Moon Day Barbeque - The New Chinese Tradition

When we arrived in Taiwan during 中元節 (Ghost Month) I was delighted to find that all sorts of barbeque and grilling implements were on sale, especially since Tai was quite keen on getting one for the apartment. We picked up a nice charcoal grill with a cover for NT$168 (~US$5.68) and were quite satisfied. Later (after the jet-lag haze wore off), I figured out the sales were in preparation for Moon Day (中秋節 more commonly known at Mid-Autumn Festival in English; I call it Moon Day 'cause it sounds more festive ：D And once, when I was throwing a party, it occurred on a Monday, and was a convenient mnemonic for the attendees.)

This janky grill, made up of a metal grate suspended by broken bricks over two cinder blocks atop which the charcoal was placed, was set up at the Moon Day party I went to the day before Moon Day :) We were the only people who owned a grill, and with 20-odd people we needed more grilling power.



This was news to me, since I'd never been in Taiwan for Moon Day (that I can remember; when I was 4 doesn't count), and at home we'd celebrate by enjoying the moon outdoors whilst drinking tea and munching on moon cakes. It's a pretty big deal to barbeque on and before Moon Day now, I guess, since we smelled and saw people of all sorts setting up on balconies and in parks in the days leading up to the festival, grilling up a storm. My mom told me there were even block parties of 2000 people where you could pay a flat NT$50 for all-you-can-eat grilled goodness O.o

According to the television news, this new tradition started in 1989 (the year I was born!) with a couple people who wanted to enjoy the holiday outdoors. It has since exploded in popularity -- in addition to the huge sales, supermarkets offer convenient pre-marinated meats a few days before the holiday, as well as things like mushroom grilling kits (in its own aluminium tin with powdered spice mix and trimmed stems! *u*) and pre-skewered mochi sets. It might have taken a bit of a commercial turn since its inception, but I am SO down 8D



Awesome sparks from the charcoal fire as we're getting ready to grill.

Unfortunately, with the rise of the new tradition some older bits seem to have fallen out of fashion. Although moon cakes are still strongly associated with the holiday, they aren't as integral as the used to be. You can order crazy moon cakes made of ice cream or mochi or even agar jelly, as well as traditional kinds, a month or two in advance and all (my sister and I were thinking of going down on a City Cafe moon cake set, but it didn't go through v.v), but it seems like a lot of people were perfectly content to go without. Case and point: I received loads of pineapple cake, but not a single moon cake T_T not that I was expecting one or anything ;P I just thought it was weird that I got a bunch of cakes that you can get any time of the year, but even though they were given for Moon Day not a single one was actually a moon cake.

Granted, moon cakes are kind of expensive (in the U.S. you can get a mediocre box of 4 for $40, nicer boxes'll run you $60-80 BUT THEY ARE WORTH IT), and really high in calories, which might put a lot of people off. Plus you basically have to share them, 'cause they're so darn big and there is no way you can eat one all by yourself without getting sick. We ended up getting some moon cake when we went to Jing Nai-nai's house for Moon Day evening, but next year I will definitely buy some moon cakes. Even if I end up with too much (which happened last year -- it was glorious!) I can always freeze some for later. They're like Christmas cookies, you just gotta have 'em or the holiday doesn't feel right >.<

Anyway, back to the grilling. As briefly aforementioned, Tai and I went out to a party the night before the holiday, and it was GREAT!!! It was hosted by my partner Wei-Chun and it was mostly su or 'buddhist' vegetarian (although I guess butter is okay...?) and Tai made some delicious barbecue sauce using a can of Hunt's tomato sauce (from Wellcome!) and some Coca-cola (the remainder of which made a fine refreshment), because we couldn't find barbecue sauce without onions/garlic/pork extract O.o Chinese barbecue sauces are weird. Except the veggie satay/barbecue sauce 素沙茶醬, but that stuff is expensive ^o^ Okay, not actually that expensive (NT$89 ~ USD$3 for a small-ish can; although it's usually $5 in the U.S.), especially considering how DELICIOUS it is.


We even had roasted marshmallows! In the interest of preserving the festive spirit, I didn't tell anyone that gelatin comes from animals. Also, I totally eat marshmallows even though I know they're not vegetarian. It's just so hard to find vegetarian marshmallows!!! D:

On Moon Day proper we visited my paternal grandparents at their residence and had a lovely luncheon prepared by my mother. Afterward we headed over to Jing Nai-nai's for Japanese-style food adventure, which consisted primarily of way too much Chinese-style sushi (which is awesome, btw), some handmade bing (Chinese burrito) and Korean seafood pancakes. O.o Yeah. Food, it happened.