Mid-Autumn Festival - Moon Cake ( part 1)

Today, October 5, 2017 is the Mid-Autumn Festival with Vietnamese people, which is the third largest Tet festival in the year (after Lunar New Year, Tet festival and Doan Ngo Tet festival). According to the customs of the Vietnamese people, I see every occasion of Tet has its own specific cake associated with the story, the origin of the birth of that day.

Before starting this article on the meaning of customs, I would like to tell you that the Mid-Autumn Festival for Vietnamese people is also known as the Children Tet or Children Festival Holiday. In order to understand why, please read our following article about Mid-Autumn Festival in Vietnam.

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First, I mention the Mid-Autumn Festival, first if I was a kid, I would immediately mention the moon cake. Watching moon on its full beauty without enjoying the moon cake is very flawed. Mid-Autumn Festival is also known as New Year's Tet, this is a chance for everyone in the family together to enjoy the cake Mid-Autumn Festival on the full moon in August but not everyone understands the meaning of this cake... What is the origin and meaning of the moon cake?

Today we try to find out!

I remembered last week, when I meet Francesco, I have told him that next week is going to be the Mid-Autumn Festival, we, Vietnamese people will eat the moon cake.

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Then, he told me that:

Is that the Chinese cake?

Then I answered:

Yes, but…

Well, I have to admit that Moon cake is originated from China and is spread to Vietnam. On the full moon in August, Vietnamese people do not forget to buy the small moon cake to worship the ancestor’s altar, then enjoy together. Mid-Autumn Festival is also considered the third largest holiday of the year in Vietnam. Even though the moon cake is from China, the moon cake of Vietnam is different from the Chinese one. Of course, I have tried the Chinese moon cake then I felt that my moon cake is tastier, less sweet and less fat.

However, the story of the cake is very interesting to tell us the meaning of the moon cake.

Legend has it that at the end of the Yuan dynasty there were two leaders of the peasant uprising, Chu Yuanzhong and Liu Ba Wen. They organized the people up against the brutal ruling Yuan army.

People have made circular cakes, in which they have added a piece of paper that estimates the time of the uprising, when the moon is at its brightest in the night, full moon in 8th lunar month. Then the pie is transmitted to each other and become a means of communication both safe and effective. From the cake, the news of the uprising has been circulated everywhere. Later, the Chinese took moon cake on the full moon day in August to commemorate the event.

Meaning of moon cake

On the full moon day in August, in Vietnam we often donate each other to the moon cake with the meaning of wish all things in life are full. Full, because of that the cake is the food, the gift Indispensable spirit in Mid-Autumn Festival. In Vietnam, there are two kinds of cake: plastic cake and baked cake.

• Plastic cake: made from pure white glutinous rice with sugar and fragrant grapefruit fragrant, molded in wooden mold or round plastic mold, made of lotus seed or green pea puree - with nuances of Vietnam. The circle of cake represents the shape of the moon round and white ivory is the symbol meaning "family members" and especially the tight coupling between the couple.
• Baked cake consists of two parts: cake cover and cake filler. The cover is made of wheat flour mixed with chicken eggs and a little wine, the kernel can be made of green beans, taro or lotus seeds are covered with salted egg yolk flavored with vanilla or durian; Homemade all kinds of things such as ham, pork, oats, coconut, melon seeds, lotus, squirrels.... Circle in the core is the expression of fullness, fullness. The salty taste of salted eggs is sweetened by other ingredients that are neutralizing, which leads us to an association: in life, despite the tasteless days of experiencing bitter bitterness, there are still relatives We cover ourselves and give us the sweetness of the love of life. Just like the moon cake, in sweet salty, make a strong flavor of life.

Wherever we go, but to the Mid-Autumn Festival, we often eagerly, trying to arrange work to be able to reunite with the family, give each other the sweet box of baking and homeland flavor and the meaning of life.

When people are more than 5 hours away from home, and when people are not very young, sometimes some seem like idle can also make people sit idle for hours and gods. At that time, we will think about the old things.

For example, yesterday, I saw you posted a photo of the first moon cake, naturally I did not know how many seasons of mid-autumn festivals that I was away from home During the holidays of the year, the moon is probably the occasion that I like most because the memory of the moon is always associated with feelings of excitement, fun, joy, happiness, etc.

Mid-Autumn is associated with fruit candy, with pomelos being chopped into pure white cotton or pink chrysanthemum, with two eyes are two seeds labeled, black, round. Mid-autumn is associated with colorful lanterns. I do not like his lights very much, but extremely hard (or light candles?). Lights attached to a stick, with the bottom gear can be pushed back and forth, lampshades with full color paper cover for the pedestal to attach a small candle inside, when pushed, turn the tit a warm, gentle light. Mid-Autumn Festival is also associated with cute masks that help children to transform themselves into their favorite characters and perform drama, from prince to prince Prepare to go to business. Mid-autumn is associated with a lot of fun, a lot of sweet and warm things. But none of them had plastic pastries.

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I really like to eat moon cake. The impression of moon cake is always "sweet, hard, too rich, too fat or too dry", eat a piece of cake; drink half a cup of tea to heal his throat again after eating sweet thing such as moon cake.

The only thing that I slightly fond of is probably vegetarian cakes, bought from a specialty bakery on the old town. The cakes are cut into long fibers, put together and then packed into small bags, flexible, tough and fragrant with grapefruit, eat lightly without bored. But that cake has long since seen people do it. In recent years, only baked pie, with all kinds of things that sometimes called mixed, but the feeling of using the word "chaos" is stronger. The cake is not too good to see the vegetarian as good as the old, no longer tough, but the taste is so sweet that you just eat a spoonful of sugar.

However because the moon cake is quite sweet, a lot of sugar and quit fat compared to other cakes, I really just eat it in special occasions or event. Actually you can just buy moon cake in Vietnam during the month of the Mid- Autumn Festival. It is because of this that I do not want to do moon cake. Cause not only because of not like, but also because I think alone, presented the whole batch and do not know how to solve it. Not to mention every mid-autumn season, to Facebook to see some friends lamented today sitting back to snuggle the whole evening or put on the plate with all the raw materials, which also pomegranate tiny with Today I saw the biceps appeared tiny little mouse. Just look at those few things is how much intention to try to do moon cake is extinguished all. Because of this, I am extremely impressed to see that you make homemade moon cake for sale, each season produces hundreds to thousands. Looking at the past few biscuits that are only admired, how can they be so good, smart,...

Every last time, like last year when I was in Tarraona, perhaps partly due to the reason "away from home more than 5 hours and not very young", I feel a little eager atmosphere, excited, In the past, I decided to try the cakes and pies, knowing there would be less feeling "near the house".

So I and Hien have started to look for recipes, reading materials, buying materials. The way to make moon cake is not lacking, both for Vietnamese and foreign players. After copying about printing to nearly a hundred pages to read many recipes, even the feedback to ask questions to learn from other source, we feel more confident with making the moon cake.

Of course, the idea of "equipping knowledge" is so strong, so unexpected when you start to make new stars that still have many problems. How much is enough water to boil? The cake has weighed the things very carefully, there is a break, but the stars still sticking sticky hands. The idea is pretty much at the time when the new look is thin, sticking to the top, there is no powder to cover the core anymore. Bake the right temperature cake star oven is not as beautiful as the new mold, the cake is not curved, the foot edema, fat face.

So we did it again, then did it again, then again.... Every time we see a few more problems. But so too should draw some new experiences, things that have no material on the net or no one told me. However, we felt that our self-making of the moon cake turned out to be very happy. And not as hard as I used to think because the cake has many stitches, so the feeling of seeing the finished product is formed after each stage is very interesting.

For example, when you see the word "turn" into a smooth and glossy plastic, you will be unable to resist, tiptoe a tasting piece: "Oh dear, how come it..... so delicious!", not too sweet, fragrant plastic, smooth. Or to see the powder after the mold became a square cake sharp edge with all sorts of strange flowers. Then, sitting on a small brush, scoop a little bit of egg on the cake and saw the cake after each baking became more golden, shiny, and more beautiful. Maybe because I still like the finer things, or the little things are pretty, so all these steps bring a very pleasant feeling. Especially at this time I have a lot of smudges from work, from life, but it is strange to put my entire mind on the cake, it seems that all the stress is "take" where to go, anyway as is a miracle.

And of course, as always, we will have a series of moon cake diaries :-) In addition to the recipe, I will focus on sharing experiences to avoid mistakes as well as techniques and things note during the process. Because it is the first time I have tried so many different formulas to compare and choose the best formula. But after the test, my conclusion is that no formula is superior. There is no secret to making your cake "natural" better than any other cake. Like all cakes in general, the recipe only accounts for 30-40% of the success of the moon cake, the rest is skill, manipulation and understanding of raw materials, oven... of workers. Because different types of flour, different temperature conditions, different humidity, different ovens... can affect the cake. So the flexibility of the baker, know how to handle if the powder is not too dry, too wet, know how to wrap the shell so smart so that there is no air inside, know how to cake for square, Know how to set the oven to not fire or ripen, new factors that determine the success of the cake.

Say it, but making moon cake is not too difficult. Do not be afraid to see the long list of ingredients with the words "scare" to make time or perishable cake. I will try to write all the problems that I encountered when making moon cake the same way to overcome. As long as you read and follow, it will be fine :-)

In the days to come, I will share in turn how to cook sugar, how to make different types, how to make pies, pies, how to bake cake.... The way to make salt eggs is already on the blog. Salted eggs will take about 3 - 4 weeks to ripen so you intend to make salted eggs should be prepared from now when the egg is cooked close to the Mid-Autumn.

Well, there's one more thing. After making moon cake, I like to eat moon cake more. Maybe partly because I did it with a lot of excitement and heart for wanting to have delicious cakes to be able to bring gifts, gifts to friends and relatives.

Another part is... it's so delicious!; -) Since self-made ingredients are guaranteed, fresh cakes, no preservatives, moderate amounts of sugar, and of course, I like what can self-regulate that. So if you are still very dislike the moon cake (as I used to) then try to make it then you love it.

Hope to see your guys at the next article of making the moon cake!

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