The Hedgehog Knows: boiling

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I have always been a supporter of traditional mooncakes - those brown, oven (or airfryer) baked ones. Whilst snowskin mooncakes are beautiful, I am always wary of the colourings and shortening required to make them.

However, this one video from Food Recipe changed my mind. I was blown away by how healthy and cheap it was (the ingredients' cost for the 20 mini mooncakes was just S$10). Lo and behold, it was really easy too. As easy as what the video portrayed.

As Food Recipe did not include the recipe, I have done up my version, with slight tweaks. I have also downloaded the video below for your easy viewing. Full credits to this video for the inspiration.

Purple Sweet Potato Mooncakes

Yields 20 mini mooncakes (50g each)

Ingredients

Skin

700g purple sweet potato, peeled

40g water + a handful of blue pea flowers + a slice of lemon (otherwise, only 40g water is okay)

Filling

500g white lotus paste, ready-made

Tool

Mooncake plunger*

* If you are in Singapore, these items can be purchased from Phoon Huat or Kwong Cheong Thye (KCT). Click here for my review of KCT.

Directions

1) Cut the sweet potato into slices.

2) Boil for 15min until soft.

3) Using the back of your fork, mash until fine. Run the fork several times through the potato to ensure that no hard parts remain. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

4) (Optional) Meanwhile, prepare the blue pea water. Steep the flowers in hot boiling water for 30 min.

5) Prepare the lotus paste fillings. Make 20 balls of 25g each.

Do make 20 balls. Took this photo after washing my hands midway during the process.

6) (Optional) If preparing blue pea water, by now, the water would have turned fully blue. Add lemon and the water will turn purple.

7) The sweet potato should be ready for removal from refrigerator. Add 20g of (blue pea) water and mix well.

8) Make 20 balls of sweet potato, 25g each. Refrigerate for 15 min.

9) Flatten the sweet potato balls and wrap around the lotus paste filling. Refrigerate for another 15 min.

Tips: If the sweet potato balls still feel a little dry, add a little more (blue pea) water. There should still be 20g of water leftover.

10) Place the mooncake balls, 1 at a time, into mooncake mould plunger. Press hard so that the impression can be properly made (this is my favourite part!). Release the plunger and gently place them onto your plate.

Tips: Keep the mooncake balls in the fridge until only when about to place them in the plunger. The design will become more defined :)

Keep the mooncakes in fridge till ready to serve. In fact, best eaten chilled. It's so smooth, it will almost melt-in-the-mouth :)

If you have tried this recipe too, share your photos with us!

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For our Traditional Mooncake recipe with video, check out our link.

For more recipes using blue pea flowers, check out our link.

Btw, should you want to buy any dried blue pea flowers, just email us to check on availability!

Blue pea flowers are valued for its medicinal benefits. High in antioxidants, they help in detoxification, improve eyesight and enhance memory, as well as reduce stress and depression. Here's one of my easiest favourite desserts: Blue Pea and Longan Jelly. Enjoy!

Recipe

Yield: 1 dish of jellies

Ingredients

15 fresh longans, peeled (canned ones are okay too)
A handful of dried blue pea flowers
480ml of water (80ml + 400ml)*
3 slices of lemon - optional
20g sugar
5g konnyaku jelly powder

* Note: The amount of water required may vary, so please refer to the instructions in your jelly powder pack. Here's mine, fyi.

Directions

1. Slice the longans into half. Place into the ice cube trays with the rounded side facing the base.

2. Steep the dried blue pea flowers in 80ml of hot water for 30 min. Using a fork, "squeeze" the flowers occasionally to maximise the blue colouring from the flowers.

3. (Optional) If you like a more refreshing tinge to your jelly, squeeze the lemon slices.

4. Boil 400ml of water in a pot.

5. Once the water is boiling, gradually add jelly powder and sugar.

6. Add the coloured water (without the flowers) into the boiling water as well. Stir well until the jelly powder dissolves.

7. When all the jelly powder and sugar have dissolved, scoop the mixture into your mould. Let the jelly cool down to room temperature and chill in fridge for at least 5 hours until the jelly is set.

8. When ready, remove the jellies from the mould. Flip it the other way, so that the rounded longan side is facing up. You are now ready to serve!

If you have tried this recipe too, share your photos with us!

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For more recipes using blue pea flowers, check out our link.

Btw, should you want to buy any dried blue pea flowers, just email us to check on availability!

The family loves ordering osmanthus jelly at Chinese restaurants and it's super pricey. This one from a certain Chinese restaurant in Singapore costs S$3.60++ for 3 pieces - daylight robbery!

$1.20++ per piece. Each is maximum 6cm X 6cm X 4cm large.

Last weekend, I decided to make my own and it's really easy. Way easier than making any cake or cookie. Try this yourself and you will never want to order from restaurants again. Have fun and share the jellies with your vegetarian friends too! :)

(Updated: Jun 2017)

Recipe

Yield: 1 dish of jellies

Ingredients

1 pack konnyaku jelly powder (I used a 10g pack)

4 tsp dried osmanthus flowers
4 tsp wolfberries

5 red dates, deseeded
950ml water (please follow the konnyaku powder box's instructions if the amount is stated otherwise)

200g sugar (please follow the konnyaku powder box's instructions if the amount is stated otherwise)

Here's my pack's instructions, FYI:

Directions

1. In Bowl A, soak the wolfberries in 100ml water for 15 min.

2. After 15 min, drain the wolfberries. Keep the wolfberries and water separately aside.

3. In Bowl B, soak the dried osmanthus flowers and red dates in 400ml of water for at least 1 hour.

4. When step #3 is ready, bring 450ml of plain water to boil.

5. Lower the heat. Add Bowl A's water (yes, only the 100ml waterl) & all of Bowl B's mixture (osmanthus flowers + red dates + the 400ml water) into the pot of 450ml boiling water. Simmer for about 3 min.

6. Gradually add the sugar and konnyaku jelly powder into the pot, stirring in between. Continue to stir until all the jelly powder/ white lumps are fully dissolved. This would take about 10 min.

7. Meanwhile, prepare the ice tray/ mould by adding a few wolfberries to each mould.

8. When all the jelly powder and sugar are fully dissolved, scoop the mixture into your ice tray/ mould. Let the jelly cool down to room temperature and chill in fridge until the jelly is set.

Tip: Don't put this into the freezer. It's intuitive to put ice trays in the freezer, I know :p

9. After a few hours, remove the jellies from the ice trays/ mould. You are now ready to serve!

Update (Feb 2016)

Here's Esther Min's Osmanthus Jelly 桂花果冻 using our recipe. Looks really dainty and oriental. Perfect for Chinese New Year dessert! 🌸

Update (May 2016)

Below are Cresent Tong's Osmanthus Konnyaku Jelly.

Smart idea using those nice dainty cups - makes these jellies looks classier! :)

If you have tried this recipe too, share your photos with us!

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Sago is a common item found in desserts like mango sago (you can refer to my recipe to try your own!) or bubor chacha. I have never thought much about sago - in fact, sometimes I find it too starchy and will leave it behind to finish up the rest of my dessert.

After boiling sago today, I will never leave any sago behind again. It's really quite tedious - this took me 1 hour today. In addition, it contains health benefits such as aiding digestions and lowering cholesterol.

Here are the steps to boiling your own pearl sago (in this example, I used 160g of raw sago):

Directions

1. Wash the sago.

2. Boil a small pot of water. When the water is boiling, add the sago. Use medium heat and simmer for 10 min. Stir every few minutes, especially the sides and bottom, to prevent them from sticking together.

3. After 10 minutes, the sago will turn partially translucent but you will still be able to see some white dots. Turn off the flame.

4. Cover the pot with lid. Let it stand for 10 minutes to allow the sago to continue cooking by itself. The heat will continue cooking the sago up to its core. The sago will turn fully translucent. For better results, let the sago remain in the pot until it reaches room temperature.

5. Pour onto a sieve. (Do not panic if it looks like a large lump; it's okay). Rinse the cooked sago under running boiled water through a sieve to remove the excess starch.

Tip #1: I used a flour sieve. A bigger-sized one is more convenient.

Tip #2: Put a container below the sieve. The starchy water that comes out thereafter isn't too friendly to the kitchen sink.