It is the time of the year again when Vietnamese people and families are getting ready to make and buy mooncakes in order to give to loved ones. This special treat is made and consumed annually to celebrate "Trung Thu", or "Mid-Autumn Festival", which usually falls on the middle of the eighth lunar month.
The festival was created to celebrate a successful harvest, and it was also a chance for parents to make up to their children after a busy harvest season. Nowadays, people use this day to bond & spend time with their families as well as to give thanks to ancestors and those they love.
Mooncakes are usually round-shaped to represent the full moon, which indicates the fullness, a successful harvest, the full presence of family members, wealth, love, and happiness. Since mooncakes are often used as gifts, they hold beautiful flowers details and patterns.
Bánh Trung Thu - Mooncake
The Traditions
In Vietnam, traditionally, there are two types of mooncakes: "Bánh Nướng" and "Bánh Dẻo.
Bánh Dẻo are made with glutinous rice flour mixed with sugar and grapefruit extract, which make Bánh Dẻo very soft and fragrant. It is often stuffed with lotus seeds and green beans.
Bánh Trung Thu Dẻo - Glutinous Mooncake
Bánh Nướng are baked cakes with crusts made of fermented flour, eggs, and a bit of alcohol. The filling is usually sweet and savoury, with pumpkin seeds, cashew nuts, ginger jam, lime leaves, sausages, dried tangerines, pork fat, etc.
Bánh Trung Thu Nướng - Baked Mooncake
The Creativity
Nowadays, Mid-Autumn Festival is a time for creativity to thrive. There are countless number of people that do homemade mooncakes and get inventive with the flavour.
There are unconventional mooncake flavours these days such as tiramisu, matcha cream cheese, coconut, chocolate cheese, earl grey, salted-egg custard, etc.
Bánh Trung Thu Trứng Muối - Salted Egg Lava Mooncake
Bánh Trung Thu Trà Xanh - Matcha Mooncake
Bánh Trung Thu Khoai Lang Tím - Purple Sweet Potato Mooncake
Recently, the creator of Dragon Fruit Banh Mi, Mr. Kao Sieu Luc partnered with Real California Milk, an U.S company, to come up with Dragon Fruit mooncakes with tiramisu and cheese fillings. This partnership was made to honor the friendship between Vietnam and the U.S, as well as to celebrate the upcoming festival and the success of Dragon Fruit Banh Mi.
Bánh Trung Thu Thanh Long Đỏ - Dragon Fruit Mooncake
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Source:
https://banhtrungthugivral.com.vn/2018/07/y-nghia-cua-chiec-banh-trung-thu.html
https://vietnamnet.vn/vn/doi-song/gia-dinh/nguon-goc-va-y-nghia-cua-tet-trung-thu-566756.html
https://lostbird.vn/kham-pha-cung-lac/am-thuc/abc-bakery-tiep-tuc-gay-sot-voi-banh-trug-thu-thanh-long-nhan-pho-mai-va-tiramisu-moi-la-1074872.
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