This year's mid-autumn festival is indeed a special occasion. My better half is able to celebrate this Chinese festival with us, just in time before he leaves for the airport for a mid-night flight :) The next 'biggest' thing for me is, I have finally attempted to make traditional baked mooncakes! Even though I know in advance that I will be hosting this month's Aspiring Baker's event, I didn't think that I would be ready to make any traditional moocncakes when the theme was firmed up. I only changed my whole impression on making baked mooncakes when I picked up a magazine from the library recently. I was flipping through the pages when a picture of some beautiful mini mooncakes appeared right in front of my eyes. With the easy-to-understand instructions and detailed step-by-step illustrations, I started to think that making traditional mooncakes is not that difficult after all. With the newly acquired knowledge, I set off to get the necessary ingredients. The recipe from the magazine has included instructions on how to make the lotus paste filling and golden syrup from scratch, I thought I should go for ready made ones this year. No matter what, I am a first-timer. I don't want my effort to go into waste if I failed miserably. You will be surprised at how easy to transform the basic ingredients into these mooncakes, all ready to go into the oven. The dough or skin of the mooncake is made by a simple mixing of golden syrup, alkaline water, peanut oil and flour. Peanut oil is used to enhance the flavour, but I replace it with canola oil as I couldn't get any peanut oil that comes in small bottle form. The alkaline water helps to make the dough more stretchable, and allows the mooncakes to brown nicely upon baking. However, just a small amount is needed, if used more than recommended, it will give the mooncake a very dark colour. The important point to note about the dough is, you need to let it rest for at least 2 hrs or more before using it. This step is known as 醒面. I am no stranger when it comes to wrapping the filling with the dough. I learned the trick when I first attempted to make some snowskin mooncakes years ago. You may ask what is so difficult about wrapping dough around the filling? It may appear to be an easy task, but not when you are wrapping a dough that is only 15g while the filling is 35g. By right the dough to filling ratio should be 2:8, so I will actually have to use only 10g dough. But for newbies like me, I opted to up the ratio a little, I worked on 3:7 instead. I am no professional baker, but since I am lousy with words, I think a video clip will be good to demonstrate how I went about wrapping the mooncake. As it is the school holidays, I got my younger son to help me take the video :) Notice the small piece of dough in comparison to the huge ball of filling? The trick here is to hold the dough between the thumb and index finger of one hand, and the thumb of the other hand should gently press the filling down while turning the dough and at the same time pushing the dough up to cover the filling. Sounds mind boggling right?! Besides the right technique of wrapping, another thing to note is, always dust your hands with flour to prevent the dough from sticking and tearing. Trust me, dust your hand lightly with flour every time you pick up the dough, it will make your mooncake making experience a more enjoyable one ;) Stamping the mooncake was easy since the mould I have comes with a plunger. The only thing here is, instead of dusting the mould (I am not talking about the traditional wooden mould), I dust the wrapped dough with flour before putting it inside the mould. If you have dusted the mould AND the stamping plates with flour, some flour may get trapped inside the grooves of the patterns, and you may end up with a clump of flour on the imprints. Baking the mooncakes requires one to have patience. First, before sending them into the oven, spray or mist them with some water. This is to prevent the surface from cracking, and especially good if you have dusted the dough with too much flour. After the first 10mins of baking, the half-baked mooncakes have to be left to cool for about 15mins. Wait for them to cool off before applying egg wash on the top or top and sides as preferred. The next thing is to watch them carefully during the second baking. As all ovens work differently, check every now and then to make sure they don't get over browned. Do stand by at the oven at the last few minutes before the baking time is up. Take out the moonies when you feel that the colour is right. I made these mini mooncakes with tiramisu lotus paste (a better name for lotus paste added with coffee flavour!). I have also tried with red bean paste, and added melon seeds as I liked the nutty texture. It was a very good learning experience, especially for a self taught baker. I was already giving myself a pat on the shoulder while the mooncakes were baking in the oven. I received another huge encouragement when my better half went oooh and ahhh when he took the first bite. He even asked me whether I could make some for him to bring overseas for him to show off to his overseas colleagues (*^^) I'm submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #11: Mid-Autumn Treats (Sept 2011) which I am hosting :) Traditional Mooncakes (广式咖啡莲蓉月饼) Ingredients: (makes 12~13 mini mooncakes) for dough: 100g plain flour 70g golden syrup (I used Abram Lyle's Golden Syrup with maple flavor) 2ml alkaline water 25ml peanut oil (I replaced with canola oil) for filling: 415g tiramisu lotus paste 40g melon seeds Method: Mix lotus paste with melon seeds. Divide the filling into 35g portions and shape into balls. Set aside. (Note: I used a dough: filling ratio of 3:7, for 50g mooncake mould) Place golden syrup in a bowl. Add in alkaline water, stir to combine. Add in oil, mix well. Place plain flour in a mixing bowl,make a well in the centre. Add in the above mixture. Mix with a spatula to form a soft dough. Gently knead the dough till smooth (takes 1~2 mins). Shape it into a smooth round dough. Wrap with cling wrap and leave in fridge to rest for at least 2 hours or over night. This step is known as 醒面. Dust work surface with some flour. Give the dough a few light kneading to smooth it. Divide dough into 15g pieces. Shape each dough into a ball. Roll each dough over some flour. Dust hand with flour and flatten each dough into a small disc (about 5cm in diameter). Wrap it around the filling and shape it into a ball. (always dust hand with some flour to avoid the dough from sticking). Lightly dust the wrapped dough with some flour. Place it in the mooncake mould and press the mooncake out. Place mooncake on a baking tray line with parchment paper. Spray some water on the mooncakes. (Note: this helps to prevent the mooncake from cracking during baking.) Bake at preheated oven at 180degC for 10mins. Remove from oven and leave to cool for 15mins (do not skip this step). Brush the top with some egg wash. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 15mins until golden brown (since all oven works differently, do check after 10mins, and subsequently every other 2 mins to make sure the mooncakes are not over browned). Leave mooncake to cool completely and store in air tight containers. Wait for 2 ~ 3 days for the mooncakes to 回油 (for the skin to soften) before serving. Recipe source: adapted from 贝太厨房

Mooncakes are often offered between friends and family members while celebrating the mid-autumn festival. Snowskin or custard green tea mooncake recipe is an easy mooncake recipe and its also one of the most popular modern flavours. These green tea mooncakes made with snowskin stays soft for about a week of storage in the refrigerator.

Yesterday was Mid-Autumn Festival, one of my favourite holidays in the Chinese calendar. Hanging lanterns on towers is one of the customs accompanying the celerations. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_festival

延续昨天的莲蓉馅初体验。。。。。 话说昨天因为第一次炒莲蓉馅，担心失败，把500克的湘莲蓉一分二，只用了250克炒了幼滑香甜的莲蓉馅。 今天挑战度再升，把剩余的250克湘莲子，炒化成香兰莲蓉馅。 搅拌后，还没经过翻炒的香兰莲蓉糊，淡淡的翠绿色，好漂亮。。。 可是。。经过一轮翻炒后，颜色会变暗淡深沉哦。。。 自制香兰莲蓉馅（炒获660克的香兰莲蓉馅） 食谱参考 ：这里 材料 ： 25

Download this Premium Vector about Aesthetic mid-autumn festival poster with lotus and sky lanterns paper art on light blue background, holiday name written in chinese words, and discover more than 165 Million Professional Graphic Resources on Freepik. #freepik #vector #mid #lightingfestival #chuseok

One of 21 brooches I made for an exhibition called 'Beijing Dreams' which is due to open shortly at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe

"The Mid-Autumn Festival (Simplified Chinese: 中秋节; Traditional Chinese: 中秋節; pinyin: zhōngqiūjié), also known as the Moon Festival, is a popular Chinese celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty. In Malaysia and Singapore, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival, similar in name to a different festival which falls on the fifteenth day of the Chinese New Year). The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar (usually around mid- or late-September in the Gregorian calendar).The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as: Eating moon cakes outside under the moon *Putting pomelo rinds on one's head *Carrying brightly lit lanterns *Burning incense in reverence to *deities including Chang'e *Planting Mid-Autumn trees *Lighting lanterns on towers *Fire Dragon Dances " From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival P/S: To All My friends~~~ no matter what nationality you are... this lantern photograph is specially dedicate for you!!! Happy Mid Autumn Festival my friends!!!!! 中秋節快樂!!!

Homemade playdough mooncakes are an easy and fun hands-on learning activity for Mid-Autumn Festival! Recipe and tips included in this post!

Zhongqiu Jie is just around the corner! Here are pictures from different Singapore Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations for 2022.

‪#‎CNY‬ ‪#‎Special‬ ‪#‎Event‬ ‪#‎Chinese‬ ‪#‎NewYear‬ ‪#‎Celebration‬ FLYING LANTERNS 17-19 February 2015 Main Pool Deck at 7.00 pm Celebrate during your time in Bali by releasing a Flying Lantern as a symbol of good luck. This is the perfect activity to share with family and friends to welcome the year of the Wooded Goat. Release your very own Flying Lantern over the gentle waters of Jimbaran Bay for welcoming this Chinese New Year. Watch your lantern rise into the sky and remember to make a wish as it slowly drifts away. Rp 100,000 per pcs

Explore keithbgoldstein's 3499 photos on Flickr!

INTRODUCTION This is a type of traditional mooncake without fillings. It comes with various shapes with the most common one are the piglet or koi fish … For the one with piglet, it usually come wit…

Fine wine sales in China during this year’s mid-autumn festival suffered a significant decline as consumers opted for cheaper labels.

Adding joy to the annual Mid-Autumn Festival that celebrates family reunions, the three Hong Kong hotels of Langham Hospitality Group – The Langham,

The arrival of autumn brings falling leaves; vibrant and rich jewel-toned colors across the landscape; a distinct change in temperature; festivals and some celebrations. The world often marks the September event as special. Throughout history, the first day of autumn has been considered a good time to take stock of the year’s successes and failures. A myth in many cultures holds that some mystical forces let us stand eggs on their ends for a short time immediately before or after the exact time of the equinox. In Greek mythology, autumn begins when the goddess Persephone returns to the underworld to live with her kidnapper, Hades – in repayment of the six pomegranate seeds she illicitly ate. Here, a look at a diverse collection of autumn photographs. – Paula Nelson

Observing an expert is always a good way to learn. I learned how to fry this from watching the hawker stall owner while waiting for my...

Chinese Mask

Have fun learning with fun moon phase crafts and activities for kids: journal, Oreo cookie moon, craters, NASA (Chinese, English, Korean).

Final holiday will starts soon :D I'm counting down & so excited on my coming trip.Yeah.... Are you going to a holiday? This will be my syiok holiday, because it's my 1st winter trip :D hahahaa...... okok, let's back to the main point " Kam Heong La La " Yesterday I saw the fresh market selling clam ( la la ), feel like eating & is my hubby's favourite. So i bought it for dinner. Here's the recipe : 600g clams ( washed & soaked in salt water for 1 hour & drained ) 2 tbsp oil 1 tbsp dried prawns ( soaked ) 3 stalks curry leaves 10 shallots ( chopped ) 10 chilli padi ( chopped ) Seasoning : 1/2 tsp fermented soy bean paste 1 tbsp curry powder 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp light soy sauce 1 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce 1/2 tsp chicken stock granules corn flour water for thickening Heat up oil & saute dried prawns until fragrant. Add in curry leaves, shallots, chilli padi & stir-fry until aromatic. Add in clams, seasoning & stir-fry at high heat until well-mixed. Cover the lid, cook for about 2 minutes until clams are opened. Thicken with corn flour solution, mix well & dish up. Happy Holiday !!!

The Mid-autumn Festival is my favourite Chinese celebration, and with good reason. It is an occasion to celebrate togetherness and the gathering of family, over delicious mooncakes and traditional tea. I created 10+ Mid-autumn Festival themed activities to help my toddler understand this holiday and its significance in a fun and hands-on manner.

Hi, friends! There were a lot more DIYs in this makeover, so you have quite a bit to choose from! Check it out and let me know in the comments which part was your FAVORITE! 😉👌🏽

Mid-Autumn Festival, a popular Asian celebration of abundance and union. At this time, the Moon is supposed to be at its fullest and brightest. This is the best time to enjoy the beauty of a full m…

记得9月份2015上传【转化糖浆】的帖时写了这么一段话。。。。：- 【今年的中秋 ,并没制作月饼的意愿。这糖浆是为了做香化饼而准备。但，也不知道那天才成 事！ 期待及待续。。。中】 时间匆匆一年即满，是将酿制了300多天，香醇浓郁的转化糖浆着手加工化为美味公仔饼的时 刻了。9月份2016~等了一年，【说好的】公仔饼我终于等到你了！！！ 公仔饼也就是小时后我们俗称的猪仔饼，时代变迁，时至今日，它脱去乡土味浓厚的【猪仔 饼】名称，转折间有了个现代化的【香化饼】名子。无论它是猪仔饼或是香化饼，它永远都 是我从孩提时期至今仍然念念不忘的中秋节好味道【猪笼圈~猪仔饼】。吃的是朴实无华古早 味， 念的是儿时单纯的美好。人生虽然没得从来，味道却可凭残留在脑海的记忆味蕾。。。 慢慢的把它给寻回。 第一次着手做公仔饼，原来它并没有想像中那么难。只要稍为注意一些细节，就可做出浓浓 古早味的公仔饼了。谢谢 亲亲JJ 的食谱与开模方式分享，感恩。 我自己是非常喜欢这公仔饼的口感，刚烤制完的饼有点硬，第二天稍微柔软，第三天完全回 油后非常松软。完全不黏牙，放置了一年的转化糖浆风味特佳。（一年后才知道自己的糖浆 煮的棒棒哒~嘻嘻！！）好吃。只是沮丧的是面团压的不够紧实，烤制完毕的鱼儿有点裂了， 此外；蛋液涂的不均匀导致鱼儿尾巴颜色有点深。加油！希望下次会做的更好！！ 不会游泳的小小鱼 ！！！！ 【公仔饼@香化饼食谱 】取自JJ Sharon 及参考自Butter,Flour and Me 材料:-(我的模子一个的重量为25g，共做了~22粒) 过筛特幼面粉(Shift Superfine Flour) - 300g 糖浆 (Golden Syrup ) - 200ml (我用自制浓稠状~转化糖浆) 花生油 (Peanut Oil ) - 60g l 碱水 (Alkaline Water) - 1小匙 刷面蛋液：**搅拌均匀后过滤** 蛋黄 (Egg York) - 1 个 鲜奶 ( Fresh Milk) - 1汤匙 制作步骤:- 1) 面粉过筛,备用。 2) 容器里加入糖浆,花生油和碱水一起搅拌均匀,然后拌进面粉,搅拌均匀成面团,盖上保鲜膜,休面(静置)至少半个小时或至面团不粘手。 3) 把面团分割成每份约25克,(视木模的大小)搓长条状,放进已经撒过粉的木模按平,印出饼形,把模子左右大力敲一下,模子正面往桌面用力敲出印好形状的面团,直接放进铺了烘焙油纸的烤盘里。 (避免面团粘在模子里难取出,每印一次面团前,模子必须撒上面粉,再把多余的粉敲掉,如果模子里有粘到面团,可以用竹签把它刮掉） 4) 烤箱预热后,把烤盘放在中层,以160度烘烤大约10-12分钟,然后把饼取出,待泠一会(大约10分钟)才涂上一层蛋液,再放回烤箱里继续烘烤15-20分钟至表面呈金黄色或熟(温度和时间只供参考,面团的重量,不同的烤箱时间温度不一,请自行灵活调整)。 小分享：- 1)静置面团~是为了让面团充分吸收糖浆,油脂和碱水。如果这些材料还没被充分吸收,面团就会很粘手,不好操作。(看到Joceline@Butter,Flour and Me分享的配方是要静置2~3个小时，第一次做公仔饼,买个保险,面团我休面了一个多小时才用)。 2) 蛋黄加入鲜奶搅拌均匀后不会那么浓稠,涂面时比较好操作。 3)烤制至半途把面团取出,待凉后才把蛋黄涂上,再继续烘烤.这样烤好的饼皮颜色会比较均匀好看。 4)烤好的公仔饼放置在铁架上散热后,隔夜就可以把它收进密封的罐子里。 5)刚烤好的公仔饼是比较硬,待回油后会变软。 6)如果烘烤的够干,够透不潮湿的话,公仔饼可以收藏几个星期。 7)据说如果做法正确,公仔饼是松软,不会黏牙而且烘好后隔夜就可以享用了。 （我用鱼形木模，用红豆装饰鱼的眼睛，也可以用黑豆） 新木模使用前~开模步骤：- 1)为了延长木模的使用期,一般商家建议木模不碰水，但我还是先用微湿的布稍微抹过,再用刷子(我用牙刷)把木削刷掉,过后把木模放在阴凉处凉干。 2)加适量的食用油在木模凹槽处,放置阴凉处1~3天,让食油慢慢渗进木模里。浸泡的过程里如果油量不足,可适时加入适量的食油继续浸泡。(我在第二天有增加少许的食油） 3)使用後的木模用清水稍做冲洗,刷子刷刷,再用布抹掉水分,放阴凉处凉至完全乾透后收藏好。(我有用洗碗液,再冲洗干净) 4)下回使用前只需要稍微抹刷就可以了使用了。 第一天 - 木模四围是乾爽的。 第二天 ~食油慢慢渗透入木模内及模的周边。 第三天-食油完全的被吸收掉，整个木模 的颜色明显比较深，浸泡过程就完成。 手制日期记录 : 03/09/2016

Dessert tables are one of our favorite to style for any party. This past week, our Chinese New Year dessert table was no exception. We tried to remain as authentic as possible with the theme of this event. Bamboo steamers were used to serve cupcakes and little candies from. We purchased almond cookies from World Market. Sweet rice crackers offered a gluten free option for those with special dietary needs. Oranges are considered one of the lucky fruits to eat during the new year celebration. The round orange symbolize fullness and wealth. In Chinese, the sound of the word orange sounds very similar to the word success, and even has a symbol in the word orange that also has the word luck in it. These golden fruits are synonymous with the holiday. It is very traditional to pass out red packets with money inside to children or to employees during this season. The red packet is to bring good luck and well wishes to the person it is being given to. For our dessert table, we added a bowl of chocolate coins in homage to the hongbao tradition. The final element to our dessert table was chocolate covered fortune cookies that we decorated with sprinkles. The fortune cookie is iconic in North America with Chinese food, but it is such a foreign concept in China. Bamboo Steamer - Amazon {here} :: Authentic Chinese Rolling Pin - Amazon {here} :: Fortune Cookies - Amazon {here} :: Chinese Take Out Containers - Amazon {here} :: Pink & White Paper Lanterns - Amazon {here} :: Cupcake Wrappers - Amazon {here} :: Hanging Dragon Decoration - Amazon {here} :: Dragon Puppet - Amazon {here} :: Dragon Dog Costume - Amazon {here} :: Red Ribbon - Amazon {here}

Mooncakes are traditionally enjoyed during the Chinese and Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival, when families gather to give thanks for the harvest and pray for longevity and good fortune. Making and sharing mooncakes is one of the hallmarks of this festival (some even call it the Mooncake Festival!). In Chinese culture, a round shape symbolizes completeness and reunion, and sharing the round pastries with relatives signifies the unity of families. The pastries are made of a tender dough stuffed with a sweet filling -- often lotus seed paste or red bean paste. The top of each mooncake has an intricate design, achieved by pressing the pastry into a mold; traditional molds are shaped like wooden paddles, modern presses are spring-loaded and made of plastic. Bakeries stamp their mooncakes with their own designs; flowers, vines and moons are common. Every family has its favorite version of the pastry, based on passed-down recipes or where they like to buy the cakes. Most feature a sweet filling wrapped around a salted duck egg yolk, but our take skips the yolk and focuses on white lotus paste, made by boiling and pureeing dried lotus seeds that you then cook with caramelized sugar. To set the beautiful stamped design, we bake the mooncakes for 10 minutes before brushing them with egg wash (the key to their glossy finish).

Learn about Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival history, legends, moon songs, and mooncake traditions with movies and videos.