Mooncakes first came to be as a celebration food when the Han Chinese defeated the Mongols. They are now a traditional treat during the Mid Autumn Moon Festival (tet trung thu,) and come in many different varieties. Making traditional Vietnamese mooncakes (banh tet trung thu) is a labor intensive process and many Vietnamese families choose to order theirs from local shops instead of making them themselves. They can be found at any Asian supermarket in the United States, and there are several recipes out there online if you’re feeling ambitious.

Mooncakes traditionally consist of an outer pastry layer filled with lotus paste, red bean paste, mixed nuts or an egg yolk. The filled treats are then put into molds where they are imprinted with gorgeous markings (or designs that are specific to the shop they are from.) They receive a glaze before baking and then are ready to enjoy. Today there are many different varieties of mooncakes; I have even seen recipes for low fat and ice cream filled ones!

Families across Viet Nam and here in America anxiously await the Mid Autumn Moon Festival as the time to enjoy their much loved mooncakes. Here is a website that lists places that sell mooncakes (brick and mortar stores as well as online.)

I’ve done quite a bit of searching for a recipe that I felt comfortable with, and haven’t had much luck due to the degree of difficulty that I found. Perhaps one day I will invest one of the gorgeous molds that mooncakes are pressed into and I will try one of the long, detailed recipes. But for now I am going to try out a very, very basic one. It’s actually intended for children and looks nothing like a mooncake, but at least I’m trying, right?

I found the recipe that I intend to try on the Asia for Kids website. It should be easy enough to veganize for my family and has a short list of basic ingredients. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter (or equivalent)
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks (or equivalent)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 can red bean paste or 1 cup jam

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, sugar and 1 egg yolk. Stir until creamy and combine completely.
2. Add the flour and mix thoroughly. Form the dough into one large ball and wrap it in aluminum foil. Put this in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
3. Unwrap the chilled dough and, with clean hands, form small ballls in the palms of your hand. These are the moon cakes.
4. Make a hole with your thumb gently in the center of each mooncake and fill with about half a teaspoon of your favorite jam or red bean paste.
5. Brush each cake with the other beaten egg yolk.
6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Bake the mooncakes for about 20 minutes or just until the outside edges are slightly brown. Makes about 24 moon cakes.

It sounds like a cookie recipe…I should be able to handle that ;)

More on Other Vietnamese Holidays:
Our Tet Party - Vietnamese Food
A Recap of Our Tet Party
Book Review: Ten Mice for Tet

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