Chapter 98: Bean Paste Mooncakes with Salted Yolks

Xiaoguo gave it to Zhuang Zhuang so that he could have a taste.

Zhuang Zhuang obediently opened his mouth and took a bite of the egg yolk.

“Oh, it’s so delicious. It is so fragrant and the texture feels grainy in the mouth.”

Xiaoguo took a bite and narrowed her eyes. It was indeed a success. Delicious!

Xiaoguo and Zhuang Zhuang finished the entire salted duck egg, except for the egg white.

Xiaoguo couldn’t bear to throw it away either. She kept it aside in a bowl—it would be perfect for eating with steamed buns.

Together with Zhuang Zhuang, Xiaoguo extracted the yolks from the eggs. There were a total of twenty eggs. She left four of the eggs untouched and stored them for future use.

She did the same for the egg whites. They were separated from the yolks and stored for future consumption.

After all the ingredients were prepared, the next step was to shape the mooncakes.

Zhuang Zhuang returned to the house and took out the mooncake molds they had bought the last time. He returned to the kitchen and placed them on the table.

“Mother, can I try my hands at it?”

Zhuang Zhuang looked at Xiaoguo expectantly. He had picked out a few molds personally and he wished to make some mooncakes in those designs.

“Of course you can!”

Xiaoguo had already planned to let Zhuang Zhuang join in. It was also a form of bonding activity for parent and child.

Xiaoguo first prepared the filling. She took a small piece of bean paste and kneaded it into a ball before flattening it. She then took an egg yolk and placed it in the middle of the bean paste. She slowly molded the bean paste using her palm and the base of her thumb. She rolled and pushed up the edges of the bean paste until the egg yolk was fully encased within the bean paste filling.

Then, she took a piece of freshly made dough and kneaded it into a ball. Using the same method as before, she flattened the ball of dough, and placed the filling on it. Using her palm, she slowly molded the dough to wrap around the filling. As the dough was not so stretchy, she had to be careful during the process. Otherwise, she may get cracks on the skin layer.

After the filling was wrapped, she sprinkled some flour on the surface. It would be easier to remove the mooncake from the mold later on.

She handed the completed mooncake balls to Zhuang Zhuang, since he was in charge of molding them.

Zhuang Zhuang picked out his favorite from the pile of molds and pressed the mooncake down hard following Xiaoguo’s instructions.

Zhuang Zhuang used all his strength to press down on the mold. When he felt that it was enough, he slowly separated the mooncake from the mold.

A mooncake with the words Blissful Harmony imprinted on the surface, appeared on the table.

“Mother! Look!”

Zhuang Zhuang couldn’t wait to share it with Xiaoguo. He wanted her to see if the molded mooncake looked good.

“Yes! Very good!”

Xiaoguo praised him and gave him the credit he deserved. Seeing how Zhuang Zhuang was beaming with joy, she felt that it was totally worth the trouble to do anything for him.

As the shaping process was not easy, Xiaoguo decided to shape the mooncakes by herself and let Zhuang Zhuang do the pressing.

That was her initial plan, but looking at Zhuang Zhuang’s eager expression, she decided to involve Zhuang Zhuang in the shaping process. She taught Zhuang Zhuang step by step, telling him how much dough to take, and how to wrap everything up.

Zhuang Zhuang was also very attentive. Although it was his first time shaping a mooncake, he was quite skilled and succeeded on his first try.

With such a promising start, Zhuang Zhuang challenged Xiaoguo to a race, to see who could make the most mooncakes. Xiaoguo readily agreed. After the countdown began, both of them gave it their all and started working on the mooncakes.

Xiaoguo was, after all, an adult. Her hands were more agile than Zhuang Zhuang’s. So unsurprisingly, Xiaoguo won the race by a huge margin.

Not to be outdone, Zhuang Zhuang did not panic when he saw that Xiaoguo was done. He continued working fastidiously on his mooncakes.

Xiaoguo was quite impressed by the boy. He was so calm and collected for his age.

Xiaoguo did not rush Zhuang Zhuang as she did not want to put too much pressure on him, Xiaoguo busied herself with the work at hand. She placed the mooncakes on the bamboo trays and prepared for the remaining steps.

Xiaoguo went out to heat up the oven first. This time, she added a few more thick logs. This was because it would take a longer time to bake the mooncakes. The stronger the flame was, the higher the temperature would be.

Xiaoguo returned to the kitchen to get a bowl of water. Zhuang Zhuang had also finished making the last piece of mooncake in the meanwhile.

“Zhuang Zhuang is so awesome!”

Xiaoguo was not stingy with her praise—she has always practiced positive parenting. She stopped her praises when Zhuang Zhuang started to blush.

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Zhuang Zhuang carefully placed the mooncakes he had made on the trays. He saw Xiaoguo holding a bowl of water and got curious.

“Mother, why are you bringing water?”

“Watering is done so that the surface of the mooncake would not crack during the backing process.”

Xiaoguo placed the water on the table. After watching Zhuang Zhuang put away the last piece, she wet her hands and sprinkled water on the surface of the mooncakes. It would be easier if there was a watering can, but she didn’t have one at home so she had to use her hands. Although it was not as uniform as using a watering can, it was good enough.

The fire was still burning in the oven. Xiaoguo rummaged through the kitchen, looking for a tray that could be put in the oven together with the mooncakes.

The mooncakes had to be taken out during the baking process, so as to brush them with a layer of egg wash. It would be easier for Xiaoguo to take them out using a tray.

When Zhuang Zhuang heard this, he joined her in the search and found an iron mesh in the cupboard.

“Mother, do you think this will work?”

Xiaoguo took a look at it and thought that it would work. Although it was netted, the mesh structure was dense. She could definitely use it!

The two of them transferred the mooncakes onto the wire mesh and waited for the right time to put them in the oven.

“Mother, the fire is so strong!”

Zhuang Zhuang bent down and looked into the oven. The flames were so strong that his face hurt.

Xiaoguo told him to stay away and teased him. She said that his face could get roasted if he wasn’t careful.

When Zhuang Zhuang heard this, he quickly ran to Xiaoguo’s side. His mother loved kissing his little face the most. If he got burnt, his mother wouldn’t kiss him anymore.

After waiting for a long time, the flames in the oven gradually subsided. Xiaoguo quickly removed the charcoal and put in the mooncakes.

After sealing the oven with a lid, Zhuang Zhuang asked Xiaoguo how long it would take for the baking to be done.

Xiaoguo thought for a moment. This would take at least an hour. She still had to brush egg wash on the mooncakes halfway through.

Zhuang Zhuang was waiting eagerly to eat the mooncakes, so he thought of staying watch beside the oven.

Xiaoguo could tell what he was thinking and told him the brutal truth. Even after the mooncakes were baked, they had to be sealed for the entire night, so that the skin could soften while resting. The mooncakes were only considered done after this entire process.

“Huh?!”

Zhuang Zhuang let out a long sigh of disappointment. Why does it take so long!

It seemed that he wouldn’t be able to eat any mooncakes today. He had planned to eat less during lunch so that he can have some mooncakes. It appeared that this was not possible after all.

Listening to Zhuang Zhuang’s words, Xiaoguo broke into a smile and suggested to him earnestly, “You can also eat less for lunch and dinner. Save some space in your tummy for the mooncakes tomorrow.”

Zhuang Zhuang snorted and said nothing.

Xiaoguo pretended to feel sorry for him and said, “It seems that I have to eat an extra portion of claypot rice for lunch.”

She headed for the kitchen.

Xiaoguo had her eyes on Zhuang Zhuang all this while. When she saw him glaring at her and coming after her, she giggled.

“Mother, mother, mother… I’ll eat, eat, eat!”

Zhuang Zhuang changed his mind and wrapped himself around Xiaoguo. Xiaoguo couldn’t move an inch in his arms, but she didn’t look down at him. She continued to say regretfully, “I’m going to add more sausages. Someone will miss out on a delicious meal…”

Zhuang Zhuang panicked when he heard that. He jumped up and pounced on Xiaoguo, calling out ‘Mother’ continuously.

Xiaoguo was amused by Zhuang Zhuang’s behavior. This brat!

She hugged Zhuang Zhuang and carried him back to the kitchen. Zhuang Zhuang was giggling in Xiaoguo’s arms.

“Go and get the rice.”

With that, Xiaoguo put Zhuang Zhuang down.

Zhuang Zhuang was a fast worker. As soon as he landed, he slipped away and disappeared. In a flash, he was already standing in front of the rice vat, preparing to scoop rice out.

Xiaoguo stopped teasing him and took the basin from him.

Zhuang Zhuang wouldn’t know how much rice to take. If too much rice was cooked, they wouldn’t be able to finish it. Xiaoguo also didn’t like leftovers. She usually uses fresh ingredients whenever she cooks. She decided to prepare the rice herself.

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