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Mooncake
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2021) |
 A Cantonese mooncake filled with lotus seed paste | |
| Type | Pastry |
|---|---|
| Course | Dessert |
| Place of origin | China |
| Region or state | East Asia and Southeast Asia |
| Main ingredients | Crust: lard or vegetable oil Filling: red bean or lotus seed paste, salted egg yolk, may or may not have additional ingredients |
| Approximately 416 calories (1,740 kJ) kcal | |
| Other information | Unicode emoji 🥮 |
| Mooncake | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 月餅 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 月饼 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanyu Pinyin | yuèbing, yuèbǐng | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Moon cake/biscuit | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | bánh Trung thu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Nôm | 餅中秋 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Khmer name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Khmer | នំព្រះច័ន្ទ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Part of a series on |
| Chinese cuisine |
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A mooncake (simplified Chinese: 月饼; traditional Chinese: 月餅) is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節).[1] The festival is primarily about the harvest while a legend connects it to moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is widely regarded as one of the four most important Chinese festivals.
There are numerous varieties of mooncakes consumed within China and outside of China in overseas Chinese communities. The Cantonese mooncake is the most famous variety. A traditional Cantonese mooncake[2] is a round pastry, measuring about 10 cm (4 in) in diameter and 3–4 cm (1+1⁄4–1+1⁄2 in) thick, with a rich, thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste (other typical fillings include red bean paste or mixed nuts) surrounded by a thin, 2–3 mm (approximately 1/8 of an inch) crust and may contain yolks from salted duck eggs.[3]
Mooncakes are usually eaten in small wedges, accompanied by tea. Today, it is customary for business people and families to present them to their clients or relatives as presents,[4] encouraging the market for high-end mooncakes.
Just as the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in various Asian localities due to the presence of Chinese communities throughout the region,[5] mooncakes are enjoyed in other parts of Asia too. Mooncakes have also appeared in western countries as a form of delicacy.[6][7][8]
- ^ "MOONCAKE - Cambridge Dictionary".
- ^ "Traditional Mooncakes in China - 12 Types of Regional Variations". TravelChinaGuide.com. 15 August 2019. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "10 Most Popular Mooncake Flavors - Which one do you like?". TravelChinaGuide.com. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ Asianweek Archived 26 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Mid-Autumn Festival". www.roots.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 23 July 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Mid-Autumn Festival in Other Asian Countries". Travelchinaguide.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ Parulis-Cook, Sienna. "Mooncakes: China's Evolving Tradition". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
- ^ "Customs around the Mid-Autumn Festival". China Today. 7 September 2016. Archived from the original on 5 December 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
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