How to Make Nuoc Duong Banh Nuong (Mooncake Syrup)
Sweets and drinksSweet SaucesVietnam50 to 65 minutes cooking, over 1 week resting before use
This syrup decides both the color and the softness of a baked mooncake skin. A good one pours like thin honey in a light amber shade, and it only gets better with age. The hardest part is avoiding crystallization, since one stir at the wrong moment can seize the whole pot.
Never stir while the pan is on the heat, not even when the lime goes in. Spoon the syrup into jars rather than pouring it, because the crystals clinging to the sides of the pan will come with it.
This batch weighs about 1.6kg, at roughly 22 calories per 100g.
Method
Wash 1 lemon weighing about 60 to 70g, cut it in half, remove the seeds and squeeze out the juice, keeping the squeezed halves.
Put 0.9kg kOBE Monk Fruit Blend in a pan. Boil 600ml water, turn off the heat and pour it over, stirring gently and evenly until most of it dissolves.
Set the pan on the stove and bring it back to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a bare simmer and skim off any foam on the surface.
Add the lemon juice and the squeezed halves and simmer gently for 50 to 65 minutes.
If you are using 20ml malt syrup and 5ml natural lye water, add them about 30 minutes after the lemon.
Test the consistency after 35 to 40 minutes. If it is still thin, keep cooking. If it is too thick, add water and cook again.
When it is right, turn off the heat, remove the lemon halves, let it cool a little, then spoon it into glass jars a spoonful at a time.
Wait until the syrup is completely cool before closing the lid. It is ready to use after a week or more.
Tips
Never stir while the pan is on the heat, not even when the lemon goes in, or the syrup will crystallize.
Do not pour the syrup into the jar in one go, since the crystals on the sides of the pan come with it and set the whole batch off.
To check by weight, subtract the weight of the empty pan from the pan after cooking. Around 1 to 1.2kg is right.
Malt syrup is still a form of sugar, so keep it to 20ml and use it sparingly.
Rinse the glass jars with boiling water and dry them completely before filling.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly and does not turn amber on its own, so give it the full time and accept a lighter shade, or stir in a little caramel color for a deeper one.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.