Attempting to Celebrate Mid Autumn Festival in Florida 2023

Living the Sunshine Life

Eat & Drink > Holidays > Asian > Mid-Autumn Festival

Celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival 中秋節 was always a highlight when I lived in Taiwan
I’d like to continue that experience here in Florida!
Getting prepped means going to two different Asian markets
It ended up being low key awesome.

Check out the videos on YouTube!

The Mid-Autumn Festival, an annual celebration in Asian culture, revolves around the harvest moon. Occurring on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month (usually in late August or early September), it’s a time for families to reunite, express gratitude, and savor the beauty of the full moon. With roots tracing back thousands of years, this festival is rich in traditions, from enjoying mooncakes and tea to admiring the lunar glow. It’s a night filled with warmth, togetherness, and the timeless allure of the autumn sky.

In Taiwan, families and friends set up small grills outside their homes and cook on skewers. Some people stay at their grills all night long, and others get up and travel around town to their friends’ homes to enjoy the night’s festivities. They bring with them bags of tofu, veggies, and meat, and beer. Taiwan Beer.

Bringing the Tradition to Florida

Every full moon is a true wonder, but this full moon is by far my favorite because it comes with food! Years ago, my then partner would marinate giant slabs of pork ribs in beer and spices. We’d set up the grill on the roof patio, and friends would come over at dusk to hang out. Now that I’m here in the US, I’d like to introduce my now partner to all the joys of the event.

Setting Up the BBQ

We live in a forest, so there’s no shortage of twigs and limbs. I made a border with some cement blocks and lit the branches. I added a few larger limbs to the fire and left it to burn to charcoals. Ralph wasn’t quite sure what we were doing…the last time we cooked outdoors was when a hurricane left us without power and water for a few weeks and we ate our way through the stuff in the freezer.

As the fire burnt down, I started setting the food up on the table. This really was a two-person effort. Between the dogs and the goats, I worried that food left unattended would end up in the dirt or eaten. There were some casualties.

Time to grill 🙂

A friend unloaded some cast iron items awhile ago, like a heavy grill plate. I put it on top of the charcoals and covered it with a piece of foil, and then started laying out the food. I should have gotten more colorful foods like bell peppers and tomatoes. The tofu mushroom onion skewers were white on white on white and completely boring.

My other half laughed when he found out I didn’t have a brush. But where there’s a will there’s a way, and as a true Marine he decided to use a piece of tofu to spread the sauce on everything. It worked. But next year, we’re getting a brush.

Putting this together was enough work for me, so I didn’t make rice. Instead, we popped open a can of chickpeas and put it over the coals. Why don’t I have a spoon? I have no idea… The cleaning crew stayed ready and waiting until it was their turn… They work quick and leave nothing behind!

Moon Gazing & Mochi

Off to the highway we went, with our bag of mochi and the rest of the tea. I think this was one of the better Mid-Autumn bbqs I’ve had in awhile (even though it’s been the only one for me in the past eight years).