With the Mid-Autumn Festival long weekend upon us this week, there are an eye-popping array of moon cake gift boxes on sale. However, in Pingtung County’s Wutai Township there is a special variety of “moon cake,” only available for a lucky few gastronomes.
Using locally produced taro and honey, members of a Rukai Aboriginal community in the township, in partnership with township representative Ko Hsin-hsiung, have created a new variety of festive cake, which they have christened “golden taro queen bee cakes.” The pastries have caused a sensation within the community, but at present, they are not available for sale to outsiders.
The cakes are filled with locally grown taro with “forest honey,” while the outer pastry is sprinkled with pollen gathered by honeybees and glazed with egg yolk. They are fragrant and sweet but not cloying. A number of foodies have tried to get their hands on some, to no avail.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者邱芷柔
Ko explains the reason why the cakes have already sold out is partly because they insisted on using locally produced honey, pollen and taro, which are only available in limited quantities, but also because they didn’t want to make too many of a new product. Ko says he plans to introduce a preorder system next year, which will enable sales outside of the township.
Ko says the community has been actively promoting a “forest economy” and under the guidance of Chen Mei-hui, a professor at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology’s Department of Forestry, they have established more than 100 beehives within Wutai Township. Tended by members of the community, the bees feed off pollen from plants and trees within the forest, producing a unique variety of “forest honey,” which is key to the cake’s delicious flavor, Ko says.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Typhoon Morakot. When the typhoon struck, Ko and three young members of the community banded together to rescue people trapped on the mountain and escorted 135 people down the mountain to safety. After the event, Ko was given the title “hero of Chiamu,” the name of the Aboriginal community. After the disaster, Ko continued to provide assistance, establishing a production and marketing group to facilitate sales of the community’s products, and founding the “Rukai People Special Products College” within Chiamu Elementary School.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者邱芷柔
Ko says at present there are about 20 Rukai People studying at the college and credits them with the creation of the “golden taro queen bee cakes.” Students at the college have also used other locally produced ingredients such as Formosan lambs-quarters, millet, chili peppers, taro, sweet potato, pumpkin and dragon fruit to create a range of products including biscuits, noodles and chili sauce. Ko says they plan to start selling their products online and at the designated community store, to give more people an opportunity to savor their delicious produce.
(Translated by Edward Jones, Taipei Times)
本週就是中秋連假，各式各樣的月餅禮盒讓人目不暇給，屏東霧台鄉有一款「隱藏版」月餅，由鄉民代表柯信雄帶著魯凱部落原住民以部落生產的芋頭、蜂蜜製成，「黃金芋頭女王蜂酥」首推出就在部落掀起話題，但這款隱藏版美食是部落限定，目前尚未對外販售。
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Liberty Times
照片：自由時報記者邱芷柔
「黃金芋頭女王蜂酥」把部落族人種的芋頭結合「森林蜜」做成內餡，外皮上面灑了蜜蜂採集的花粉，表面再塗上蛋黃液，吃起來香甜不膩口，不少消費者想要訂購卻不得其門。
柯信雄表示，他們堅持使用在地生產的蜂蜜、花粉、芋頭製作，因原料產量有限加上是新研發產品，因此不敢大量製作，僅少量在部落販售，目前已全數售完，預計明年會透過預約訂購方式對外銷售。
柯信雄也說，近年部落積極推動「林下經濟」，在屏東科技大學森林系教授陳美惠指導下，霧台鄉目前設有一百個蜂箱，族人在森林環境下養蜂，其蜜源植物來自森林構成的樹種，造就獨特的「森林蜜」，也是「黃金芋頭女王蜂酥」的美味關鍵。
今年適逢八八風災十週年，柯信雄在八八風災時和其他三名部落青年合力將困在山上的一百三十五名族人安全救下山，「佳暮英雄」因此聲名大噪。災後柯信雄繼續協助族人組成產銷班，並在佳暮國小成立「魯凱族特用作物學院」，帶著族人將部落作物加工，活絡部落產業。
柯信雄說，目前學院裡約有二十名族人，「黃金芋頭女王蜂酥」就是他們的作品，此外還有利用紅藜、小米、辣椒、芋頭、地瓜、南瓜火龍果等在地農作製成的餅乾、麵條、辣椒醬等，未來會持續透過網路與禮納里展售據點，和消費者分享部落的美味。
(自由時報記者邱芷柔)
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