they are folded differently. They are usually stuffed with sauerkraut and mushrooms and served in beetroot soup (barszcz) for Christmas Eve.
Dumplings
Potato dumplings / Little hoofs (kopytka)
Silesian dumplings (kluski śląskie)
Cheese dumplings recipe:
Dough:
- 250 g flour
- 150 g hot water
Filling:
- 250 g cream cheese
- 30 g sugar powder
Directions:
1. Pour hot water into the flour and mix it with a spoon until well combined.
2. Knead the dough until it becomes very elastic and smooth.
3. Roll out the dough thinly on a floured surface.
4. Use a cup or any round object to cut out round shapes from the dough.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the cheese with powdered sugar until well blended.
6. Place a spoonful of the cheese filling in the center of each round dough piece.
7. Fold the dough in half, sealing the edges to enclose the filling.
8. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt.
9. Carefully place the dumplings into the boiling water and cook them for about 7-10 minutes, or until they float to the surface.
10. Once the dumplings are cooked, remove them from the water using a slotted spoon and serve them hot.
Traditionally, dumplings in Poland use cottage cheese (twaróg), which is not readily available in Taiwan. I used American/Australian-style cream cheese (the type used for baking cheesecakes) and it worked really well.
Silesian dumplings recipe:
Dough:
- 300 g potatoes (after peeling)
- 60 g potato starch
- egg (optional)
Directions:
1. Start by peeling the potatoes, then boil them until they are cooked through.
2. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and mash them until smooth.
3. Add the potato starch to the mashed potatoes. If you don't have a scale, you can estimate the amount.
4. In a bowl, flatten the mashed potatoes and divide them into four equal parts.
5. Take one part out and fill the space with potato starch. Then, combine the remaining potatoes and knead the mixture until it forms a dough.
6. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut it into evenly-sized pieces.
7. Shape each piece into a round dumpling and flatten it slightly. Make a small indentation in the middle of each dumpling using your thumb.
8. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt.
9. Carefully place the dumplings into the boiling water and cook them for approximately 3-5 minutes, or until they float to the surface.
10. Once the dumplings are cooked, remove them from the water using a slotted spoon and serve them hot.
Lazy dumplings with cheese recipe:
Dough:
- 250 g potatoes (after peeling)
- 125 g cheese
- 150 g flour
- 1 egg
Directions:
1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into small pieces. Boil the potatoes until they are soft.
2. Drain the potatoes and mash them well with cheese until smooth.
3. Add an egg and flour to the mashed potatoes and cheese. Knead the mixture until it forms a dough.
4. Take small portions of the dough and roll them into thin logs.
5. Flatten the logs and cut them into diamond-shaped dumplings.
6. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt.
7. Carefully drop the dumplings into the boiling water and cook them for 3-4 minutes, or until they float to the surface.
8. Remove the cooked dumplings from the water using a slotted spoon and transfer them to a serving dish.
9. Serve the dumplings hot as a delicious and comforting dish.
Hi! I'm Żaneta, a Polish girl living in Taiwan :) I love cooking and baking. I have both a travel blog and a cooking blog, as well as a YouTube channel. You're welcome to find me on my social media - feel free to ask questions or just chat! ~
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