Like Thanksgiving or Christmas in the West, the Chinese Moon Festival, is one of the most important traditional events and an occasion for a family reunion. When the full moon rises, families gather outside to watch the full moon, eat moon cakes filled with red bean paste and sing moon poems. Celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar — Sept. 21 in the U.S. this year — it is said the moon appears brighter and larger than any other time of year. Mother-daughter cooking team Leeann and Katie Chin share selected recipes from their dinner party menu below.
Leeann Chin is the founder of Leeann Chin, Inc., which includes 57 restaurants in the Minneapolis, Detroit and Kansas City area. Katie Chin, Leeann’s daughter, is a marketing consultant, chef and author. The two have a full-service catering company based in Los Angeles called Double Happiness Catering, and wrote “Everyday Chinese Cooking”, Copyright © 2000. Published by Clarkson N. Potter.