Turns out that for many Asians around the world, the fifteenth day of the eighth moon (or September 14 this year) is a night of celebration. Marking the abundance of the harvest, the moon festival is full of parades, dancing and eating in many communities. Moon cakes are traditionally given out as gifts to family and friends, and are stuffed with adzuki bean paste. The symbolism is that of luck and good fortune. Apparently, rum-raisin, Oreo, cream cheese, tiramisu, cappuccino, fruit, and Cognac-flavoured fillings are available too.
The stories behind the moon festival are widely varied, from what I can find out, but this website seems to have a good reference point. I also found a mooncake recipe in one of the old garage-sale cookbooks I own, so I figured I'd share it here too! I've added links to some of the "weirder" ingredients, for reference.Hidden Gold Mooncakes
Serves 30
Serves 30
4 cups cooked glutinous rice flour (kao fun)
2 cups cold water
1 1/3 cups shortening
6 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 cups cold water
1 1/3 cups shortening
6 cups icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
4 cups sweetened shredded coconut
Skin:
- Mix icing sugar, water, cocoa powder and shortening well.
- Fold in rice flour and mix to a dough.
- Divide the dough into 30 portions. Set aside.
- Heat water and melt the sugar.
- Add desiccated coconut and stir to coat.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients. Mix well and simmer on low heat for 45 minutes.
- Mould the filling into small, equal balls.
Assembly:
- Wrap a ball of filling with a portion of pastry.
- Roll into a ball and press into a mooncake mould (or a small container).
- Knock it out gently and keep in the refrigerator 2 hours or until ready to be served.
- They keep well for up to one week.
Calories: 359.8
Total Fat: 15.8 g
Cholesterol: 27.8 mg
Sodium: 60.9 mg
Total Carbs: 52.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 2.6 g
Yum!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that you guys were getting a particular influx of Chinese. Any idea why? Are they from Hong Kong, or from mainland China? I'm just curious, is all.
I adore Asian cuisine and love finding new dishes I can eat! I've had moon cakes and they are scrumptious. This looks like a great recipe!
ReplyDeleteWow ! What a incredible dish,and I appreciate Asian cuisine a lot. Great recipe
ReplyDeleteI keep saying that one of these years I'm going to head to our local Chinatown and try to get a moon cake!
ReplyDelete