MOLDING THE
Mooncakes, or yuèbing, are traditional small circular or square Chinese pastry-cakes. Usually mooncakes are associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival, which takes place on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. Numerous stories and folktales surround the origin and history of mooncakes. According to Ling Yu, a Chinese home cook and blogger, mooncakes were first associated with the Mid-Autumn Festival in ancient China.
Another tale tells of the pastry’s importance in China’s revolutionary history. Chinese rebels used mooncakes to communicate during the Yuan Dynasty, a time when China was under Mongol rule, said Bernice Chan in
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Beyond their rich and long history, mooncakes are known for their impossibly delicious taste. They are typically golden brown in color and stamped with an intricate design. The filling of the cake can vary greatly. The customary filling is a sweet paste, with ingredients like lotus seed, sweet bean or jujuba (date). However, they can also have a five-nut filling or even a whole salted-duck yolk in the center of the filling. With the popularity of the sweet filling, not all consumers of the mooncake are always prepared for variations. “I remembered this one time, my mom gave me a mooncake, and I expected it to be one of the sweet-tasting ones with egg yolk that I usually eat,” said Thomas Yu, a 19-year-old mathematics sophomore at the University of Florida. “I forgot what flavor it was, but the cake was not sweet. Instead, it was rather salty. So much so that I refused to take another bite of it.”
design/ Caroline Werner
“The mooncake can be traced back to the Song Dynasty, where they were originally made to worship the moon god,” Yu said. “People give them to family and friends as gifts. It symbolizes family reunion.”
an NPR podcast episode titled “The Revolutionary History of Mooncakes.” Hiding secret messages in the mooncakes helped the Chinese successfully defeat the Mongols and regain control of the country.
photography provided by/ Ngan Kim Vu
magine slicing a golden pastry in half. Its cross section resembles a full moon, with an egg yolk suspended in sweet filling. Soon, it will be sliced further, sometimes into four, eight or even more pieces to share. The thick crust and dense filling allow the slices to hold their shape. It is often considered best when served with a strong tea.
by Alexandra Giang
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An inside look at the role mooncakes play in Asian culture
