Because the sales person told me it was the most popular, I selected the lotus flower moon cake for our first "moon cake" tasting experience. Here is a picture of the moon cake before we cut it open.
I was curious about the picture of the rabbit on the top so I googled the question, "Why is there a rabbit on a moon cake?" Lo and behold, I got an answer. Here's what Marie-Louise Latch wrote in China Now magazine in 1998,
"The concept of a 'moon rabbit' was introduced to China with Indian Buddhist influence. Taoism adopted the rabbit in the moon along with many other concepts that originated in Buddhism: they called it the Jade Rabbit. It is said to stand under a magical cassia tree on the moon making pills of immortality.
Then we cut the moon cake open.
The filling was the consistency of a fig newton with a couple of lotus seeds sprinkled in.
Another quick search on the internet explained how lotus seed paste is made:
1. Dried lotus seeds are stewed in water and mashed into a fine paste.
2. The paste is mixed with water and passed through a sieve.
3. The slurry is squeezed dry in a cheesecloth to make a crumbly paste.
4. The paste is mixed with sugar and oil to produce a sweet paste.
5. Because lotus seeds are expensive, sometimes they are mixed with white kidney beans as a filler.
We took our first bites.
The flavor was slightly sweet with and undertone of sunflower seeds and red kidney beans. The crust was biscuit or lightly-sweetened lard cookie tasting but not flaky like a pie. It wasn't as sweet (or chocolaty) as I like my desserts, but the firm yet chewy texture was sugary/dessert-like. To my palate the moon cake wasn't delicious but it wasn't awful either. I can eat a lotus seed moon cake but, as immortality is not one of my goals, I probably won't keep a large supply in the pantry. In fact, I'll probably enjoy the brownies I just made, before digging into the red bean and egg yolk moon cake sitting in the pretty box in our cupboard.
"The concept of a 'moon rabbit' was introduced to China with Indian Buddhist influence. Taoism adopted the rabbit in the moon along with many other concepts that originated in Buddhism: they called it the Jade Rabbit. It is said to stand under a magical cassia tree on the moon making pills of immortality.
Then we cut the moon cake open.
The filling was the consistency of a fig newton with a couple of lotus seeds sprinkled in.
Another quick search on the internet explained how lotus seed paste is made:
1. Dried lotus seeds are stewed in water and mashed into a fine paste.
2. The paste is mixed with water and passed through a sieve.
3. The slurry is squeezed dry in a cheesecloth to make a crumbly paste.
4. The paste is mixed with sugar and oil to produce a sweet paste.
5. Because lotus seeds are expensive, sometimes they are mixed with white kidney beans as a filler.
We took our first bites.
The flavor was slightly sweet with and undertone of sunflower seeds and red kidney beans. The crust was biscuit or lightly-sweetened lard cookie tasting but not flaky like a pie. It wasn't as sweet (or chocolaty) as I like my desserts, but the firm yet chewy texture was sugary/dessert-like. To my palate the moon cake wasn't delicious but it wasn't awful either. I can eat a lotus seed moon cake but, as immortality is not one of my goals, I probably won't keep a large supply in the pantry. In fact, I'll probably enjoy the brownies I just made, before digging into the red bean and egg yolk moon cake sitting in the pretty box in our cupboard.
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