What is Tet Trung Thu?
Tết Trung Thu is a Vietnamese festival celebrated in the middle of the 8th lunar month.
Also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, Children’s Festival, Full-Moon Festival, and Lantern Festival, Tết Trung Thu traditionally marks the end of the rice harvest. It’s a time to relax with family and friends, chase away bad spirits, and spread luck and prosperity—similar to Tết (Vietnamese New Year).
At night, children fill the streets carrying lanterns, beating drums, and joining lion dances. Vietnamese families begin the day by placing food on their ancestral altars, lighting incense, and honoring their ancestors before gathering to enjoy mooncakes.
All that love and tradition is wonderful, but really, for me, Tết Trung Thu is all about gorging on mooncakes!
What are Mooncakes?
Mooncakes are round or square pastries filled with a variety of savory and sweet fillings. Common fillings include sweet pastes, mixed nuts, and salted egg yolks. Popular sweet pastes are lotus seed paste, red bean paste, black sesame paste, and mung bean paste.
Before baking, mooncakes are molded and stamped with elaborate designs, typically featuring Chinese characters for good will, floral motifs, or beautiful geometric patterns.
The traditional way to enjoy a mooncake is to cut it into four pieces to share. Many store-bought mooncakes even come with a plastic knife and mini forks just for this purpose. You savor mooncakes in small bites, often paired with hot tea. At home, I simply chomp into one like an apple as my husband looks in horror.
My favorite mooncake is one with a pure lotus seed paste filling. Husband prefers the salted egg and mixed nuts. I don’t know why. They are gross, tasting too much like Chinese herbal medicine rather than a sweet treat.
In the recipe below, I’m focusing on my favorite, Mooncake with Sweet Lotus Paste (Banh Tet Trung Nhan Hat Sen). My husband will just have to get his from the store.
Mooncake with Sweet Lotus Paste (Banh Trung Thu Nhan Hat Sen)
- Total Time: 6 hours 22 minutes
- Yield: Makes 10 standard-size mooncakes 1x
Description
Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with homemade mooncakes filled with sweet lotus paste—at a fraction of the store price! All it costs is a little patience.
Ingredients
Lotus Seed Paste
- 200g dried lotus seeds (without skin and core removed; wash and presoak overnight, at least 4 hours)
- Water as needed
- 80g granulated white sugar
- 90g neutral oil
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Mooncake Wrapper
- 130g all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup for dusting
- 25g neutral oil
- 100g honey mixed with 2 tablespoons water
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
Equipment Needed
- Blender (Vitamix) or food processor
- Kitchen scale
- Mooncake mold
- Small spray bottle with water
- Pastry brush
Instructions
- Make the Lotus Seed Paste Filling Balls: Rinse the presoaked lotus seeds and place them in a medium pot. Add water to cover the seeds by 1 inch. Simmer on low, uncovered, for about 30 minutes or until the seeds are softened. Transfer the lotus seeds to a blender or food processor and blend on high until smooth. If the blender stalls, add just enough water (no more than 1/3 cup) to keep it moving. A Vitamix blender with a plunger is ideal for achieving a very smooth paste without needing too much water. Once the mixture is completely smooth, transfer the paste to a medium frying pan. Heat on low, stirring continuously, until you achieve a dry paste with a play-doh or soft clay texture. Shape the paste into 10 balls of equal weight, using a kitchen scale for accuracy. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
- Make the Mooncake Wrapper: In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, vegetable oil, and the honey-water mixture until smooth. Use a kitchen scale to divide the wrapper dough into 10 equal balls. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out.
- Assemble: Take one portion of wrapper dough and flatten it into a round wrapper using the palm of your hand. Place a filling ball in the center and gently push the wrapper up around the filling until it is completely enclosed. Repeat with remaining wrapper dough and filling balls.
- Stamp the Mooncakes: Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Lightly dust the mooncake mold to prevent sticking. Place the wrapped filling ball into the mold and dust the exposed bottom lightly. Press down on the plunger of the mold and slowly release the mooncake onto the baking sheet without moving it, to preserve the stamped pattern. Spray a very light mist of water on the mooncake surfaces to prevent cracking. Avoid excessive water, as it can ruin the stamped pattern. Repeat the process for the rest.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 7 minutes at 350°F to set the shape.
- Egg Wash: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and water until smooth, ensuring there are no clumps. After the initial 7 minutes, remove the mooncakes from the oven and apply a very light coat of egg wash (top and sides). A heavy application will ruin the pattern, so use a light touch. Return the mooncakes to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Avoid overbaking, as the interior is already cooked and may dry out.
- Finish: Allow the mooncakes to cool completely to develop a shiny finish. Once the surface appears oily and shiny, the mooncakes are ready to be packaged for gift-giving or enjoyed immediately.
- Prep Time: 5 hours, 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 52 minutes
- Category: dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: asian, vietnamese
