I have never imagined making zong zi or bak chang in Hokkien dialect, on my own. I mean this was something I took for granted. My mum would make them or we can buy them. Regardless, we always had some to eat. They are also available at most Asian grocery stores in UK too, however, I always miss the one I had at home. Zong zi is traditionally eaten at the Dragon Boat Festival on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month (confused yet? don't worry about the day and the month, just focus on the food)
What is Dragon Boat Festival?
The Dragon Boat Festival is the commemoration of the death of the great poet and official of the state of Chu, Qu Yuan, during the Zhou dynasty. He wrote a great deal of poetry during his life and serve in high offices. He was accused of treason during the warring states period. He felt despair and Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo river in northern Hunan. People who admired Qu Yuan made rice parcels and threw them into the river in the hope that the fish would not consume Qu Yuan's body and ate the rice parcels instead.
My Grandmother's Story of Dragon Boat Festival
The version I have heard, told by my late grandmother was that zong zi is made and used as one of the offerings for deceased people. Zong zi made with glutinous rice is sticky in nature, so it will stick when eaten using hands. Some Chinese believe that the deceased person isn't aware that he has passed away and hence, when he eats the glutinous rice cones on 7th day of his passing, his hand are sticky and when he washes hands, he will see his fingernails that turned black (rotten). He will then know that he has deceased. So, the zong zi is used to help them realize that they have passed away and rest in peace. Interesting story!!
Despite all the stories out there, no one really know for sure. I just know that zong zi is eaten all over the world, especially in Asia. Of course, as the Chinese immigrated to other countries, this culture is carried along and now is eaten in other parts of Asia and has been adapted to local taste too.
Ingredients:
For the filling:
- 500g pork belly, chopped into 2cm chunks
- 1kg glutinous rice
- 20 chestnuts (I used ready to eat from supermarket)
- 80g dried prawns (heh bee)
- 40 pieces tiny or 50g dried Chinese mushrooms; if using large mushrooms cut into half
- 1 Chinese sausage (lap cheong)
- 6 salted duck eggs (only use the yolks
- 20 shallots
For pork belly marinade:
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 tbsp five spice powder
- 1 tsp white pepper
For the rice marinade (adjust according to your taste):
- 5 tbsp oyster sauce
- 5 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp white pepper
For wrapping:
- at least 60 bamboo leaves (2 per bak chang with some spare in case of tear or holes)
- cooking string/hemp leaves
Method:
The night before:
Soak the bamboo leaves in a large pot of cold water. Try to submerge as much of the leaves in the water as you possibly can.
Soak the glutinous rice in cold water.
Mix all the ingredients for the pork marinade together. Pour it over the pork belly pieces, and leave to marinade overnight in the fridge.
Preparing the ingredients:
Cook the duck eggs in a pot of boiling water, for 10 minutes. Leave to cool slightly, peel, separating the yolk from the whites. We will only using the yolks, so store the white in the fridge for another use-I use them for steamed egg, and as condiment for porridge. Cut the yolk into quarters.
Soak dried shrimps in a bowl, using hot water.
Soak the Chinese mushrooms in a bowl, using hot water. If your mushrooms are very large you may want to slice them in half.
Slice the Chinese sausage into 1cm slices.
Peel and finely sliced the shallots. You may also use a food processor to dice the shallots.
Cooking the ingredients:
Heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in a large pan or wok. Using high heat, fry the Chinese sausage until they are slightly brown and become fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from pan, and place in a bowl.
In the same pan, fry the dried shrimps until they are fragrant, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from pan, and place in a bowl.
In the same pan, fry the pork belly chunks until they turn lightly browned. We are not aiming to fully cook the pork belly here-the aim is to sear it briefly. Remove from pan, and place in a bowl.
Add 1 tbsp cooking oil to the same pan. Fry the shallots until they become fragrant. Add the glutinous rice, and stir for 1 minute. Add all the ingredients for the rice marinade, and any leftover pork marinade you have. Taste, and add extra oyster sauce/dark soy sauce etc as necessary. Switch off the flame, and leave rice in the pan. You can always transfer the rice to a bowl, but why wash an extra bowl?
Wrapping the bak chang:
Drain the water from the bamboo leaves. Pat the leaves dry with a cloth- it doesn't matter if they are still slightly wet.
Select 2 leaves, and place them in opposite directions (ie, the tail end of one lining up with the top end of the other) Do not use any leaves which already have holes in them, as they will cause water to seep into the bak chang during the cooking process.
Form leaves in cone. You can find how to do that in YouTube too.
Fill the cone about 1/3 of the way with the glutinous rice.
Then, place each of the following on top of the rice: one chunk of pork belly, one chestnut, one/two Chinese mushrooms, 2 slices of Chinese sausage, ½ tsp dried shrimps, and a piece of duck egg yolk.
Top with more glutinous rice, till you reach the brim of the cone.
Fold the leaves around the pouch, and secure with cooking string/hemp leaves.
Repeat with remaining leaves and ingredients, until everything is used up.
Cooking the bak chang:
Boil water in a large pot. When the water comes to a boil, gently lower the bak chang's into the water. make sure the entire bak chang is submerged in water. Cover the pot with a lid, and cook over medium heat for 2-3 hours. You may find that you need 2 pots if yours isn't large enough.
To test if they are cooked through, you will have to unwrap one and check. And taste.
Once the bak changs are cooked, remove from the pan and place in a colander. I use colander as it allows any extra water to drain away. Alternatively you can hang them up, but I didn't want water to drip all over my stove!.
Once they have cooled slightly, unwrap and eat! I strongly recommend pairing it with Maggi's garlic chilli sauce.
Note: Uneaten bak changs can be stored in the fridge for 3-5 days, and in the freezer for 2 months.
No comments:
Post a Comment