Mid-Autumn Festival is a reunion festival, where families gather around traditional mooncakes and sip hot tea, what could be more wonderful than that, right? Many countries around the world also celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival like Vietnam, and each country has its own unique cake. Let’s join the Kitchen Tips section of Điện máy XANH to explore the types of mooncakes around the world!
1 Mooncake – Vietnam
Mooncake originated from China, according to several historical records in China, the cake appeared from the peasant uprisings during the Yuan dynasty. To convey secret messages, people thought of making round cakes and hiding the messages inside the cakes.
The uprising occurred on the full moon day of the eighth month, thus the legend of mooncakes was born and the cake has become popular worldwide to this day.
Traditional Mooncake
Traditional baked mooncakes come in two familiar shapes: round and square. The cake crust is made from flour, syrup for the outer coating, and cooking oil. The sweet filling is made from mung bean, taro, lotus seed,… and the most popular is mixed nut mooncake which includes pumpkin jam, melon seeds, sausage, salted egg,…
It takes many steps to complete these delicious cakes. Therefore, baked mooncakes symbolize that no matter what difficulties and hardships we encounter in life, family is always here, protecting and bringing us peace.
Baked mooncakes have a beautiful golden-brown crust due to the syrup brushed on before baking, fragrant with the smell of flour, and the filling inside can be sweet from mung bean, taro,… or savory enough with the taste of mixed nuts.
The best and most flavorful baked mooncakes are enjoyed with a warm cup of tea while gathering with your family.
Sticky Mooncake
Also known as mooncake, sticky mooncake has a different origin compared to baked mooncake. Although it is not clearly determined where sticky mooncake comes from, it is known to be an essential specialty during the mid-autumn festival in Vietnam.
Sticky mooncake is usually round, white in color symbolizing the full moon, representing family reunion and togetherness, and also carries wishes for a bountiful harvest for farmers.
Sticky mooncake is made from glutinous rice flour that is cooked, sugar syrup, and pomelo flower water. The filling of sticky mooncake can be sweet like mung bean, purple sweet potato, coconut milk,… and savory like mixed ingredients.
After wrapping the filling with dough, putting it into a mold completes the delicious and attractive sticky mooncake.
2 Yuebing (Baked Mooncake) – China
The Chinese Mooncake is called Yuebing (月饼), meaning “moon cake.” Traditional Yuebing is round, and the surface of the cake is usually embossed with Chinese characters symbolizing good wishes for the reunion festival.
Yuebing comes in many different fillings such as mung bean, red bean, green tea, taro, salted egg,… depending on the region, the cakes will have various shapes and distinctive fillings.
The cakes in Beijing have a fine flour layer and fillings of mountain hawthorn or bitter apricot flower, while the cakes in Shanghai and Suzhou have a thin crust with pork filling and are sprinkled with a little toasted sesame on the surface.
Although the fillings may differ, Yuebing is always enjoyed with tea and is often given as gifts during the Mid-Autumn Festival in this country.
3 Tsukimi Dango – Japan
There is a legend about Tsukimi Dango that goes: on the full moon night of August, the Jade Emperor came down to earth and met a white rabbit. The Jade Emperor asked the rabbit for food, but since the rabbit had nothing to offer, it jumped into the fire to prepare food for the Jade Emperor.
Moved by this act, the Jade Emperor took the rabbit back to the moon palace and called it the jade rabbit. Since then, on the full moon night of August, the jade rabbit has been making Tsukimi Dango to offer to the people.
Due to the legend being passed down in the culture for so long, Tsukimi Dango is believed by the Japanese to be a real jade rabbit living on the moon with the Jade Emperor.
Tsukimi Dango has a chewy outer layer made from Shiratama flour mixed with Joushinko flour, shaped into white round balls that are quite similar to Vietnamese floating cake.
Tsukimi Dango is arranged in a tower to offer to ancestors during the Mid-Autumn Festival, wishing for a bountiful harvest. After the offering, the cakes are grilled until the crust is crispy and then brushed with honey and sugar, served with red beans or soybean.
4 Songpyeon (Crescent Moon Cake) – South Korea
Songpyeon cakes are shaped like a crescent moon, symbolizing the waning moon. South Koreans believe that the moon wanes and then becomes full, and with that belief, Songpyeon represents the ups and downs of life, just like the moon’s phases.
Songpyeon is popular in South Korea during festivals, especially during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which is a significant and special celebration. These cakes are given as gifts to family members, neighbors, and friends, reflecting mutual respect.
The outer layer of Songpyeon is made from glutinous rice flour, shaped into crescents, and colored with red pumpkin, strawberry,… with sweet fillings made from chestnuts, sesame seeds, honey,… and are steamed on a layer of pine leaves.
After steaming, the cakes have a fragrant aroma from the fresh pine leaves, which is why the cake is named Songpyeon, as the word “Song” in the name means “Pine Tree”.
5 Mooncake with Cold Sticky Rice – Singapore
Cold sticky mooncake was born in 1980 with the famous and popular Singapore cold mooncake that continues to this day. Cold mooncake symbolizes bringing good things, warmth, and happiness.
The cake is made from glutinous rice flour, rice flour, and tapioca starch, and is unique in that it does not need to be baked and does not require syrup, lye water like baked mooncakes and chewy mooncakes.
The skin of the cold mooncake is similar to mochi, and the traditional filling is made from lotus seeds. Nowadays, the cake is combined with milk ice cream, various seeds like red beans, black sesame,… and even fruits like durian to create many different versions. The skin of the cake is also enhanced with many eye-catching colors.
Cold mooncake has a chewy, soft texture from the cake skin combined with the sweet, chewy filling, fragrant and cool, creating a delicious flavor.
6 Casahana and Baker’s Cottage Mooncake – Malaysia
Casahana and Baker’s Cottage are two famous types of Mooncake in Malaysia, and recently, their import into Vietnam has created a new breeze for the Mid-Autumn Festival among consumers.
The cakes come in a variety of rich colors, appealing appearances, and diverse flavors. In addition to the taste of Japanese Azuki red beans, the filling also features the pure, delicious flavor of traditional white lotus seeds, and other flavors such as pomegranate, sweet potato, green tea,… allowing consumers to choose according to their preferences.
7 Peach-shaped Mooncake – Thailand
The peach-shaped Mooncake in Thailand is closely associated with the legend of the 8 immortal deities visiting the Moon Palace on the 15th night of the 8th month to present a birthday gift to the bodhisattva Guanyin, which is a peach-shaped cake.
Since then, every Mid-Autumn Festival, Thai families gather together to pray to the moon and exchange wishes for peace.
The peach-shaped Mooncake has a thin crust, beautifully shaped like a peach, with fillings that include sesame seeds, ground lotus seeds, egg, and especially beloved for its durian filling.
8 Hopia – Philippines
Hopia, which means “delicious baked cake” in Vietnamese, is the name for the Mooncake in Philippines. Hopia is often given as gifts to loved ones and has gradually become an indispensable feature of the Mid-Autumn Festival in this country.
Hopia has a simple exterior shape with a thin, crispy crust, but the inside filling is very diverse with mung beans, sweet potatoes, pork,… Eating Hopia, one can immediately feel the thick, quality filling inside the cake, creating a delicious and appealing Philippine Mooncake.
The above is an article from Điện máy XANH sending you information about what countries eat during the Mid-Autumn Festival, Mid-Autumn cakes from around the world. We hope the above article will provide you with more useful information to help you find delicious Mid-Autumn cakes to enjoy with your family during the Mid-Autumn Festival!
