Popular Durian Mooncake in Singapore

A delicious and flavorful symbol of the Vietnamese Mid-Autumn Festival is the moon gingerbread or mooncake. Previously, such bright and appetizing gingerbread was baked once a year – on the eve of the full moon of the eighth lunar month. The most common format of holiday baking is round products with a diameter of 8-10 cm. Less common are oval or square gingerbreads. The classic round shape of gingerbread is perceived most positively because it resembles the lunar disk.

Nowadays you can buy Moon gingerbread in any decent confectionery in Vietnam at almost any time of the year. On the eve of the Autumn Festival, two months before the holiday, stores decorate separate showcases for moon gingerbread. The flavor palette of holiday baked goods has expanded considerably in the last ten years. To compare: in the 1990s there were 3 – 4 varieties of gingerbread fillings, now there are 20 – 30 flavors. The external design is also different – according to the stuffing. Each product is hermetically sealed in a transparent film that allows you to save a long-time softness, freshness, and taste. The assortment continues to expand.

Moon gingerbread is eaten with green tea. It is considered good luck if you get a piece with a salty yolk, or even better – with two. The traditional version is yellow soybean moon gingerbread with one or two salted yolks. The simplest ingredients for this pastry are available to every Vietnamese family. Variations on the same theme – stuffing with beans (red or green), gingerbread with puréed taro, with a yolk inside or without yolk at all.

Moon Gingerbread with Super Durian Flavor

This is the favorite fruit of the Vietnamese. The discouraging factor for foreigners is the specific smell, which takes some getting used to. The premium line of moon gingerbreads includes a variety of fillings, including lotus seeds and black sesame seeds. The addition of black sesame seeds gives the dough a darker color, which emphasizes the bright color of the yolk and evokes associations with the full moon in the night sky. So even in Singapore, you can try this dish!