Mid-Autumn Festival season is the perfect time to make lanterns, reunite with loved ones, and eat some mooncakes with a side of your favorite steamed buns, of course! š®š„®š
It has been so fun sharing what the Mid-Autumn Festival is all about and what each character in this special edition symbolizes!
The second bao in this Special Edition Mid-Autumn Festival Themed isā¦the Jade Rabbit! š°š
š„® WHO IS THE JADE RABBIT?
The Jade Emperor was in search of someone trustworthy, responsible, and honorable to manage the elixirs and pills created for immortality. He didnāt trust humans, so he came to Earth and decided to choose 3 between animals: a fox, a rabbit, and a monkey. He disguised himself as an old man to test their their virtues. He told them he was too weak to find food. The monkey and fox quickly offered food; however, the rabbit couldnāt find anything. Feeling guilty, the rabbit offered himself and threw himself into the fire. The Jade Emperor was moved by his sacrifice and gave the rabbit eternal life and full responsibility for the immortality medicines.
š„® HOW DID JADE RABBIT END UP ON THE MOON?
One night, the Queen Mother of the West came searching for the immortality elixir. She became upset and aggressive when Jade Rabbit denied her request. In fear, Jade Rabbit handed over the extra immortality pill to the Queen Mother. The Jade Emperor found out about Jade Rabbitās action and was furious. He gave Jade Rabbit the chance to choose his own punishment to which Jade Rabbit promised he would go and live locked away in the Moon Palace, with Changāe, The Moon Goddess, forever.
š°āØ The Jade Rabbit now symbolizes selflessness, piety, and sacrifice.
The first bao in my Special Edition: Mid-Autumn Festival Steamed Buns isā¦ the šāØMOON GODDESSāØš
š„® WHO IS THE MOON GODDESS?
The Mid-Autumn Festival celebrates the ancient story of the Goddess of the Moon, Changāe (嫦åØ„) and her husband, Hou Yi (åē¾æ).
Hou Yi was a famous archer and one day, he made a journey to visit the Lady Queen Mother, who granted him an elixir that would guarantee immortality once consumed.
Hou Yi returned home and gave the elixir to Changāe to keep safe. However, a man named Feng Meng had an evil plan of his own. When Hou Yi was out on on a hunt, Feng Meng broke into the coupleās home in search of the elixir.
Changāe, unwilling to betray her husband, quickly drank the potion in order to keep it from Feng Meng. The elixir of immortality caused Chengāe to rise off the ground towards the sky and into the heavens.
Hou Yi watched as Chengāe flew and landed on the closest celestial body to Earth – the Moon.
Hou Yi celebrated his wife by cooking all her favorite foods and placing them on an altar. Chinese people now pray for Changāe, Goddess of the Moon, for peace and good luck.
Today is the 15th the Lunar New Year. Like previous years, I love making cute character tang yuans to share. Of course, this year I’m going with The Year of the Tiger theme. They are adorable and it was hard to take that first bite.
These are the ones I made last year.
Every year I host a big meal for Chinese New Year meal for my side of the family. This year my mom gave me some money for take outs so that I don’t have to up cook up a storm (like what I did here). Well, I had planned the menu so that I can prep some, cook some and reheat some. It’s no joke cooking for 30 people, but glad everyone enjoyed the meal. I say this every year, not sure If I’m able to pull this one again next year.
And for dessert…homemade red bean dessert with black sesame tang yuan…
Here’s the menu, with auspicious names of each dish.
A weekly ritual.
A single photo ā no words ā capturing a moment from the week.
A simple, special, extraordinary moment.
A moment I want to pause, savor and remember ā {this moment}
Our welcoming the Year of the Tiger meal which we often refer to as “Open Year” (é幓é£Æ). I usually like to beef it up and make it a little festive. This year of course, we got the Tiger theme going with bok choy, braised pork belly (to go with the buns), a pot of goodies (mushrooms, dried scallops, sea cucumbers, fish maw over radish and dried bean curd). Unfortunately, my picky eater didn’t appreciate the pot of goodies. More for us! (Ā“ļ½”ā¢ įµ ā¢ļ½”`) ā”
Wish the Year of the Tiger bring health, prosper and peace to all of us. Happy Lunar New Year!
Our reunion dinner this year is missing Dai Bee, but definitely not missing the good stuff! I purposely went to the office today so I can stop by Chinatown to buy the fresh fish and roast pork!
Getting ready for the Year of the Tiger. In recent years, I started making turnip cakes (čæčē³) and nian gao (幓ē³) for my sisters and their families. Still need to master making the turnip cakes.
My first batch of cookies came out and they turned out pretty good, don’t you think? I make these once a year, so I get rusty. Different type of pans yield different results? Who knew?! Decorating these guys and gals are always fun!
All About the Kids 