Trying New Foods In Vietnam: Bánh Trung Thu (Mooncake)
Tết Trung Thu…Mid-Autumn Festival…Moon Festival…Children’s Festival…they’re all names for an annual Vietnamese celebration that occurs on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (which as of this posting, will happen next on 24 September, 2018).
In today’s modern society, it’s a time for the promotion of education and arts & culture. Traditional hallmarks of this ancient celebration include music and dragon dance performances by local children, the display of lanterns in the shapes of fish, stars, and butterflies, and, the gifting of bánh trung thu, also known as mooncakes.
We know it’s nearing Festival time when pop up mooncake stands appear on street corners and neighborhood children begin (very audibly (and very early in the morning)) practicing for their musical performances.
But let’s talk more about those mooncakes.
In the weeks leading up to the Festival, it’s customary to exchange elaborately decorated boxes containing mooncakes, which are dense, richly flavored desserts. There are hundreds of recipes, but the most traditional are made with a thin pastry crust and filled with seeds and mung bean paste and have a small egg baked into the center to represent the moon. Numerous Vietnamese bakeries fuel the seasonal demand and international food brands have also gotten in the game. We had the opportunity to try a traditional Vietnamese recipe plus two made by Oreo (McDonald’s also makes mooncakes, but thankfully the chain hasn’t made it to Da Nang yet).
It’s rare for us to encounter food we don’t appreciate, however we were decidedly not into the sweetened minced pork/seeds/egg mooncake that served as our initiation. But the fudge brownie and strawberry jam flavored Oreo mooncakes were mighty fine. Their presentation box was also the flashiest, most elaborate packing we’ve ever seen. The following photos will show you what we mean:
How about you? Have you ever tried mooncake? If so, what are your favorite flavors? And if not, keep an eye out for mooncakes in your local Asian grocery store this month and let us know what you think!
