Mung Bean Cake ~ 绿豆糕

These Mung Bean Cakes are made with split mung beans and they can pass off as mooncakes as they are shaped using the plunger moulds for mooncakes.  I find these mung bean cakes refreshing and not so heavy as mooncakes and they are a perfect match with a cup of hot Chinese tea.

Mung Bean Cake  ~   绿豆糕
Ingredients

• 300 gm split mung beans
• 30 gm Crisco shortening
• 70 ml vegetable oil
• 100 gm organic cane sugar
• 1.1/2 Tbsp honey
• about 100 gm red bean paste
• 1/2 tsp matcha powder
• pinch of salt
• pandan leaves

Method

1. Wash and soak the mung beans with 700 ml water, overnight.
2. Next day, rinse the mung beans and cook it in a rice cooker with about 1 inch of water covering the mung beans.  (I used the 'congee' function of the rice cooker).
3. Put the cooked mung beans in a blender and blend till fine with 120 ml water.
4. Heat up a non-stick pan with shortening and once melted, pour in the blended mung beans.  Keep stirring on medium heat and then add in vegetable oil.  Once all the oil has been absorbed, add in he sugar and salt and cook till the paste dries up and leaves the sides of the pan.
5. Add in the honey and mix well.
6. Dish out 3/4 paste and add in 1/2 tsp matcha powder to the remaining 1/4 paste.  Mix well.
7. Pinch some mung bean paste, mix in some matcha paste and wrap up some red bean paste, approximately 45 gm.  Roll into a ball, sprinkle some kao fun into a 50 gm plunger mould.  Press and stamp out the cake.
8. Keep chilled in a container, with a piece of kitchen paper towel coverring the cakes to absorb condensation.
9. Yield :  20 mung bean cakes