Mooncake

The Mid-Autumn Festival is fast approaching. When it comes to Mid-Autumn Festival, we have to mention delicious mooncakes.

Origin of Mooncakes

The long history of mooncake can be dated back to the ancient custom of moon worship. According to historical records, the origin of the mooncake as a symbolic food of the Mid-Autumn Festival can be traced back to the ancient ‘Hu Cake’, which may be the predecessor of a kind of round pasta originated in the Han Dynasty, when Zhang Qian brought back round cakes stuffed with pecan kernels on his mission to the Western Regions.

By the Tang Dynasty, there were bakers engaged in the production. The Mid-Autumn Festival was formally formed, mooncakes became popular as a holiday food, and according to folklore, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty and Yang Guifei renamed hu biscuits as mooncakes when they were enjoying the moon.

In the Song Dynasty, the mooncake production techniques and eating customs were further developed, Su Dongpo had a poem, ‘small cakes like chewing the moon, there are crispy and syrup’ praising the mooncake, indicating that the mooncake had been filled with ghee and sugar.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, the word ‘mooncake’ first appeared in Wu Zimu's Mengliang Lu. But the connection between mooncakes and the Mid-Autumn Festival was not clear at that time. It was not until the Yuan and Ming dynasties that the connection between mooncakes and the Mid-Autumn Festival was gradually strengthened, and they became a symbol of reunion.

During the Ming Dynasty, mooncakes became an indispensable food during the Mid-Autumn Festival, not only for moon worship, but also as gifts for friends and relatives. During the Qing Dynasty, mooncakes were made in a more refined way, and the varieties of mooncakes were more abundant, resulting in a variety of flavours such as Beijing-style, Suzhou-style, and Cantonese-style. In addition, there is a legend that at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, mooncakes were used as a tool to convey messages of revolt, which may also be an origin story of the custom of eating mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Interesting Story of Mooncake

There is a legendary historical connection between the Yuan Dynasty and mooncakes. According to folklore, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the people could not stand the cruel rule of the Yuan Dynasty and rose up against the Yuan. Zhu Yuanzhang, as one of the leaders of the resistance, took advantage of the traditional custom of giving mooncakes to each other during the Mid-Autumn Festival in order to secretly deliver the news of the uprising. He ordered his subordinates to hide a note saying "Uprising on the night of August 15" in a mooncake. By giving the mooncake, he transmitted the news of the uprising to the rebels in different places, informing them to rise up at the same time on the night of August 15 to respond to the uprising. The successful implementation of this strategy enabled the insurgents to act in unison throughout the country and eventually overthrow the Yuan Dynasty.

After the success, Zhu Yuanzhang rewarded his ministers with mooncakes as festive pastries, thus spreading the custom of eating mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival among the people. This story not only reflects the importance of mooncakes in folk culture, but also people's desire for reunion and resistance against oppression. Although this story may not be a historical fact, it was widely circulated in folklore and became an important cultural background for the custom of eating mooncakes at the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Cantonese Mooncake

Cantonese mooncakes, also known as Guangdong mooncakes or Yue mooncakes, are a popular type of mooncake during the Mid-Autumn Festival in China, well-known for their thin crusts and rich, sweet fillings, which are often flaky and soft.

Cantonese mooncakes originated in 1889, when a pastry shop in the west of Guangzhou used lotus seed paste as a filling. Later renamed ‘Lianxianglou’ in the Guangxu era, its lotus seed paste-filled cakes gradually evolved into the modern mooncake.

In the second year of the Xuantong reign, Chen Taiji, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, tasted and appreciated the shop's mooncakes and suggested that the name ‘Lianxianglou’ be changed to ‘Lianxiang’, a name that has been used ever since. ‘Lianxiang’ means the fragrance of lotus literally.

Cantonese mooncake crusts are usually golden yellow in colour and are mainly made of wheat flour, transformed syrup, vegetable oil and lye. It is printed with beautiful designs, which are made through mooncake moulds. The common fillings include lotus seed paste, bean paste, five kernels, winter seed paste (dong gua yong), etc. Sometimes salted egg yolks are added to add flavour contrast. Lotus seed paste mooncakes use Hunan lotus, sugar and peanut oil to make the lotus seed paste. The five kernels of the mooncake include olive kernels, walnuts, black melon seeds, white sesame seeds and almonds, with the addition of sweetened winter melon and iced meat.

Beginning with ‘Lianxianglou’ in Guangzhou, Cantonese mooncakes became famous overseas, influencing production in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Shanghai.

The technique of making Cantonese mooncakes is part of the intangible cultural heritage of Guangdong Province. During the production process, the dough needs to be allowed to rest long enough to ensure that it does not tear when wrapping the filling and that the final product has a soft and non-sticky texture . For the best flavour, it is recommended to enjoy the mooncakes 2-3 days after baking to allow the flavour to fully develop.

Cantonese mooncakes have also evolved in diversity and innovation, with different types of mooncakes such as low-sugar, low-fat, fruit and seafood mooncakes appearing in recent years to meet the needs of different consumers.