Updated post on 15-802018

I have decided upload a new set of picture after I managed to get the mould from Taobao.

I have already sold almost 300 pieces non vegetarian version this year (2018) and will prepare another batch (vegetarian type near the festival)

INTRODUCTION

Teochew fermented bean curd mooncake aka fu ru bing (腐乳饼) is a very famous Teochew moon cake. It usually appears in during the moon cake festival. Teochew should know this very well as some will require this for ancestral or deity praying. It comes in a small piece with a mixture of aromas from fermented bean curd, garlic and wine. The soft texture is complimented with small bits of candied pork belly, winter melon  and peanuts. It is chewy soft and very aromatic. While you can only get these imported moon cake in Singapore during mid autumn festival, but in Shantou and Chaozhou, you can get this whole year round. In fact, many Singaporean and Malaysian Teochew visited Chaozhou area bought these biscuits back as hand gifts.

I have ever bought once from the NTUC market , imported from China but the taste and texture is not satisfactory. The crust is thick and dry and the filling is miserable. Since some Teochew readers have been asking me for the recipe and I thought I should try to search for a recipe and share with them. I tried searching the recipe for a long time but not successful.

I cannot find the recipe and the closest hint I can get is from the above that listed out rough percentages of the ingredients used. Almost all the Chinese webpages that introduce this traditional moon cake using the same write up.  It basically say that the percentage of total ingredients are as follows: Fermented bean curd 2.5%, alcohol 2%, candied pork belly 18.2%, sugar 27.5% and many others comprising about 14 ingredients.

After watching some videos and based on the above piece of information, I started to work out an experimental recipe as above. I proceed to try, and it taste good but I will amend the final recipe in this post.

I would rate that the trial is a rather successful one with at least 80% similar taste and texture. Things that are not up to expectation are the lack of alcoholic flavour as I only have wine that have 15% alcohol content. In addition, the size of the pork belly should be bigger for a better bite and the amount of garlic should be increased to enhance the flavour.

For this recipe, there is one ingredient which you will need to prepare one day in advance. It is candied pork belly, a type of pork belly preservation. You can prepare more and keep it for future recipes. However, if you do not wish to use this, you can always substitute with candied winter melon. Personally, I found that this main ingredients is very flavourful and provide the taste and texture of the cake. You will be surprised that when pork belly is marinated with sugar, it will become crunchy.

This recipe is rather similar to the Cantonese Chicken biscuit (鸡仔饼）though for fu ru bing, there are more ingredients.  In addition the shape is usually rectangular shape. As I do not have the mould, I have use a square moon cake mould for this illustration.

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 20 biscuits

Candied Pork Belly

• 200 grams of pork belly
• Some wine with alcoholic content of more than 40%
• 50 grams of sugar

* You can always prepare more of the the above candied pork belly. It is a preserved item and can be keep very long in the fridge.

Crust

• 240 grams of cake flour or low protein flour
• 140 grams of golden syrup
• 60 grams of peanut oil
• 6 grams of alkaline water

Fillings

• 3-4 pieces of fermented red bean curd (腐乳）
• 150 grams of candied pork belly (糖肉，冰肉，晶肉）- as per above
• 60 grams of cooked glutinous rice flour aka gao fen (糕粉）
• 40 grams of roasted sesame seeds （白芝麻）
• 40 grams of roasted peanut, pounded into big chunks (花生碎）
• 40 grams of candied winter melon (糖冬瓜）
• 20 grams of lard or peanut oil (猪油或花生油）
• 20 ml or grams of wine with at least 40% alcoholic content (白酒）
• 2 tablespoons of minced garlic (蒜蓉）
• 1/4 teaspoons of five spice powder (五香粉）
• 20 grams of water (清水）

STEPS OF PREPARATION

• Candied pork belly – Method 1 – Raw Method. Cut the pork belly into about 0.5mm to 1 mm cubes. Put adequate rice wine to cover it and about 50 grams of sugar. Marinate the pork belly in the chiller for at least 7 days before it can be used. If you are worried the raw meat, you can try method 2 which is faster.

• Candied pork belly – Method 2 – Cooked method. Cook the pork belly in a pot of hot boiling water for about 5-10 minutes. Timing will depend on the thickness of the pork belly. Drain and let it cool. Once completely cooled, cut the cooked belly into 0.5mm – 1 mm cubes. Put adequate rice wine to cover it and about 50 grams of sugar. Marinate the cooked pork belly in the chiller for at least 24 hours. Before usage, drain the syrup.

Note:

• If possible, use wine with alcohol content of 40% and above. This belong to the hard liquor category . It will help to kill of germs.

• If you do not prefer to have candied pork belly, you can use candied winter melon as a substitute.

• You can prepare more of this candied pork belly as it will be used in many Chinese traditional cakes and dessert.

• Personally, I prefer method 2 which is  the cooked method. It is easier to cut, faster and psychologically feel better. After marinating, you can feel that the pork belly cubes become very crunchy like those in the traditional moon cakes.

• Mix all the skin/crust ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir until well mixed. Let it rest in the mixing bowl for 20-30 minutes. Theoretically, the longer the dough is rested, the more “stretchable” the dough will be. Stretchable will mean that it is less prone to breaking during moulding .  If time permits, you can let it rest overnight at fridge to enhance the flexibility.

• Put all the filling ingredients in a big mixing bowl. Use hand to knead until a pliable dough. If it is too dry or too elastic, you can add in more water.

• Important: You have to determine your dough to filling ratio. It all depend on individual mould. For my mould, it is about 40 grams mould. With the filling to dough ratio of 1:1, I have used 20 grams of dough to 20 grams of fillings and prepare about 20 cakes. To determine the weight of the moon cake, put some fillings into the mould and measure the weight followed by determining the dough to filling ratio.

• Divide the dough into 20 equal portions. Divide the filling into 20 equal portions. The number of portion will depend on the mould you have and the ratio you determined earlier.

• Make one dough, shape round, flatten it into a circle, put a filling dough on top of the pressed dough, wrapped the filling with the dough and shape round again. Put the ball in a bowl of plain flour. Dust the ball with flour.

• Lightly dust the mould with some flour and press the ball into the mould. Lightly knock to dislodge the cake. Transfer to the baking tray.

• Egg wash the cake. For egg wash, crack one egg yolk and mix with 4 drops of water, mixed thoroughly before application.

• Bake in the pre-heated oven of 175 degree Celsius for about 10-15 minutes or until your desired colour tone. If you see cracks in the cake, take it out and let it cool for 5 minutes before re-baking again. The cake is best eaten 3 days after preparation when the cake crust become moister.

CONCLUSION

I have spend a lot of time in this recipe. Searching for clues and trying to make the recipe as complete as possible. For me, it is a self challenge and I hope it would help the readers who are looking for the recipe. Trust me, freshly baked taste entirely different from store bought. The reasons are simple, by the time the shop imported from China, it is not fresh anymore, the crust has hardened not to mention the miserable fillings. Homemade can increase the filling ratio and most important of all, omit the ingredients that the family members do not like.

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