During Mid-Autumn Festival, taro is usually steamed and peeled, but it may also be added to dishes of pork or chicken braised in soy sauce. In the Jiangsu and Zhejiang dialects, the word for taro (芋头 yutou) sounds like “luck is inside,” making it a popular vegetable to eat on festive occasions to bring luck for the year ahead, a tradition that began during the Qing dynasty. Time to get in the kitchen and cook up a feast (or, at the very least, get together with friends and family for an indulgent meal) with some of the ingredients below.
#Midautumn festival dinner how to
We take a look at some of the best autumnal produce such as pumpkin and hairy crab, and how to use them. While the food most closely associated with Mid-Autumn Festival is mooncakes, there is plenty more to this holiday than those controversial pastries. Of course, no Chinese festival would be complete without a feast, and Mid-Autumn is no different.
#Midautumn festival dinner full
It’s also a great opportunities for the older generation to share stories with the children or to read from a book of Chinese poetry such as what you’ll find in Chinese and English Nursery Rhymes by Faye-Lynn Wu or Maples in the Mist by Minfong Ho.Falling on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节 zhongqiujie) is traditionally a time to gather with family and enjoy the full moon. Ancestors are remembered by burning incense and bowing three times in front of the honor table. Kids are allowed to stay up late and parade around with their lanterns. In keeping with the story of Chang’e and Hou Yi, it’s traditionally a time to moon gaze, reminisce about family members who have passed away and to remember loved ones who live far away. Find a nice place to hang your lanterns, too, for when they’re not being swung around by your kids.Ĭelebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival by dining with family and then congregating outside under the full moon sipping tea, eating mooncakes and swapping stories. The point is more to have a nice organizing place to arrange your mooncakes, sweets, fruits, tea and ritual offerings. Ancestors are honored by burning candles and incense - while you can use common candles you have around the house, you’ll want to visit Chinatown for the incense or pick up some like these examples on Amazon.Īn honor table can be a small bench you set up next to a picnic blanket at a park or an end table you lug up to your apartment building’s roof deck. Use my Lantern Buyer’s Guide, if you’re ordering from Amazon, or my Lantern tutorial, if you want a fun family crafting project. Lanterns are both a great decoration and a fun children’s toy. Lanterns, candles and incense are the primary items you’ll need. It’s also traditional to buy 13 mooncakes for your own family’s celebration to bring good luck for an entire lunar year…but that’s a whole lot of mooncakes. Mooncakes are typically gifted in tins of four, though you can also wrap a single mooncake nicely, if you’re giving someone a mooncake you’ve made yourself. Use my Mooncake Buyer’s Guide, if you’re ordering from a Chinatown bakery, or my Mooncake recipe, if you’re planning to make your own. You’ll want to have mooncakes on hand to gift to close friends and relatives, as well as to enjoy at your own celebration.
Either way, you’ll want to choose your dinner and picnic venues and invite your close relatives to attend. Others will stay at home for dinner and go to a local town square or park for moongazing, if they expect others to be out as well. Some families eat a reunion dinner at a local restaurant before returning to the backyard at home for mooncakes and tea. Here’s a step-by-step guide to planning a perfect family celebration for the Mid-Autumn Festival.ġ. Given the time pressures we all face, I would suggest picking some elements from the checklist below to outsource, while retaining a few items to create at home as cherished traditions for your own family. As almost everything for the celebration can be bought or ordered in, the evening can be as simple or elaborate as you choose. There are two components to the night: a) a family dinner and, b) an outdoor picnic under the moon. Expect to prepare for the Mid-Autumn Festival on the weekend before the holiday, so that everything goes off smoothly on the big evening. All this means that you may have to be a bit more organized and determined as you get ready for the holiday.
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