Making Mooncakes with My Grandmother

Every year for the Mid-Autumn Festival, my grandmother makes mooncakes from scratch. This year, for the first time, she let me help.

We spent a whole Saturday in her kitchen. She made the lotus seed paste herself, stirring it for hours in a big wok until it was smooth and shiny. We pressed salted egg yolks into the middle of each one, wrapped them in dough and pressed them into wooden molds carved with flowers and characters.

My mooncakes came out a little lopsided. Hers were perfect. She ate mine first and said they were "full of love," which is what she says when something isn't quite right.

That night, the whole family sat in her backyard under the full moon, eating mooncakes and drinking tea. My grandmother told stories about the moon goddess, the way she told them when I was small. I've never felt more connected to where I come from.