Mid-Autumn/Mooncake Festival

Mooncakes - red bean paste, lotus bean paste with and without salted duck egg yolk, nonbaked pandan snow skin lotus bean paste, mini yam (taro), 'leng kok' aka Water Caltrop and Chinese tea, a must have with sweet mooncakes. Both the mini yam and water caltrop have been cooked by boiling in water for about 45 minutes. To taste the mini yam, remove the skin and dip it in some caster sugar. To break open the water caltrop, you'll need a hammer to crack up the hard shell ........ it sure is a tough nut to crack!

Today, 3rd October 2009 is the Mid-Autumn Festival and each year it falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month where the moon is at its brightest and fullest.
When I was young, I looked forward to this day because I got to play lanterns with my neighbours' kids, my contemporaries. I would be happier if the festival were to fall on a weekend as I could play lanterns later into the night and not have to get up early for school the next day. Those days the lanterns were made of tinsel and colourful glass paper, of all shapes and sizes, dragons, rabbits, butterflies, aeroplanes, just to name a few. Normally, I remembered that after the festival my late mum would wrap up it up with newspapers and put it away for the next year. Old folks were so thrifty those days.
Of course, festivals cannot go by without a merry feast and those days my working siblings would usually take time off to come home for a family get together. After the feast, we would wash up the courtyard and lay the table to give offerings to the Moon Goddess, for good fortune, family unity and blessings.
Traditionally, the offerings would be mooncakes, boiled mini yam (taro), pomelo, a green fruit which signifies abundance and not forgetting the black horn like type of water chestnut, which we called 'Leng Kok', known as Water Caltrop. We only get to see the mini yam and 'leng kok' once a year during this festival.
The water caltrop is an annual aquatic plant, growing in slow-moving water up to 5 metres deep. They bear ornately shaped fruits that resemble the head of a bull.

Do check in @ Wikipedia to read more about this specie of water chesnut.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all my readers A very Happy Mid-Autumn/Mooncake Festival.

Edited

This post made it to Foodbuzz Today's Top 9 (5 October 2009)

A Big Thank You for all those buzzes

******

Bunga Telang ~ Blue-pea Flower Snow Skin Mooncakes ~ 2013

For a change, I tried using a premix to make these Snow skin mooncakes and for colour opted to go natural and use the Bunga Telang or Blue-pea flower. Indeed the purple colour from the flowers was very distinct on its own but once mixed with the flour, I was rather disappointed. It turned out to be blue instead of purple. Well, the consolation is that the colour is natural. Taste wise, I would still prefer to make the Snow skin from scratch rather than use a premix. Recipe for Bunga Telang ~ Blue-pea Flower Snow Skin Mooncakes Ingredients 250 gm of QQ Snow mooncake premix (1 packet is 500 gm) 14 gm shortening Bunga Telang/Blue pea flower 220 ml water Pandan and Lotus mooncake paste 25 gm melon seeds, lightly toasted to be mixed into the paste Method ( as per instructions on the packet ) Wash the Bunga Telang and boil with 220 ml water, once boiled, discard the flowers and ...

Char Siew Pau ~ 蒸叉烧包

I have been itching to try out a Pau recipe and vaguely remember that I did make it once, long, long ago. So I got hold of my old file of recipes and finally managed to retrieve it. I did it recently and must say that I'm satisfied with the result. The texture of the Pau was soft and a bit chewy, wholesome and filling too. Naturally, they didn't look so nice and round like the ones sold in the dim sum restaurants, but nonetheless I think homemade ones can be just as delectable as well.

Read on for the Recipe

Braised pork tendons with pork belly ~ 红烧猪筋

Pork tendons are a great source of protein which is essential for muscle repair, tissue regeneration and overall bodily functions. High in collagen and glucosamine and chondroitin they help to support joint and skin health and muscle maintenance. Low in fat, rich in carbohydrates and trace elements, they have nutritional characteristics of high calcium, high protein and no cholesterol. Tasteless by nature like sea cucumber, and being tough they need to be slow cooked like braising and simmering to make them tender and release their collagen like in stews to create a rich flavour. Braised pork tendons with pork belly ~ 红烧猪筋 Ingredients 240 gm rehydraed pork tendons (from 150 gm dried tendons) 450 gm pork belly 10 shitake mushrooms rehydrated 4 bulbs of garlic 10 slices of young ginger 5 bay leaves 4 star anise 2 cinnamon sticks 1 to 2 pcs of rock sugar (according to taste) 2 to 3 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 Tbsp light soy sauce 1/2 Tbsp d...

DevanOctober 5, 2009 at 1:53 PM
these all look amazing!
Sokehah cheahOctober 5, 2009 at 3:39 PM
Yes, these are the normal food that goes with this festival and nowadays there's a great variety of mooncakes available. They are very sweet and oily too. Thanks for dropping by my blog.
high/lowOctober 5, 2009 at 10:18 PM
Nice post! I just had different flavored mooncakes for the first time! Please see them at:

http://highlowfooddrink.blogspot.com/2009/10/celebrating-mid-autumn-festival-with.html
JacquelineOctober 5, 2009 at 11:20 PM
Congrats for making it to Today's Top 9! Well deserved for the fabulous picture presentation and lovely write-up, my friend! Keep it up!
Sokehah cheahOctober 6, 2009 at 1:02 AM
High/low
Thanks for dropping by. Saw the various mooncakes that you have posted. Have left a comment there re the varieties available here in Malaysia.

Jacqueline
A big thank you for all your guidance and support re this blog.

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