this,

這個。

and this.

還有這個。

They're all mooncakes.

他們都是月餅。

The emblematic pastry of the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival,

中國中秋節的徽派糕點。

which marks the arrival of the full moon in early fall.

這標誌著初秋滿月的到來。

It was traditionally a time to celebrate the harvest.

傳統上，這是一個慶祝豐收的時刻。

But now it's more about congregating with family

但現在更多的是和家人的聚會

and eating trays and trays of mooncakes.

並吃著一盤又一盤的月餅。

But what exactly is a mooncake,

但到底什麼是月餅。

where did it come from,

哪裡來的。

and what are all the different varieties?

都有哪些不同的品種？

Legend says the mooncake dates back to 14th-century China,

傳說月餅的歷史可以追溯到14世紀的中國。

when the Han Chinese fought against their Mongolian rulers

漢人抗蒙戰役

allegedly smuggling messages inside the cakes.

據稱在蛋糕內走私資訊。

The mooncake variations are endless.

月餅的變化是無窮的。

For simplicity's sake, we've broken them down into three types.

為了簡單起見，我們把它們分為三種類型。

This is the most well-known type of mooncake.

這是最知名的一種月餅。

It's prevalent in Guangdong Province and in Hong Kong,

在廣東省和香港地區普遍存在。

and usually comes stuffed with lotus or red bean paste

蓮蓉

Some have a salted duck egg yolk center.

有的有鹹鴨蛋黃中心。

Most mooncakes nowadays just have the bakery name

現在的月餅大多隻有面包店的名字。

or the mooncake flavor printed on top,

或上面印有月餅的味道。

but this Hong Kong shop has been making a line of mooncakes

但這家香港店一直在做月餅系列

with protest messages on them,

上有抗議資訊。

tied to recent demonstrations in the city.

與最近該市的示威活動有關。

The skin is actually quite complicated to make.

這款皮膚的製作其實很複雜。

The dough is a wheat flour base bonded together

麵糰是以小麥粉為基底粘合而成的。

with lye water and golden syrup.

用鹼水和金漿。

Golden syrup is made by cooking plain table sugar with acid.

金糖漿是由普通食糖加酸煮制而成。

The fructose in the syrup attracts water

糖漿中的果糖能吸引水。

and helps the skin retain moisture.

並幫助皮膚保持水分。

Lye water, which is alkaline,

鹼水，是鹼性的。

is added to neutralize the syrup's acidity

加入中和糖漿的酸度。

and speed up the process of browning in the oven.

並加快在烤箱中變色的過程。

The result is a tan and moist dough

結果是一個棕褐色和溼潤的麵糰。

that can be easily shaped with various molds.

可以方便地用各種模具成型。

Unlike Cantonese mooncakes,

不像廣東月餅。

the Suzhou variety,

蘇州的品種。

which hails from the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou,

它來自中國東部城市蘇州。

is flaky and comes in a meat-filled savory form.

是片狀的，而且是以肉餡鹹菜的形式出現。

And this restaurant in Shanghai

還有上海的這家餐廳

has been making it the traditional way for years

多年來一直以傳統方式製作

with lard instead of butter.

用豬油代替黃油。

Savory mooncakes are so popular

鹹味月餅如此受歡迎

that this other bakery across town

城對面的這家麵包店

practically has a cult following.

幾乎有一個崇拜的追隨者。

They see a steady line of customers

他們看到的是穩定的客戶隊伍

who are obsessed with their pastries,

痴迷於他們的糕點的人。

some lining up as early as 3 am.

有些人早在凌晨3點就排隊了。

I learned how to make these a couple years ago.

幾年前，我學會了如何做這些。

The recipe is similar to the savory one,

這個配方和鹹菜的配方差不多。

except that it uses red bean paste instead of meat

只不過是用紅豆沙代替了肉而已。

and butter instead of lard.

用黃油代替豬油。

It's also easier for the home cook

對於家庭廚師來說，這也是比較容易的

and here's how to make it.

而這裡的如何使它。

There are two types of crust,

殼有兩種類型。

a soft water crust and a flaky pastry crust.

軟水皮和酥皮。

So we're going to start off.

所以我們要開始了。

This is flour, I've added a little bit of sugar in there.

這是麵粉，我在裡面加了一點糖。

It's combined with butter and water, and then kneaded together.

它是用黃油和水結合在一起，然後揉成一團。

So it's getting a little bit more smooth

所以越來越順暢了

and what I'm trying to do right now

而我現在要做的是什麼？

is to just get the flour off the edge of the bowl

就是把麵粉從碗的邊緣弄掉。

so the bowl is clean.

所以碗裡是乾淨的。

That's how you know the dough is done.

這樣你才知道麵糰已經做好了。

After that, it's the flaky oil dough, which is just butter and flour.

之後，就是片狀的油團，就是黃油和麵粉。

So the reason why I'm using butter instead of lard

所以我用黃油代替豬油的原因是什麼？

is because it's more accessible to the home cook.

是因為它更容易被家庭廚師所接受。

I have no idea where to buy lard.

我不知道哪裡可以買到豬油。

So you can see it's coming together slowly.

所以你可以看到，它是慢慢地走到一起的。

It's kind of like a Play-Doh consistency.

這有點像橡皮泥的一致性。

It's very chalky.

它是非常白堊的。

Then I divide the two types of dough into nine pieces.

然後我把兩種麵糰抽成九塊。

And layer them by wrapping them into each other,

並將它們互相包裹成一層。

rolling them out, and then folding them onto one another.

把它們捲起來，然後把它們疊在一起。

So the purpose of this is to create as many layers as possible,

所以，這樣做的目的是為了儘可能多地創造層次。

so when you bite into it, you'll see a flaky crust.

所以當你咬下去的時候，你會看到一個片狀的外殼。

Or else it's just a boring, old dough ball.

否則就是一個無聊的老麵糰。

This is what it's supposed to look like.

這就是它應該有的樣子。

Kind of has like a snail exterior.

有點像蝸牛的外表。

I then put in a red bean filling and smooth out the dough.

我就放入紅豆餡，把麵糰和好。

Next, I use an egg yolk wash to give it a shine

接下來，我用蛋黃洗劑來讓它變得更有光澤。

and top them all off with a pinch of black sesame seeds.

並在上面都放上少許黑芝麻。

It's then baked for 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

然後在華氏400度的溫度下烤20分鐘。

That was pretty good.

這是相當不錯的。

You can actually taste the flakes,

其實你可以嚐嚐片子的味道。

and the red bean inside

粒粒紅豆

adds this creamy consistency throughout.

整個過程中增加了這種奶油的濃度。

And may I say, I think Hanley, our cameraman,

我可以說，我認為漢利，我們的攝影師。

likes it very much as well.

也非常喜歡。

Isn't that right, Hanley?

對不對，漢利？

Yay!

呀！

So there you have it.

所以，你有它。

Three different types of mooncakes,

三種不同類型的月餅。

three different ways to make them,

三種不同的製作方法。

and three different ways to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

並以三種不同的方式慶祝中秋節。

Happy eating!

吃得開心！

If you're into baked goods

如果你喜歡烘焙食品

we did this whole story on pineapple buns in Hong Kong.

我們在香港做了這個關於菠蘿包的完整故事。

Click this link for more

點擊此鏈接瞭解更多

and as always don't forget to subscribe to @Goldthread2.

並且一如既往地不要忘記訂閱@Goldthread2。