[Taiwan Food Chronicle - Pastry 001] Introduction to Taiwan Mung Bean Pastry | 綠豆椪 (lǜdòu pèng)
Mid Autumn Festival is around the corner.
Mooncakes are everywhere now as gifts where the tradition is celebrated. As someone delivering tea experiences, it is my job to try multiple pairing treats with Oolong and Black teas to create optimal culinary experience.
To fit the festive season, I would like to introduce one of the classic and popular Taiwanese traditional pastries despite that my experience told me in the western world, bean desserts don't always appeal to Western palates.
Mung bean pastry always comes up to my head when I was selecting something to pair with lightly oxidised Oolong. Why? It's essential to avoid buttery and creamy food to go with unoxidised and lightly oxidised tea such as Taiwan High Mountain Tea and Paochong Oolong because cream and butter overpowers delicate and floral taste of the teas. Because it's made with lard, the layers are numerous yet exceptionally thin and soft. When you bite into it, there’s no dramatic crunch; rather, the pastry melts away softly like snowflakes, leaving a flaky, tender, and beautifully powdery texture on the tongue.
Heavy coffees or highly oxidised black teas overwhelm the subtle flavour of the mung bean. The pristine green profile of a lightly oxidised tea lifts the muted bean flavour without overpowering it, creating a elegant bouquet in your mouth.
Fun fact, the very traditional ones got minced pork and they still exist now while the bean only ones getting common. Would you like to try the savoury-sweet pork mung bean pastry with a cup of Taiwan Oolong?
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