We Vietnamese people love to eat. It’s doubly true for holidays and special occasions. While the usual Vietnamese fare–egg rolls, summer rolls, noodle dishes–are served for the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, the highlight is the moon cakes. Now that you’ve read some children’s books about the moon festival, let’s extend that learning with Mid-Autumn Moon Festival foods. YUM!
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival Foods
Mooncakes (banh trung thu) come with many different types of fillings: red bean, mung beans, lotus seeds, nuts, and egg yolks. Egg yolks are especially important because they are round like the moon. Obviously the moon cakes are also round. These moist, sweet treats are dense and filling. I find them very rich and usually split one with another person.
Mooncakes are rather labor intensive, so we usually purchase them from our local Asian mart. If you want to make your own, there’s several recipes you an try. Andrea Nguyen’s moon cakes are savory sweet. These gorgeous moon cakes from Boriville look like snowballs.
Round foods: I asked my mother once what other special foods she ate for Tet Trung Thu. “Round foods” she said. Ok, then. So round foods we will eat.
The first time I taught Sophia how to make banh bao!
Banh Bao (steamed buns) are perfect to eat for the moon festival because they are round and white, like the full moon we’re celebrating. While I prefer homemade buns, I’ve found some decent tasting ones at Trader Joe’s. They’re filled with Chinese-style BBQ pork. H-Mart, my Asian grocery store, carries several different kinds of bao–even unfilled ones (but those aren’t usually round). Baos make a great portable snack or light lunch. If you want to make your own, try this recipe. Every summer, my mom and the kids roll and fill banh bao together.
Banh xeo are sizzling pancakes (also round). Bright yellow (like some moons), these crispy crepes are filled with shrimp, pork, and fresh vegetables. Try out my banh xeo recipe.
Godiva Chocolate Moon Cakes. Doesn’t that sound like a heavenly combination? Every year Godiva produces a limited edition Mid-Autumn Festival gift box with unique flavor combinations. Godiva sent our family a box to try out. I’m looking forward to tasting the grapefruit black tea crunch flavor. The box they come in is beautiful. You can definitely reuse it.
For more Vietnamese recipes, follow my Vietnamese Food Pinterest board.
If you don’t have time to make or buy anything, just go to a Vietnamese restaurant! That’s what we’ll probably do.
I love the photograph. Now, I want to learn how to make Banh Trung Thu.