In the days leading up to the "Mid-Autumn Festival," in Hong Kong (and probably elsewhere in China), it is customary for people to give and receive small pastries called "mooncakes." Much like Christmas cookies or fruitcake in the west, giving mooncakes is considered a gesture of affection or respect. Mid-Autumn festival begins at the end of next week, and today I (Brad) was given my first mooncake.
When teaching overseas, some of the best tips and hints on local culture often come from students. My students have informed me that the style of mooncake I was given today is the most traditional of all. The greenish paste visible in the inside is either taro root or mung bean paste. It tastes a bit like sesame paste, or red bean paste, or like a slightly sweeter version of peanut butter (although without that distinctive peanut taste). The yellow part is actually hard-boiled egg yolk (it's difficult to describe what that part tastes like after it's been baked into a cake and left to sit on a store shelf for a couple of weeks). Emily took a picture of my face as I ate my first bite.
I generally enjoy desserts in almost any country. I love baklava, mochi, and have even been known to put away a creme brulee or two in my time. Traditional Mooncake, however, will not be on my Christmas list this year. Fortunately for me, there are "trendy" versions of mooncake that taste much better (I've sampled a couple of these over the last few weeks). My personal favorite: Starbucks Caramel & Coffee flavor.
What it lacks in authenticity, it makes up for in caffeine. So, here's my question to all of you (there are actually 2 this week):
- What's your favorite seasonal dessert from your home country/culture?
- Have you ever tried dessert from another country? If so, tell us about it!
I know how fashionable it is to pair up wines and foods, but with mooncake, I don't think wine is appropriate. If you ask me, the best accompaniment to a bite of mooncake....
...is mouthfuls of water.
In the days leading up to the "Mid-Autumn Festival," in Hong Kong (and probably elsewhere in China), it is customary for people to give and receive small pastries called "mooncakes." Much like Christmas cookies or fruitcake in the west, giving mooncakes is considered a gesture of affection or respect. Mid-Autumn festival begins at the end of next week, and today I (Brad) was given my first mooncake.
When teaching overseas, some of the best tips and hints on local culture often come from students. My students have informed me that the style of mooncake I was given today is the most traditional of all. The greenish paste visible in the inside is either taro root or mung bean paste. It tastes a bit like sesame paste, or red bean paste, or like a slightly sweeter version of peanut butter (although without that distinctive peanut taste). The yellow part is actually hard-boiled egg yolk (it's difficult to describe what that part tastes like after it's been baked into a cake and left to sit on a store shelf for a couple of weeks). Emily took a picture of my face as I ate my first bite.
I generally enjoy desserts in almost any country. I love baklava, mochi, and have even been known to put away a creme brulee or two in my time. Traditional Mooncake, however, will not be on my Christmas list this year. Fortunately for me, there are "trendy" versions of mooncake that taste much better (I've sampled a couple of these over the last few weeks). My personal favorite: Starbucks Caramel & Coffee flavor.
What it lacks in authenticity, it makes up for in caffeine. So, here's my question to all of you (there are actually 2 this week):
I know how fashionable it is to pair up wines and foods, but with mooncake, I don't think wine is appropriate. If you ask me, the best accompaniment to a bite of mooncake....
...is mouthfuls of water.
I am cracking up! I love the documented pictures of Brad eating the "delicious" treat. We tried something in Korea... I can't remember the name, but we thought it was Hoduk (which people told us before we traveled was amazing) so we were expecting amazing, but it turned out perhaps like your mooncake!
ReplyDeleteI ran across a mooncake game in the app store today. Made me think of you. : )
ReplyDeletehttp://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/mooncake-share/id386394521?mt=8
-Brad
Liz! What a weird game. I'll probably download it though because it's free. I wanted to tell you, by the way, that your blog continues to inspire me to new levels of culinary creativity. Mocha cookies are next on our list!
ReplyDeleteIn Russia and Ukraine they had these dumpling things called verenicki (or something like that) that were filled with cherries and sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar. They were pretty yummy. Ireland made some great desserts too - probably because of the real cream and butter.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Beej in that I was inspired by Liz's Mocha cookies - I think maybe that will be this weeks contribution to garden party if we don't get rained out again.
Laura
Well, thanks to you I am addicted to Stroopwaffles which I discovered they sell at Starbucks.
ReplyDeleteI really miss Cadbury mint chocolate from England. I can find a lot of the flavors here, but I have yet to find my favorite!
ReplyDeleteLebkuchen, a german gingerbread and Sachertorte, an Austrian chocolate cake are the favorites from my travels. Yum!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments! Jered - you're welcome for introducing you to Stroopwaffle (which is a Dutch word for "Delicious"). Laura - I grew up on Warenikie (although my mom always made the salty kind with cheese inside). Robyn - they have Cadbury mint chocolate "Bubbly" bars here. They're decadent.
ReplyDeleteA final note about Mooncake. I was told after writing this post that the egg yolk inside is actually from a "salted, preserved egg." Just imagine what a pickled egg would taste like inside your favorite dessert...