![]() Sara Tan, the self-taught pastry chef of Buttermilk Pantry tried her hand at making mooncakes at home this year. ![]() These mooncakes have a crisp exterior and a soft filling of diced Xuanwei ham, lard, honey and sugar. The climate in the Yunnan province is perfect for curing meat, making Xuanwei ham the star of the sweet-savoury mooncakes from Yunnan. Fillings of taro, yam, red bean or mung bean paste are added before it is deep-fried.įillings differ from region to region because mooncakes are a way to show off the best produce from each area. The pastry is made by laminating a water-based and oil-based dough into one another. Teochew mooncakes are also called thousand-layer mooncakes due to their appearance. These mooncakes are best shared and enjoyed with a pot of tea.Ī teochew, or thousand-layer mooncake, have a laminate pastry crust and fillings including taro, yam or mung bean paste. Some bakeries have also introduced half-sugar mooncakes (which are exactly what they sound like) because the biggest compliment any Chinese person can give about a sweet is that it is “not too sweet”. You’ll also see red bean paste, mung bean paste, sesame paste and a five-seed mix in some mooncakes, although they’re not as easy to find. With the extreme-gifting trend and auspicious nature of all Chinese celebrations, some bakeries stuff up to four salted egg yolks into a single mooncake, because the more moons you have, the more plentiful the bounty for the receiver. They’re commonly filled with lotus seed paste and one or two salted yolks. They’re the most recognised mooncake in Australia due to Hong Kong’s financial boom in the 1960s, when they became commercialised and a popular gift item. The square or lotus-shaped, dense mooncakes with the browned, chewy crust stamped with the name of the bakery you see in most Asian grocers are the Cantonese version. It's a harvest festival, so be sure to show some love to our local farmers and bakers by supporting their goods and, above all, spend time with friends and family.Baked lotus-shaped mooncakes are the most widely available mooncakes in Australia. It's not a sin to treat yourself to a fancy dinner or tea time with family and friends, but it's good to know that buying expensive cakes is not what the Mid-Autumn Festival is really about. Instead of lotus, Ah said that the FCBAI is choosing to promote the harvest of your local farmers - ube, cocoa, and even the humble munggo. And people think it's so nice to eat, because here it's expensive!" Here's a secret courtesy of Henry Ah, former president of the FCBAI: "Lotus by this time in China is one of the cheapest products. Another highlight is the talent portion of the Mr. The mall will also host a Moon Fest Mural Contest and cultural performances by students from Chinese schools and other partner organizations. Quite a steep price, but that is why it's meant to be shared. The festival officially starts on September 22, but mooncakes have been available at the Café Society at the City of Dreams Manila since August 25.Ī box of four mooncakes, made with white lotus paste and double egg yolk filling, costs P3, 988 nett. She is why we celebrate the Moon Festival." The former president of the FBCAI, Henry Ah, told the press, "On September 24, if you look at the moon, you will see this beautiful lady. Yi, wanting to still show his love for her, would place her favorite fruits and cakes on their yard for her to see. This turned her into the Moon Goddess of Immortality. An envious apprentice attempted to steal the elixir from Chang'e, so she drank it all and then flew to the moon - the celestial body closest to her husband's home planet. Yi gave the elixir to his wife Chang'e for safekeeping. The first person who made the first cake for the moon (hence, mooncake) was Hou Yi, who was bequeathed with an elixir of immortality after displaying great skill with his arrow in his fight with nine out of 10 suns (epic, right?). At the heart of the festival is a love story Here's what you need to know about the Mid-Autumn Festival:ġ. This year, the public is encouraged to look up to the sky and marvel at the moon on September 24, Monday. Fung during a Pandesal Forum on Tuesday, September 18, explained that the moon is believed to be at its brightest and biggest on the night of the festival. In fact, the Mid-Autumn Festival is known in some parts as the Moon Festival or the Harvest Moon Festival.įilipino-Chinese Bakery Association, Inc. Sharing cakes is part of a long tradition of activities related to the moon, including moon worship and moon gazing. ![]() The Mooncake Festival is actually the culmination of the Mid-Autumn Festival, a month-long thanksgiving and celebration. Across the globe, at the tail-end of August, Chinese communities observe a celebration we've come to associate with a rich, round delicacy: mooncakes.
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