The flavors of fall are complex and earthy.
Chestnuts. Pumpkins. Sweet potatoes.
And, if you are Chinese, moon cakes. These are not the sugary pastries that Westerners usually think of when it comes to cake. Moon cakes are small, dense and more savory than sweet.

They are eaten during the mid-autumn festival, traditionally on the 15th day of the eighth moon by the Chinese lunar calendar. This year, it falls on Sunday. This is when the moon is at its fullest and brightest.

Festivities include music, dancing — and eating moon cakes.

The Greensboro Chinese Association and various Asian student groups at UNCG will host an Autumn Moon Festival on Saturday. The event, which also promotes the university’s new Asian studies major, will include cultural speakers and music, dance and martial-arts demonstrations. UNCG geography professor Susan Walcott will talk about the significance of moon cakes. Festivalgoers also can sample moon cakes there.

More on moon cakes

The palm-sized cakes are round or rectangular. They usually come in a set of four and are packaged in tin boxes.

Traditional moon cakes are made of sweet bean paste fillings, with a golden-brown, flaky crust. Some are filled with a golden duck egg yolk.

The top of the cake is usually embossed with the Chinese characters for longevity, harmony or the baker’s insignia.

It takes two to four weeks to prepare the bean paste, so most families just buy them from a bakery or store.

Through the years, moon cakes have evolved from a Chinese delicacy to something as common as ice cream. Modern versions of the cake may be fat-free or feature flavors such as lychee or chocolate.

Other Asian countries also have adopted their own versions of the fall delicacy. In Vietnam, the cakes may be filled with roasted chicken, shark fin or mung beans.

Cambodians may fill it with durian, a large, pungent fruit, found in southeast Asia.

In Indonesia, moon cakes may be filled with chocolate, cheese or milk.

And the Japanese version of the moon cake may contain chestnuts or azuki beans, which are small, sweet and red.

Moon cake folklore

* One legend is that the custom of eating moon cakes began in the late Yuan dynasty. It’s said that the Han people resented the Mongol rule of the Yuan Dynasty. Revolutionaries, led by Chu Yuan-chang, plotted to usurp the throne.

Chu needed a way to unite the people to revolt, without alerting the Mongol rulers of their plans. So, his close adviser, Liu Po-wen, came up with this plan: spread a rumor that a plague was ravaging the land and that only by eating a special moon cake, distributed by the revolutionaries, could they prevent the disaster.

So, the Han people received these cakes that when cut open, had the message: “Revolt on the 15th of the eighth moon.” This is how the people united to overthrow the Yuan. And that’s how moon cakes became an integral part of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

* Another legend dates back to ancient times when 10 suns appeared at once in the sky. The emperor ordered a famous archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. When the archer completed his task, the Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded him with a pill that made him immortal. When the archer’s wife found the pill and took it, she was banished to the moon. Legend says that her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon Festival.

A love of beauty is something that people will always have. Staying beautiful and what you eat is closely related. Many foods that people eat everyday not only contain nutrients that the body needs, but they can also maintain beauty. When Chinese medicine is added to some foods, they  have a delicious flavor and curative effects, which help maintain beauty. Here are some recipes that also have Chinese medicine.

1. Porridge with red date and chrysanthemum:

Ingredients: 50 grams red date, 100 grams rice, 15 grams chrysanthemum
Method:
Add these ingredients into a pan with water, boil until it becomes a dense porridge. Then add some red sugar to taste. This porridge is beneficial for the spleen, blood, liver and eyes. Consumption of this porridge for a long time can prevent illnesses and maintain one’s beauty.

2. Lotus porridge:

Ingredients: 30 grams lotus, 30 grams Qianshi, 50 grams Yiren rice, 10 grams longan, honey
Method:
Soak lotus, Qianshi and Yiren rice in water for 30 minutes. Cook these ingredients and the longan into porridge over low heat, and then add some honey to taste. Longan can help re-energize people; lotus is beneficial for the spleen and stomach; Yiren rice and Qianshi are good for the spleen. Medical research has shown that Qianshi is abundant in Vitamins A, B, and C, while honey contains collagen and enzymes which stimulate the growth of cells and accelerate metabolism. This porridge is the perfect medicinal food for beauty, having the effect of eliminating wrinkles and whitening the skin.

3. Beauty porridge for enriching the blood

Ingredients: 3 grams Chuangong, 6 grams angelica, 2 grams safflower, 4 grams Huangshi, 100 grams Geng rice and chicken soup
Method:
Wash the rice and soak in water. Put sliced angelica, Chuangong and Huangshi in a small cloth bag. Put the bag and the chicken soup in a clay pot and boil. Add the rice to the soup and cook into porridge. Last, sprinkle green onion slices, MSG and ginger slices over the porridge. This porridge has enriches the blood. Long-term consumption of this porridge can help women regulate menstruation, enrich the blood and maintain one’s beauty. Take it once a day for 15 days as a treatment period.

4. Beauty tea

Ingredients: 500 grams ginger, 250 grams black tea, 100 grams salt, 150 grams licorice, 25 grams clove and 25 grams Chenxiang
Method:
Mash all the ingredients into a powder. Take 15 grams to 25 grams for each dose. Fry them or make them into tea early in the morning. It can be drunk several times a day. The tea is good for recovering the spleen, strengthening the stomach, enriching blood, soothing the nerves and curing depression. Long-term use of this tea can whiten and soften the skin and reduce wrinkles.

5. Porridge with white fungus and cherry

Ingredients: 50 grams white fungus, 30 grams cherry, sweet osmanthus and rock sugar
Method:
Boil the melted rock sugar and white fungus for about 10 minutes, then and add the cherry and sweet osmanthus. This porridge has the effect of recovering energy, enriching the blood, whitening the skin and maintaining one’s beauty.