Baked Mooncakes Filled with Xoi Xeo and Braised Pork

Prepare the ingredients
First, rinse the mung beans and soak for 6–7 hours or overnight until soft.

Next, wash the pork belly and drain. Cut it into small pieces about half a small finger joint wide.

Cut the Chinese sausage lengthwise, then into small dice.

Peel the shallots and slice thinly.

Put the diced pork belly in a pot with a little sliced shallot, 2 teaspoons caramel sauce, 3 teaspoons fish sauce, 1 teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon seasoning powder and 1.5 teaspoons sugar.

Finally, mix well and marinate for 10 minutes.

Cook the pork and sausage and fry the shallots
Put the pot of marinated pork on the stove and stir-fry over low heat until the meat firms up, renders its fat and turns brown.

Then heat about 50 ml cooking oil in a pan and fry the sliced shallots until golden and fragrant. Strain through a small bowl to separate the shallot oil from the fried shallots.

Cook the mung bean paste
Put the soaked mung beans in a pot with just enough water to cover and bring to the boil over high heat. When it boils, lower the heat to medium-low and cook until the beans are very soft.

Add 7 teaspoons sugar and a little salt and stir until the sugar dissolves. Then blend the beans until smooth.

Put the blended mung beans in a pan and slowly add 2 tablespoons shallot oil, stirring over low heat until combined.

Add 2 tablespoons corn syrup and keep stirring until the paste is soft and pliable, forms a smooth mass and no longer sticks to the pan.

Finally, mix in 2/3 of the fried shallots, turn off the heat and let the filling cool.

Make the dough
Mix 110 g mooncake syrup, 15 ml cooking oil and 5 g peanut butter.

In a large bowl, mix 130 g flour with 1/8 teaspoon baking soda. Make a well in the centre, pour in the syrup mixture and stir until the dough comes together.

Knead by hand until the dough is smooth, pliable and no longer sticky. Finally, cover the bowl tightly with cling film and rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Shape the mooncakes
Divide the dough and filling into portions at a ratio of 50 g dough to 100 g filling.

For each filling portion, weigh out 80 g mung bean paste and 20 g meat (pork, Chinese sausage, fried shallots, pork floss). Roll the mung bean paste into a ball, make a hollow in the centre, add the meat and pinch closed.

Roll each piece of dough into a ball and flatten it thinly, place a filling ball in the centre, pinch the edges tightly closed and roll smooth.

Dust the mould with a little flour, put the mooncake in and press gently so it fills the mould evenly. Then press the spring firmly and hold for 10 seconds to set the shape.

Bake the mooncakes
Preheat the oven to 190°C for 10 minutes.

Arrange the mooncakes on a tray lined with baking paper and mist the tops with water.

Bake for the first time at 190°C for 12–14 minutes. Take them out and let cool for about 15 minutes.

Beat 1 egg yolk with 2 teaspoons fresh milk. Brush a thin layer over the cooled mooncakes.

Bake a second time for 10 minutes at 190°C. After 10 minutes, let them cool, brush with egg wash again and bake a third time at 180°C for 7–10 minutes.

The finished dish
The mooncakes will turn softer, more fragrant and more beautifully coloured after 1–2 days!

These mooncakes filled with xoi xeo and braised pork tempt you with their lovely golden-brown, lightly sweet crust, while inside you'll find nutty mung bean, rich and savoury meats and a gentle aroma of fried shallots.

Enjoy
What could be better than these mooncakes with a cup of hot tea? And with such a hearty, nourishing filling, they also make a perfectly sensible main meal.