Chaoshan Mung Bean Cake

Chaoshan Mung Bean Cake

　　Zhanglin Ancient Port in Chaoshan was the "hub of overseas trade" during the Ming and Qing dynasties for the "red-head ships." During the Mid-Autumn Festival, skilled and ingenious housewives from countless families loved to make delicious pastries—mung bean cake. With its refined traditional techniques and meticulous preparation methods, the cake turns golden and translucent when steamed, offering a fragrant, sweet taste upon the first bite, and a unique flavor. It is not only a seasonal, medicinal dessert suitable for the occasion but also a nutritious culinary creation unique to Zhanglin's food culture—regarded as one of the finest Mid-Autumn cakes in the Chaoshan region.

The *Compendium of Materia Medica* by Li Shizhen of the Ming Dynasty states: “Mung bean flour is made by grinding mung beans into powder, straining and clarifying it, then using it to make snacks and steamed cakes… It helps relieve various types of heat, replenishes qi, regulates the five organs, calms the spirit, and strengthens the stomach.” Throughout history, the women of Zhanglin, a hometown of overseas Chinese, have maintained a long tradition of making steamed mung bean cakes. The method for preparing mung bean cake involves soaking mung beans in clean water, rinsing them thoroughly, removing their skins, steaming and sun-drying them, then grinding them into powder (commonly called mung bean cake flour). White sugar syrup (made by simmering sugar with water over low heat) and lard are added and stirred until well blended. The mixture is then poured onto a cake board and repeatedly kneaded into a dough-like paste. Using traditional wooden molds carved with auspicious patterns such as “Fu” (fortune), “Lu” (prosperity), “Shou” (longevity), “longevity peaches,” “chrysanthemums,” or “double pomegranates,” the paste is pressed into shape. Often, fillings such as red bean paste, sesame powder, shredded melon strips, peanuts, or crushed cashews are added during the pressing process. After molding, the cakes are usually placed in a steamer and steamed for 5–10 minutes. The result is a fragrant, soft, cool-textured treat with a unique flavor that refreshes the senses, stimulates the appetite, and leaves one craving more—Zhanglin’s signature mung bean cake.