I won’t bore you by getting too deep into the fairytale that surrounds the Mid-Autumn Festival. In short, it’s a forbidden love story between a girl living on the moon and a young man living on earth. They are only granted one meeting per year on September 15th of the lunar calendar.
Today, we celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in the name of family unity and for the hope that true loves can reunite.
If you’ve ever wondered why mooncakes are round, this is why.
(Update: a helpful reader pointed out to us that we got our lines tied up on the details of lovers meeting vs. not meeting; turns out that the young man mourned the loss of his love to the moon for the rest of his days, and people celebrate his sacrifice by worshipping the moon spirit with cakes and other offerings…alternatively, it may also be the case that the young man in this story turned into a tyrannical king and his former lover prevented him from becoming immortal on the day of the mid-autumn festival, so people celebrate that…Can you see now why we tried to glaze over this part? Also, for anyone who’s ever had a mother provide them with totally false only semi-accurate information, this one’s for you!)
Besides Chinese New Year, the Mid-Autumn Festival is an important Chinese holiday, and every region has it’s own unique approach when it comes to making the all-important moon cake. This is a savory mooncake recipe.
Savory mooncakes, or xian rou yue bing (鲜肉月饼), are filled with ground pork and prized by people in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, the areas where I grew up. In fact, simply mentioning xian rou yue bing will make most Shanghainese people weak in the knees! Needless to say, I’m very excited to share this recipe with you guys.
If you’re thinking that there’s no point in making these from scratch, trust me, you will not find these in your neck of woods (unless you happen to live somewhere in China). These are definitely not your typical chewy, sweet moon cakes; the uniqueness of these Shanghai savory mooncakes is in the dough or the crust.
It is quite similar to pastry dough, with all that layered, flaky and crumbly goodness—plus, there’s a savory meat filling. Sound weird? Not really! The cooking from this region tends to be on the sweeter side, so the sweet/salty filling with the pastry-like crust is a perfect combo.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches (this year it falls on September 27), people from my hometown of Shanghai are already lined up to secure some their favorite Xian Rou Yue Bing. To find out what all the hoopla is about, try this recipe, and let us know what you think.
And just a heads up: this is a long post with a lot of step-by-step pictures. We divided it into three segments. In this case, each segment is very quick to put together. And guess what? No fancy moon cake molds required for these savory mooncakes!
Recipe Tips Before You Start:
Some tips before we start!
- The ground pork is best chopped by hand rather than ground up. If you’re a true devotee to the art of making moon cakes, then cut the pork butt into small pieces and then chop it into fine bits using a quick wrist motion and a large knife or cleaver.
- Both the dough and the filling can be made a day or two before and kept in the fridge until ready to assemble, bake, and eat. Wait at least one hour after taking the filling and dough out of the fridge before you start to assemble the mooncakes.
- These are ideally eaten when they are fresh. Alternatively, you can freeze them (or refrigerate them for up to 3-4 days) and reheat in the oven or toaster oven until warmed through.
- And lastly…beware–just like French and American pastries, this is not for the health conscious! Ideally, you’ll make these with lard—it’ll give you the most authentic taste. But if you can’t get your hands on any or don’t know how to make it from scratch, vegetable shortening will do.
Recipe Instructions
Make the meat filling:
Mix and combine everything for the meat filling: ground pork, sugar, honey, Shaoxing wine, salt, light soy sauce, ginger powder, garlic powder, and scallion.
There’s no need to stir too much or whip the mixture in any way, or the filling will turn rubbery. Cover and set aside in the fridge.
Make the soft dough:
Add the flour, sugar, and lard to a mixing bowl, and mix until thoroughly combined.
Then slowly add the water in 3-4 batches and knead the dough to form a smooth dough ball.
Set it aside and cover with a damp cloth. Make sure the dough is not too dry.
To test for quality, form a dough ball and press it flat. The edges should not crack.
Make the pastry dough:
Combine the flour and lard, and knead to form a dough ball. Cover with clear plastic wrap and let it sit in fridge for 20 minutes.
Assemble the mooncakes:
Divide both the soft dough and the pastry dough into 24 pieces each. You should have 48 bits of dough in total. Take the time to divide them equally and roll each into balls. We used a scale to help us out.
Cover all the dough pieces with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out as you work.
Follow the photos for each step:
Take one piece of soft dough and press into a small round disc. Put a piece of the pastry dough in the center of the soft dough, close to seal, and use your palms to flatten.
Then roll it out into a long oval shape. Then roll it into a more uniform cigar shape.
Roll the cigar out lengthwise into a longer rope, and then roll it into a tight, short bundle.
Stand the bundle up and press it flat.
With a rolling pin, roll the dough bundle out into a 3½-inch disc (it should be slightly thinner around the outer edges and thicker in the middle). Add about one tablespoon (about 20 grams) of meat filling to the center of the disc…
…and seal tightly. Be careful with the filling—you can’t overstuff these or they will burst open during the baking process.
Now lightly press the dough to shape it into a flat moon cake shape. Place it on a baking sheet, seam side down.
Now, repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and filling until you’ve used everything up. You will need two baking sheets for a total of 24 moon cakes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and position the baking rack in the middle of the oven.
Brush each cake with egg wash and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds.
Once the oven is preheated, bake each pan of moon cakes for 25 minutes until the cakes start to turn golden brown.
Enjoy this one and Happy Mid Autumn Festival!
Shanghai Savory Mooncakes (Xian Rou Yue Bing)
Ingredients
For the meat filling:
- 1 pound ground pork (450g)
- 1/4 cup sugar (50g)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 scallion (VERY finely chopped)
For the soft dough:
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour (290g)
- 2½ tablespoons sugar
- 1/3 cup lard (or vegetable shortening)
- 1/2 cup water (120 ml)
For the pastry dough:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour (195g)
- 1/2 cup lard (or vegetable shortening)
For assembling the moon cakes:
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- For the meat filling, mix and combine all the ingredients well. There’s no need to stir too much or whip the mixture in any way, or the filling will turn rubbery. Cover and set aside in the fridge.
- For the soft dough, add the flour, sugar, and lard to a mixing bowl, and mix until thoroughly combined. Then slowly add the water in 3-4 batches and knead the dough to form a smooth dough ball. Set it aside and cover with a damp cloth. Make sure the dough is not too dry. To test for quality, form a dough ball and press it flat. The edges should not crack.
- For the pastry dough, combine the flour and lard and knead to form a dough ball. Cover with clear plastic wrap and let it sit in fridge for 20 minutes.
- To assemble the mooncakes, divide both the soft dough and the pastry dough into 24 pieces each. You should have 48 bits of dough in total. Take the time to divide them equally and roll each into balls. We used a scale to help us out. Cover all the dough pieces with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out as you work.
- Take one piece of soft dough and press into a small round disc. Put a piece of the pastry dough in the center of the soft dough, close to seal, and use your palms to flatten.
- Then roll it out into a long oval shape. Roll that into a more uniform cigar shape. Roll the cigar out lengthwise into a longer rope, and then roll it into a tight, short bundle.
- Stand the bundle up and press it flat. With a rolling pin, roll the dough bundle out into a 3½-inch disc (it should be slightly thinner around the outer edges and thicker in the middle).
- Add about one tablespoon (about 20 grams) of meat filling to the center of the disc, and seal tightly. Be careful with the filling—you can’t overstuff these or they will burst open during the baking process.
- Now lightly press the dough to shape it into a flat moon cake shape. Place it on a baking sheet seam side down. Now, repeat with the remaining pieces of dough and filling until you’ve used everything up. You will need two baking sheets for a total of 24 moon cakes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees, and position the baking rack in the middle of the oven.
- Brush each cake with egg wash and sprinkle the top with sesame seeds. Once the oven is preheated, bake each pan of moon cakes for 25 minutes until the cakes start to turn golden brown.
nutrition facts
Why do you use two different kinds of dough? And why do you put the soft dough inside the pastry dough, roll out and flatten like that?
Hi Sandy, this is how it’s done in Chinese bakery for creating the layered and crumbly texture.
I only have duck fat in the fridge. Could I use that in place of beef/pork lard? Do I need to change the measurements?
By the way, made the curry puffs and they were devoured instantly by my family.
Tomorrow I’ll be using the same curry filling with your cha siu bao recipe.
Thanks!
You may be able to use duck lard, though I’ve never tried it in this recipe. If you are making lard using duck fat, it’s a good idea to add some ginger and scallion during the rendering process.
I wonder if you use a mooncake press, will the laminated dough lose the beautiful pattern as it bakes? I will make sure the meat is cooked before I assemble. I’m more interested about the outer crust as I will change the filling most likely a little bit. Thank you for your time!
Hi Cassie, please try our other baked mooncake recipes as a guideline: Lotus Mooncakes with Salted Egg Yolks AND Ham and Nut Mooncake Recipe (Wu Ren Yue Bing).
I filled the mooncake with curry beef recipe found on this site because some people can’t eat pork. Also I used a tortilla press to flatten dough into circles just like making dumpling skin. You get better circles than trying to roll it out by hand. I used unsalted stick butter for the lard because it easier to find. It is very time consuming but tastes very good. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
You are very welcome, Kevin! Thank you for taking the time to make this recipe.
Hi Judy –
Can you combine this savory filling with the dough from other recipes used to shape within a moon cake mold? I like the beauty of using the moo cake mold but prefer the savory filling.
Thanks!
Hi Lindsey, the baking settings for the two are very different, so it’s not advisable. Especially since the savory mooncake has raw meat filling.
My husband is from Shanghai. I witnessed his Aunt baked mooncake this past Moon Festival (2018). I noticed she used tapioca starch and at least 2 cups of vegetable oil to make the soft dough. I wonder, what is the difference between using plain flour and tapioca starch for the soft dough? I can relate to the pictures as guides since I have seen her make it from scratch? Also, at that time she was visiting us in the Bay Area, I had left over purple yam paste I made for my brioche, I asked her to use it on the mooncake she was baking aside from the meat she hand grounded–it was a hit! It definitely was a new taste in the palete aside from red bean paste. I am here looking for the basic recipe of the mooncake but since my father in law enjoys the meat filling as well, I will sure double the dough to compensate everyone’s cravings!
Thank you for sharing your recipes! I made a few of your dishes already especially when we had visitors from Shanghai, they loved the taste of home away from home–hong shau rou and a couple of Schezuan dishes rule in our home! LOL
oooh! any tofu skin dishes you have in mind? ?
Hi Grace, I have been looking at my tofu skin dishes like the vegetarian “chicken,” but I do worry that people might find it too obscure, which is why I have not done it yet. Bill does have a tofu skin and rib stew dish that he’s posting soon, however!
I discovered your blog several years ago and have been enjoying your detailed recipes since then. However, since last year I started hosting an exchange student from Shanghai and your site has made a HUGE impact on my family’s life. Not only are my American kids learning about a different culture through food, but my Chinese daughter has access to comfort food – plus my steamed pork buns and fancy folded wontons win me big points as a host mother! Your mooncake recipe came out perfectly – according to Baohui, Shanghai native and our resident expert. Thank you for making these recipes so accessible and delicious! Your instructions are superb.
Yeahhh…love how this blog has changed so many lives, ours included :-)
Hello -can you comment on storage? I don’t expect these to last long however I would not want to leave a meat bun out overnight… if I wrap it loosely in parchment to store in the fridge, I’m worried the flaky crust will go soft or soggy….
Thank you!
Hi Jeanne, arrange them in a Tupperware (or a container with tight lid) and store them in the refrigerator up to a week or so. To re-heat, I’d preheat your oven or toaster oven to 325 degree, bake the mooncake for maybe 2 – 3 minutes, then turn off the oven. Let the residual heat to heat through the filling without burning the crust.
Hello,
Is the filing very sweet?
As 1/4 cup of sugar plus 2tbsp honey sounds like a lot for 1 lb of meat.
Thanks for sharing your recipe
Hi Mathieu, this filling is not too sweet, but it IS slightly sweet like most Shanghainese cooking.
Hi Judy, any chance you’re from Wuxi?
No, I am from Shanghai.
Me too, actually it is a bit on the sweet side, better when it’s room temperature.
Thanks!
Your fan from Toronto, Canada
Thank you, Lee, please tailor the sweetness to your own liking during the red-bean paste making process.
Hi Judy,
I just tried the pastry dough. It is crumbly although I already tried to knead it quiet a long time.
is there anything that I should do ?
Thank you so much
HI Agnes, sounds like you need to add more lard (or vegetable shortening).
hi Judy, thank you for the reply. I will try again soon….my family already asked me to make them again… like them so much. They taste delicious..
Hi Agnes, how about I give you another tip? Try hand-chopping the pork using this tip I wrote a post about. It will make the filling texture taste better.