Kiwifruits have low fat natural source of Vitamin E, which is well known for its heart health and antioxidant properties. It also have high content of bioavailable antioxidants (Vitamins C & E, polyphenols, carotenoids, etc) to help fight damage caused by free radicals in the body. It was great to my digestive system too as I've mentioned before in length.
As for the mind and soul, nothing beat therapeutic time spent in the kitchen creating recipes that I've laid out here in the blog. Best part was getting the family involve was a small brain storming session we have over coffee and cake on what kinda dishes that we can create using kiwifruits.
To close off this Zespri® 14-Day Daily Scoop of Amazing Challenge, I've decided to make some Mooncake Biscuits since Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching.
I'm not a big fan of mooncake cos I always find it too sweet for my liking with the exceptional of Teo Chew Mooncake which is flat with flaky pastry. I did like the traditional Jue Tzai Pheng (Cantonese or piglet biscuit) or also known as Jue Loong Pheng (Cantonese or pig cage biscuit cos the piglet are usually sold in a red plastic cage). They are usually without any fillings but I like to put some fillings in there. I never knew it's rather easy to make these biscuits cos I remember my ex-colleague told me that his wife had paid to learn them up. Hers was so good that I've placed orders for them. Well that was those days before I got married heh.
For this challenge, I've tried one batch filled with Zespri® SunGold Kiwifruit Jam hehehe. Just need to cook the jam slightly longer till it's really thick plus oh yeah add more sugar to it. I've used 120g but still find the jam a little on the sour side for this biscuit. For the amount of dough, I think you'll need 3 times of the jam recipe. Keep jam in the fridge, weigh and shape them into rounds before returning to the fridge so that they remain firm.
I have to say the first bite is a little weird since my traditionalist tongue tells me it's just not all right but after a while, it'll sink in and actually tasted in a nice way where the biscuit is sweet whilst the kiwifruit jam is sourish. Like I've mentioned earlier, do add more sugar in the jam.
Mid-Autumn Festival Chewy Mooncake Biscuit
Ingredients:
600g low protein flour/plain flour
600g golden syrup
1 1/2 tbsp alkaline/lye water
100g peanut oil
Topping (beaten):
1 egg + 1 egg yolk
Method:
Mix golden syrup with peanut oil and alkaline water, gradually add in flour, mix well till combined and soft in a mixing bowl.
Cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and leave at room temperature overnight. You'll need that as time is needed for the oil to meld into the flour mixture.
Divide dough into many portions, form into rounds. Flatten the dough and wrap it around the jam round making sure it's sealed properly. Dust some plain flour into the biscuit and mould, then press dough into mould. Next, invert onto baking tray.
Bake in preheated oven at 180ºC for 10 mins. Remove from oven, leave to cool, and brush some beaten egg on the surface, and continue baking for another 10 mins until golden in colour. Leave to cool before serving but I prefer to store the biscuit in containers and let them soften further overnight before eating. It's not nice to be eaten when it first comes out of the oven hahaha unlike other biscuits cos it is hard.
Ref: Famous Cuisine Vol. 51 July-Aug 2008, page 7
Tips:
To know how much dough and filling, fill up the mould with just the dough, then remove and weigh it. Say if your mould fills 70 g of dough, you'll need 50 g dough and 20 g filling or could be 30 g dough with 20 g fillings. Depends how much ratio of biscuit to filling that you love, after a few attempts you'll know ;-)
If your mould is longish, you may want to shape your jam filling and dough into oval/oblong shape rather than rounds so that it's easier to press and shape into the mould.
Brush the egg wash evenly to achieve even colouring of the biscuits. Otherwise, it will look patchy.
Do not over bake, watch the biscuits in the oven after the egg wash. Remove from oven immediately once it's golden in colour which may be less than 10 mins stated in the recipe depending on your oven. Else, the biscuits will crack or streaks will form on the egg wash (looks like stretch marks).
With regards to oil, it is quite difficult to get 100% peanut oil. You can still get them at Chinese sundry shops. I've tried with sunflower oil but it just doesn't taste the same, like something is missing. I'm using Knife brand oil for this as I've read the label that it contains a blend of palm and peanut oil, so far so good. It still gives the biscuit some peanut aroma as compared to sunflower oil.
Don't forget to visit www.zespri.com.my to check up on all the information on nutrients, benefits, tips, FAQs and recipes. Did you know that using uncooked kiwifruits in jellies and cheesecake will not be set firm? It's because of the actinidin, which can splits and dissolves protein. So do read up the informative write ups there.
Thank you Zespri Malaysia and the Kiwifruit Fairies over at Edelman Malaysia for the fantabulous 14 days of Zespri Kiwifruits goodness! Also thank you to the test bunnies Capt'n Hook and BoiBoi for enduring the amount of test recipes in the short span of 14 days.
Ok a little disclaimer here. When I was approached for this challenge, I did voiced out my concern since I'm working at Bayan Indah with Chef Rohani Jelani who developed a series of recipes for Zespri Malaysia. Some might think it could be judged in a bias manner because of my work involvement. I was assured that points will be awarded based on a series of exercise. That was then I decided to take part in this challenge. I would also like to state here that the recipes I've created were crafted by the little family brainstorming session, cooked and tested by myself without any consultation with the boss :p It's Hari Raya anyway, boss is off duty heh.
Ok a little disclaimer here. When I was approached for this challenge, I did voiced out my concern since I'm working at Bayan Indah with Chef Rohani Jelani who developed a series of recipes for Zespri Malaysia. Some might think it could be judged in a bias manner because of my work involvement. I was assured that points will be awarded based on a series of exercise. That was then I decided to take part in this challenge. I would also like to state here that the recipes I've created were crafted by the little family brainstorming session, cooked and tested by myself without any consultation with the boss :p It's Hari Raya anyway, boss is off duty heh.
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