For some lovers, the warm days and cool nights of autumn, a time when everything seems lush and fruitful, is the most romantic part of the year. One Chinese legend, part romance and part fantasy, recounts a tale of the harvest moon as lovingly as any song at a harvest dance: Ho Yi, an imperial archer in ancient times, was called upon by the emperor to shoot down 10 suns that were circling the Earth and causing a huge drought. With the Earth restored to normal, the queen mother of the western heavens gave Ho Yi a pill of immortality, but told him to fast and pray for a month before taking it.
Ho Yi’s beloved but jealous wife Chang-O found the pill and was discovered by Ho Yi just as she swallowed it. Chang-O raced out of the house and was swept up into the sky, toward the moon, with Ho Yi in pursuit.
Chang-O was punished by being forced to stay on the moon and becoming its goddess; Ho Yi became the god of the sun. They still loved and pined for each other, so once a year they are reunited. It’s at this time that the force of their love makes the moon burn brightest, the story goes.
During the harvest moon festival, “the moon is absolutely round and bright,” says Esther Moy, who with husband Wally owns the Golden Chef restaurant in Wheeling. “People sit outside in the garden to look at the moon, and the whole family has a gathering to mark the sweetness of family life.”
Harvest moon festivals go back centuries, to a time when the first farmers, having weathered the heat and hard labor of summer, gathered their edible riches together with a sigh of relief and gratitude.
This year, the Chinese celebrate the harvest moon on Monday (the date varies according to the lunar calendar). But festivities begin weeks earlier. Chinatown’s Autumn Moon Festival was celebrated with a parade, dancing and music on Sept. 19.
The symbols of the season are small moon cakes, shared with family, friends and business associates. Following the theme of fullness and unity threaded throughout this holiday, moon cakes are round, golden pastries filled with sweet or savory fillings, the crust stamped with a decorative mold of flowers or animals.
The little cakes start showing up in Chinatown bakeries across the country up to a month before the festival. As the holiday approaches, many bakeries in China will eventually clear their shelves of everything but moon cakes, according to Nina Simonds, a cookbook author based in Salem, Mass., who specializes in Chinese cuisine.
“They are given as gifts of auspicious things and prosperity,” she says. “They are usually quite expensive, so people start saving money (early).”
Moon cakes are usually purchased; the pastry is not difficult to make, but the beautifully embossed crust is more skillfully made by professionals, Simonds says.
Cora Chiu, owner of the Chiu Quon bakeries in Chinatown and Edgewater, says a single store will sell close to 2,000 pastries by the time of the full moon.
“In China the children carried lanterns and candles around at nighttime (on the holiday), but here no people do that,” Chiu says. “But the moon cakes they always eat. Every family, even if they don’t give a box (of cakes) to friends to eat, they still keep (a box).”
Although the sentiment of the holiday is familiar to all Americans, the ingredients inside the cakes may not be. Traditional fillings include pastes of lotus seed, date or red bean; winter melon; or the occasional salted duck egg, whose round shape also symbolizes prosperity. Other fillings include nuts, such as walnuts and almonds, or roast pork.
Though the cakes are exchanged among friends and family to be enjoyed with tea, a big dinner celebration also is important. Other ways to mark the holiday, Simonds says, involve hanging lanterns, burning incense and holding puppet shows.
“All the guys that work for me and my family eat together,” Esther Moy says. “We must have chicken; at any kind of festival that means happiness and good luck.” Lobster, steamed pike, roast pork, Chinese broccoli and round fruits also are part of their banquet.
“Every year (people) all go back home and have a family dinner; it’s like Thanksgiving,” says Kenneth Li, executive director of the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce.
Ken Hom, in his book “The Taste of China,” describes it somewhat more irreverently: “The core of the celebration features seemingly incessant family get-togethers, with, as always, a feast, but also the reciting of poetry, and the drinking of a bit more wine than usual. Ideally, this all takes place in the evening and outdoors, so that the moon may be properly seen and appreciated.”
Some Chicago restaurants have taken the celebration public. Ben Pao in River North just completed a weeklong special menu in honor of the Moon Festival, culminating with a wine dinner featuring chef Johnson Teh’s lobster salad with taro root chips, braised duck with scallion pancakes and a fragrant tenderloin of pork roasted with five-spice powder.
Szechwan East in Streeterville will stage a celebration with a complimentary moon cake and cup of jasmine tea for diners at the restaurant on Monday.
Moon cakes represent a more colorful legend than just the happiness of a successful harvest and family visits.
They have historical symbolism too. Legend has it they were employed by the Chinese during their country’s 14th Century occupation by the Mongols. The cakes were used to pass messages among those who plotted to overthrow the invaders. Hom adds to the history by writing that large moon cakes were even used to hide weapons.
In any case, the moon cakes “express wishes for a happy autumn and mild winter,” Hom writes. “It’s a delightful custom and a culinary adornment to this pleasant holiday.”
TIPS FOR MAKING MOON CAKES
Moon cakes usually are purchased from bakeries, but enterprising cooks can make their own with an assortment of fillings.
When our test kitchen made moon cakes from a recipe by Nina Simonds, we found at first that it was difficult to master a perfect design from the molds. The tender dough can puff up and obscure the traditional patterns.
If you encounter such problems with your first batch, Simonds suggests letting the dough, pressed into the mold, chill in the refrigerator a bit longer to set.
The attractive wooden molds, shaped in paddles, can be purchased at Woks `N’ Things, 2234 S. Wentworth Ave., and other Asian kitchen supply stores. They cost $15 each. If you can’t find them, use any round, embossed molds, or individual souffle dishes.
FIVE-TREASURE MOON CAKES
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Chilling time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 24 small or 12 large cakes
Adapted from “Classic Chinese Cuisine,” by Nina Simonds.
Crust:
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dried milk powder
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling:
1 jar (12 ounces) apricot preserves
1 cup each: chopped pitted dates, sweetened flaked coconut, coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 cup raisins
Glaze:
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons water
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, milk powder, baking powder and salt in large bowl. Beat eggs and sugar in bowl of electric mixer until mixture forms ribbons off beaters, about 5 minutes. Add butter, vanilla and flour mixture, beating on low after each addition.
2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface; knead 5 to 8 times. Form into long roll and cut into 24 equal pieces (12 for larger moon cakes). Chill 30 minutes.
3. For filling, combine preserves, dates, coconut, walnuts and raisins in medium bowl. Stir well and set aside.
4. Press dough pieces into 3-inch circles (6-inch for larger) with thinner edges and thicker middle. Divide filling mixture evenly among circles; gather edges of dough and pinch to seal. Roll cake into ball and flatten slightly. Press into decorative moon cake mold or other mold.
5. Place cakes 1 inch apart on lightly greased baking sheets. Whisk together egg and water glaze; brush over cakes. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Variation: For a traditional moon cake filling, use a canned sweetened red bean paste found at Asian markets.
Nutrition information per cake (based on 24):
Calories ………… 310 Fat ………… 11 g Saturated fat .. 5 g
% calories from fat .. 32 Cholesterol .. l50 mg Sodium …… 200 mg
Carbohydrates …… 49 g Protein ……… 6 g Fiber …….. 1.9 g
FIVE-SPICE PORK TENDERLOIN WITH SAUSAGE AND BASIL RICE
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Marinating time: 4 hours or overnight
Cooking time: 20-25 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Adapted from a moon festival recipe from Ben Pao restaurant.
Marinade:
1 1/2 cups plum wine
1 cup hoisin sauce
1 green onion, chopped
1 star anise
1 tablespoon each: minced fresh ginger, salt
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
Pork:
2 pork tenderloins, 10 ounces each
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Rice:
2 sausage links, preferably Chinese, diced
5 cups cooked jasmine rice
1/2 bunch (1 ounce) basil leaves, preferably Thai
2 ounces snow peas, shredded
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Combine marinade ingredients in large bowl or large plastic bag. Add pork. Cover or seal. Marinate, refrigerated, at least 4 hours or overnight.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in large oven-proof skillet over high heat. Remove pork from marinade, reserving 1 cup marinade. Pat tenderloin dry. Sear until browned on all sides.
3. Place in oven; cook until instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees, 20 to 25 minutes. Cover with aluminum foil; set aside.
4. Heat reserved marinade in small saucepan over medium-high heat to boil; cook until reduced by half, 8 to 10 minutes.
5. For rice, heat wok or large skillet over high heat. Add sausage; cook, stirring frequently, until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in rice. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Add basil, snow peas, salt and pepper. Heat through.
6. Divide tenderloin and rice equally among plates. Drizzle with reduced marinade.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ………… 460 Fat ………… 12 g Saturated fat .. 3.7 g
% calories from fat .. 25 Cholesterol .. l75 mg Sodium …… 1,180 mg
Carbohydrates …… 50 g Protein …….. 29 g Fiber ………. 1.5 g
