Every region in this world has its own unique rituals to celebrate the coming of a new season, and in many parts of Asia, the season of autumn is synonymous with mooncakes. A golden pastry crust packed with a variety of dense and sweet fillings, mooncakes signify the coming of autumn season, auspicious harvests and new beginnings enabled by luck and fortune. The Mid-Autumn Festival, more well-known as the Mooncake Festival is celebrated especially to mark this season change. The popularity of this festival is equal to that of the Chinese New Year, making the Mid-Autumn Festival and its signature dish, mooncakes, an epitome of the region’s culinary culture.
For those unaware, the Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, or Mooncake Festival is celebrated in Chinese culture as well as in other East and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Taiwan and Malaysia. The festival is traditionally held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese calendar, which is always a full moon night—tying the shape of the moon intrinsically with the dish called mooncake. Apart from making and sharing mooncakes, this festival also includes the lighting of lanterns—both rituals signify an auspicious beginning for the rest of the year.
Want to know more about mooncakes and the interesting history behind this dish? Here’s everything you need to know.
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Mooncake History: The Story Of Chang’e And Chinese Rulers
The history of mooncakes and their association with autumn season goes back to ancient China, so many believe that the dish is actually over 3,000 years old. Chinese legends say that the earth once had 10 suns and an archer, Yi, shot nine of them down and was given an elixir of immortality. Yi and his wife, Chang’e kept the elixir safe for years until one day when Yi was away and his apprentice tried to steal the elixir. To protect it, Chang’e drank it and ascended to heaven and picked the Moon as her abode. Since then Chang’e is worshipped as the Moon Goddess and in mid-autumn, mooncakes are specifically made to celebrate her.
However, according to historical records, mooncakes date back to the Yin and Zhou dynasties (1300 BC – 1046 BC) where Taishi cakes with a thin crust and thick filling were made in the royal households. During the Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD), sesame and walnut were introduced as ingredients of another version of mooncakes known as Hu cakes. Finally, it was during the Tang dynasty (618 AD – 907 AD) that royal pastry chefs created Hu cakes for emperor Tang Taizong and his concubine, Yang Guifei, to mark the mid-autumn full moon night. It was then that mooncakes got their new and more popular name, and their association with the Mid-Autumn Festival was established.
Mooncakes Across East Asia: Regional Variations
For most people beyond East Asia, mooncakes simply mean a bakery dish with a golden-hued pastry crust and delicious, dense and sweet fillings. But did you know that there are many regional variations of mooncakes that are prepared across East and Southeast Asia? Here are some regional variations of mooncakes you should know about.
1. Cantonese Mooncakes: The most commonly available Chinese mooncakes, these are baked, round, four inches in diameter and always have auspicious Chinese phrases for longevity, prosperity and harmony. The fillings are made of lotus beans, red beans or jujube paste mixed with egg yolks, nuts, seeds, fruits pieces and even savoury ingredients like dried ham.
2. Teochew Mooncake: Popular in Malayasia, Teochew mooncakes have a flaky and delicate crust which is often infused with colours for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The filling is made with sweetened yams, mung beans, black beans and often salted egg yolks are also added in the middle.
3. Hokkien Mooncake: Also known as Scholar Cakes, this Chinese mooncake variety is known for its flatter shape, pure-white exterior stamped with Chinese characters, and fillings made of melon seeds, tangerine peels, sugar, lard, sesame seeds, etc. A savoury variety of this mooncake with minced meat is also made.
4. Hainanese Mooncakes: More popular in Singapore than in Hainan, China, this mooncake variety was created in 1920s as a cheaper alternative to Cantonese mooncakes. These are also known as Su Yan Bing or salt-and-pepper mooncakes and are known for their flaky crust and savoury filling made of onions, lard, white sugar, rose flavour, sesame seeds, melon seeds, salt and pepper.
5. Hakka Moonlight Cake: Prepared as a special offering to Chang’e during the Mid-Autumn Festival, this Chinese mooncake variety is made with glutinous rice flour, sugar and fillings like candied melons, desiccated coconut, sesame seeds and margarine. The shape of this one is flat and like a disk, and it traditionally has auspicious carvings and symbols made on top.
6. Vietnamese Mooncakes: Popular in Vietnam as Banh Deo, these mooncakes are made of sticky rice flour, pomelo blossom water, vanilla and syrup. These mooncakes are usually filled with mung bean paste and salted egg yolk.