Baking mooncakes: Lye water & maltose

On 23 March, I went to Wardonia Hotel at Argyll Street, St. Pancras, London, to meet my schoolmate for the first time in 23 years.

We have grown old and mature.  Monica has always been lovely and kind, as far as I have been able to recall.  She brought me mooncake moulds as requested.  

We decided to have our meal in Leicester Square.  The dinner was OK.  After the meal, I decided to leave Monica and her husband, Hong, to discover Chinatown on their own.

I went to Loon Fung to look for lye water and found one brand, Tung Chun, 500ml.  I decided to go to See Woo to see if I could get any cheaper.  The shop had the same brand of lye water but smaller in volume, 225ml, which was adequate for my 1st attempt on mooncake making.  I paid £2.25 for the bottle but didn't get a tub of maltose as it was priced at £1.60 for 500g at See Woo but £.149 at Loon Fung where I bought from.  

My plan to make moon cakes is going smoothly as planned.  Thanks to PRINCE2!!! :-)

red kidney bean soaked in a bowl of water, lye water and maltose

To make a mooncake: the essential stuff

Mooncakes!!! 

 
a mooncake box and a whole mooncake (lotus paste and egg yolk)

2 quarters of a mooncake with lotus paste and egg yolk

It is extremely frustrating that some ingredients in Asian baking recipes are difficult to find.  One of them is mooncake glaze that is used to glaze the cakes after they are removed from the oven.

However, I've found an alternative: confectioners edible glaze varnish.  If it is too thick, add some water to dilute the liquid.  I would try it on one mooncake first to see if it works and then proceed with the rest if the glaze turns out to be OK.

Another one is maltose.  It's hard to find it in local supermarkets like Tesco or Sainsbury's.  However, specialist shops do sell it.  So far, I've found one (brand: Dragon Boat), which is made in China.

The other is lye water.  This ingredient browns the mooncake skin so it's quite essential if you wish your mooncakes turn out to be like those made by pros.

These days,  mooncake moulds are easy to find.  If you are visiting Hong Kong, go to the Shanghai Street where authentic wooden mooncake moulds, along with moulds for other Chinese traditional cakes and pastries, are sold.

Mooncake kits are also available to buy in the UK all year round.

I'll share my verdict on these items once I've made my mooncakes!!!  Of course, the recipe is included :-)

mooncake mould