By Foo Ming Li/Photos by Foo Ming Li
Mid-Autumn Festival, famously known as Mooncake Festival, is a traditional event celebrated annually by millions of people across the borders, primarily in the Asian continent among the Chinese community.
Mid-Autumn Festival, famously known as Mooncake Festival, is a traditional event celebrated annually by millions of people across the borders, primarily in the Asian continent among the Chinese community. In recent years, a wide variety of mooncake flavours have become common at the local supermarkets, where refreshing mooncake varieties like bubble milk tea, ice-cream or a durian mooncake, are not unusual.
Inspired by the emerging new flavours of mooncakes, a restaurant owner has decided to create healthy jelly mooncakes using natural ingredients like konjac jelly and berries to ensure that his mooncake is unique.
Chiang Kee Chuan, owner of The Leaf Healthy House, has been operating the restaurant for 10 years, serving food made from fruits and vegetables without the use of preservatives and food colourings. As the mooncake festival is around the corner, Chiang spends his time working on improving the konjac jelly mooncake recipe, a recipe he created seven years ago.
Chiang says that he wanted to make the konjac jelly mooncake because most of the mooncakes found in the market contain high calories and do not benefit consumers who wish to slim down. Thus, he wanted to make mooncakes that are nutritious with his health-conscious customers in mind.
He said konjac jelly has zero calories and contains high fibre that is essential for customers who are worried about weight gain. Konjac jelly is widely consumed by Japanese women as meal replacement to ensure weight loss without the effects of compromised nutrient intake.
According to Chiang, tea is used as mooncake flavouring because tea does not contain calories, and the colour of tea adds to the aesthetic appeal of the mooncake. He explains that several types of floral tea leaves are used to make different flavours for the mooncake. Depending on the type of tea leaves, these tea leaves must be boiled quickly within a few minutes to create the essence and fragrance of the tea.
On the other hand, the egg yolk that is typically found in the mooncake is replaced with blended berries that are placed in a circular mould to cool for a few hours.
When asked about the challenges faced when making the konjac jelly mooncake, Chiang adds that the cost of the mooncake is high due to the expensive ingredients used. He explains that the cost of berries are expensive and cooling bags are used as packaging for the mooncake to prevent condensation. By using such packaging, customers can enjoy the mooncake even during a long journey on the road.
Another challenge faced by Chiang is the lack of knowledge that most locals exhibit in relation to konjac jelly. Chiang has had to explain to his customers the benefits of konjac jelly to persuade them that konjac jelly is nutritious.
“When I first started making konjac jelly mooncake, I used less konjac jelly powder, a decision which caused the mooncake to become too soft. When I used more kelly powder, the mooncake became firm,” Chiang said.
Although the konjac jelly mooncake is expensive and difficult to make, Chiang feels that his efforts are worthwhile, due to his aim of serving nutritious food to customers who are interested in weight loss.
A note to all students and staff of Han Chiang University College of Communication – you will enjoy a 15% discount if you purchase Chiang’s konjac jelly mooncake in person, or buy his mooncake online.
Leave a Reply