Festivals: Happy Dumplings Festival

Zongzi (or zong) is a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling. They are known in Japanese as chimaki. Laotians, Thais, Cambodians, and Vietnamese (bánh tro) also have similar traditional dishes influenced by zongzi. They have also been known as "Chinese tamales" to the Western world.

Zongzi (also known as rice dumpling) is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival (Mandarin: Duanwu; Cantonese: Tuen Ng) which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar (approximately early to mid-June), commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period. Known for his patriotism, Qu Yuan tried unsuccessfully to warn his king and countrymen against the expansionism of their Qin neighbors. When the Qin Dynasty general Bai Qi took Yingdu, the Chu capital, in 278 BC, Qu Yuan's grief was so intense that he drowned himself in the Miluo river after penning the Lament for Ying. According to legend, packets of rice were thrown into the river to prevent fish from eating the poet's body. Another version states that zongzi were given to placate a dragon that lived in the river.

The shape of zongzi range from relatively tetrahedral to cylindrical. Wrapping a zongzi neatly is a skill which is passed down through families, as are the recipes. Like tamale-making in Mexico and Pamonha-making in Brazil, making zongzi was traditionally a family event with everyone helping out, but that is less common now.
While traditional Chinese zongzi are wrapped in bamboo leaves, the leaves of lotus, maize, banana, canna, shell ginger or pandan leaves are sometimes used as substitutes in other cultures. Each kind of leaf imparts its own unique smell and flavor to the rice.
The fillings used for zongzi vary from region to region, but the rice used is always glutinous rice (also called sticky or sweet rice). Depending on the region, the rice may be lightly precooked by stir-frying or soaked before using.

Fillings
Skinless mung beans
Red bean paste
Jujubes
Char siu (Chinese barbecue pork)
Chinese sausage
Chinese black mushrooms
Salted duck eggs
Chestnuts
Cooked peanuts
Green beans
Dried shrimp
Scallops
Red-cooked pork
Curry
Chicken

Red bean paste zongzi take a particularly long time to prepare. The red beans used for the filling must be simmered until soft, drained, skinned, and mashed into a paste that is stir-fried with sugar.
Zongzi need to be steamed or boiled for several hours depending on how the rice is made prior to adding the fillings. Once cooked, the zongzi can easily be frozen for later consumption. Frozen zongzi are available for sale in many Chinese markets.

Jia zong (假粽): Instead of glutinous rice, mochi-like balls of glutinous rice flour (so no individual grains of rice are discernible) are used to "contain" the filling of the zong. These zong are typically smaller than most zongzi and much stickier.

Jianshui zong (碱水粽): Meaning "alkaline water zong", these are typically eaten as a dessert rather than as a main meal. The glutinous rice is treated with lye water (aqueous calcium hydroxide), giving them their distinctive yellow color. Jianshui zong typically contain either no filling or are filled with a sweet mixture (e.g. sweet bean paste). They are often eaten with sugar or light syrup.

Nonya zong (娘惹粽): A specialty of Peranakan cuisine. These zong are made in similar style with similar fillings as Southern zong. However the wrapping used is pandan leaves.

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Message: I would like to wish all of you Happy Dumpling's Day. Enjoy your Chinese Glutinous Rice Dumplings. :)