Celebrating Duanwu Festival 慶端午

Duanwu Festival is one of the major holidays in Chinese culture. It has a very patriotic story behind it. Qu Yuan (屈原) was a poet and statesman of the Chu kingdom during the Warring States period (around 300 BC) in ancient China. He served in high offices, but he was wrongfully accused of treason and banished. The country was destroyed by another powerful enemy twenty-eight years later. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the river on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.

It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw lumps of rice into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi (粽子). The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat (龍舟) racing.

The memorial weekend is a great time to make zongzi, since the Duanwu Festival is coming up (Monday, June 6, 2011). Thoughtful Carol has great instructions and pictures on her blog, so I just want to share the final product with you here. I made three kinds: pork, vegetarian, and sweet zongzi. They taste just like the ones I had in Taiwan. I almost cried when I was eating it! This is the taste of home!! It is so delicious. Really worth the effort!

Ingredients (savory taste -- pork) (makes about 13-14) 傳統肉粽:

pork zongzi

• 1 lb. pork butt meat (with marble), cut in 2" x 1" pieces
• 4 large dried Shiitake mushrooms, cut in quarters
• 7 salty egg yolks, halved

• 3 cups of glutinous rice, rinsed
• 2 1/4 cups of water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce (for coloring)
• 3 Tbsp of dried shrimp
• 3 Tbsp of fried shallots
• Note: The "cup" size here is the measuring cup. 1 cup = 240 mL

1. Soak the dried mushrooms and shrimps in warm water to soften. 

2. Put the mushrooms and pork in a pot. Add water to cover. Add a commercial five-spice pack, 1/2 cup soy sauce and 1 Tbsp rock sugar. Stew for 40 min. Let cool in pot.

3. Wash the bamboo leafs and dry them with paper towel. Remove the stem. Set aside.

4. In a pan, heat up 5 Tbsp. of sesame oil. Add the fried shallots and dried shrimp. Stir until you can smell the flavor.

5. Add the glutinous rice, soy sauce and water. Mix well and turn off heat.

6. Cook the rice in a rice cooker. When it's done, take it out and let cool a little bit.

7. About wrapping the zongzi, search for videos on Youtube or go to Carol's blog.

a tetrahedron

    a. Take two pieces of bamboo leafs and form an ice cream cone shape.

    b. Add some cooked rice. Press hard to form the pointy corner.

    c. Add 1/4 mushroom, a piece of pork, and 1/2 salty egg yolk.

    d. Add more rice on top. Press hard.

    e. Fold the bamboo leafs over. Fold the sides too, and fold the remaining of the leafs along the shape of the zongzi. It's a tetrahedron, a 3D triangle (四面體). 

    f. Tighten the zongzi with the cooking twine.

Ingredients (savory taste -- vegetarian) (makes about 13-14) 板栗花生素粽:

vegetarian zongzi

• 14 chestnuts
• 4 large dried Shiitake mushrooms, cut in quarters
• 14 glutin (麵筋) or tofu pieces
• 1 cup of peanuts (raw)

• 3 cups of glutinous rice, rinsed
• 2 1/4 cups of water
• 1/3 cup soy sauce (for coloring)
• 3 Tbsp of fried shallots

1. Soak the dried mushrooms in warm water to soften. 

2. Put the mushrooms, raw peanuts and glutin in a pot. Add water to cover. Add a commercial five-spice pack, 1/2 cup soy sauce and 1 Tbsp rock sugar. Stew for 40 min. Let cool in pot.

3. Wash the bamboo leafs and dry them with paper towel. Remove the stem. Set aside.

4. In a pan, heat up 5 Tbsp. of sesame oil. Add the fried shallots and peanuts.

5. Add the glutinous rice, soy sauce and water. Mix well and turn off heat.

6. Cook the rice in a rice cooker. When it's done, take it out and let cool a little bit.

7. Follow the instructions above to wrap them.


Sweet and Spicy Sauce (甜辣醬):
There is a traditional sauce in Taiwan for zongzi, but I can't find it here. However, if you mix tabasco sauce (1 tsp) and ketchup (1 Tbsp), it tastes the same.

Ingredients (sweet taste -- red bean paste) (makes about 10) 紫米豆沙養生粽:

• 750 g red bean paste, 75 g each
• 20 lotus seeds 蓮子
• 10 red dates 紅棗
• 1 cup of wolfberries 枸杞

• 250 g of purple glutinous rice
• 200 g of glutinous rice, rinsed
• 1 1/3 cups of water
• 10 g olive oil
• 25 g sugar

1. Soak the purple glutinous rice in 3 cups of water for 3 hours.

2. Remove the water but save the water. Mix with the regular glutinous rice (rinsed, don't need to be soaked). Add back 1 1/3 cups of water from soaking the purple rice. Add the 10 g olive oil. Cook in a rice cooker.

3. Once it's done, take it out and let cool a little.

4. Wash the bamboo leafs and dry them with paper towel. Remove the stem. Set aside.

5. Wrapping the zongzi:

    a. Take two pieces of bamboo leafs and form an ice cream cone shape.

    b. Add some cooked rice. Press hard to form the pointy corner.

    c. Add 1/2 of the red bean paste. Stuff 1-2 lotus seeds, 1 red date and 1 tsp of wolfberries. Cover with another half of the red bean paste.

    d. Add more rice on top. Press hard.

    e. Fold the bamboo leafs over. Fold the sides too, and fold the remaining of the leafs along the shape of the zongzi. It's a tetrahedron, a 3D triangle (四面體). 

    f. Tighten the zongzi with the cooking twine.