Hopia is a popular Filipino snack.  It’s similar to Chinese mooncake. You can have it in different fillings but my favorite has to be with munggo or mung beans.  I swear I can easily eat 10 pieces in one sitting.  Oh my waistline.

The other day I was craving for them so bad I had to go to an Asian store to buy a pack of mung beans.  I have never made hopia before so I thought I would experiment and try to make it healthy if possible.  This looooong, relentless and bitter winter (yes, it’s still like winter here though it’s mid April already) has been giving me serotonin imbalance I have to compensate by overeating loads of carbs for daily dose of happiness.  The result— Well, hello there, bigger thighs!

So this hopia is not quite like the ones you can buy in corner stores around the Philippines because I tried to make it less calorific.  The good thing is, it’s still tasty and chances are, I would still  fit in my jeans after eating them all.

Note that ingredients with asterisks can be substituted.  Their measurements can also be adjusted.  Recipe yields 20 pieces.

Filling:

• ½ pack or 200 g yellow mung beans
• 90 g brown sugar*  ( double the measurement if you want it sweet,)
• 300 ml water

Dough 1

• 240 g all-purpose flour
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tbsp white crystal sugar
• 100 ml water
• 100 ml extra virgin olive oil* (can be substituted with canola or vegetable oil)

Dough 2

• 120 g all-purpose flour
• 50 g butter, room temperature, cut in cubes
• 1 egg

Egg wash

• egg yolk
• 1 tbsp milk

Instructions:

1. Cook mung beans with the water until they are mashed.  Add more water if necessary. Add sugar and let cool.  Chill in the fridge for at least an hour.

2. Prepare two different sets of dough by mixing the ingredients.  Knead on a floured surface till both pieces are not sticky.   Let them sit for about 15 minutes.

3.  Roll out first dough thinly then spread the second one on top.  Roll out to a thin rectangular shape.

4.  Roll dough like in the photo above.  Cut into about 2cm thick and roll it into a small disk.  Fill with the chilled mung beans and gather the edges.  Put into a lined baking pan.

5.  Egg wash.

6.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for about 15 minutes or until hopia turns slightly brown.

Tea time!  They do taste good with green tea.  I actually don’t like eating them fresh from the oven but when they have cooled or even cold from the fridge.

Side note:  You might have some  extra filling left.  You can freeze it and  use it the next time you make hopia.  Or you can leave it in the fridge and eat it as a snack, too.  I do.

Side story:  My friends and I were about to board the boat for a night cruise along the River Seine in Paris when one attendant suddenly said “hopia-mani-mani-itlog” ( hopia- peanuts-peanuts- egg)  the moment he heard us talking in Tagalog.  That’s what vendors say around bus terminals in the Philippines to let you know what they’re selling for snack.  So funny. I wonder if that French guy ever bought and ate hopia when he was there.