words romana dalgleish, yasmine simillion, wing cheng
photos sabrina piccione

When dragon boats are dragged to the sea, thoughts turn to
zong zi
As the Dragon Boat Festival approaches each year, bamboo leaves, glutinous rice and green beans become best sellers in supermarkets – it’s time again to make the rice packets known as zong zi. The little delicacies are an integral part of the festival, and though they are available at restaurants, shops and street stalls, it is part of the fun for many families to make their own.

Zong zi or zong come in a variety of different flavours and shapes. They made such a mark on tourists to China that other Asian countries have exported the idea and now design their own variations. The Japanese may call them chimaki and the Vietnamese bahn tro but they all originated from the one and only Chinese zong zi.

Each region in China has its own way of making the rice dumplings with its local ingredients. The typical Hong Kong zong zi is pyramid-shaped and filled with red beans, chestnuts, chicken, scallops, egg yolk, green beans and, of course, glutinous rice. More rare in Hong Kong are the Shanghai zong zi often made with sweet ingredients.

Wrapping the zong zi well takes a lot of practice and patience to master. The secret is gripping with just the right amount of pressure as the dumpling is folded. If held too tightly, the rice inside will squash, while a loose grip will cause the dumpling to fall apart. In China zong zi are usually wrapped in bamboo leaves but lotus, corn or banana leaves can also be used, each leaf giving its own special flavour to the filling. The dumpling is usually cooked for two to five hours depending which kind it is, before it will be ready to serve. It is difficult to know exactly when the zong zi are cooked – only with practice and lots of trial and error will you be able to finally tell. But once perfected, the zong zi can be kept in the freezer and when needed, reheated for approximately 20 minutes for a delightful breakfast, lunch or dinner.

If you don’t have the time to cook them yourself, tracking them down can be harder than you would think. Old San Yang (27/B Lee Garden Road G/F, Causeway Bay, 2890 2534) is the place to go to for Shanghai-style dumplings. Coming from Shanghai to Hong Kong 50 years ago, the owner of the shop wanted to introduce Shanghai style dumplings to Hong Kong in the ’80s. Now old San Yang offers 20 kinds of the dumplings including salty, sweet and even the ill-considered tasteless dumplings. Each kind comes with its different coloured string and number of knots so it can be differentiated from the others. The shop’s classics are the egg-yolk rice dumpling ($22) and alkaline lotus seed paste dumpling ($16) if you have a sweet tooth. Unique to the Old San Yang dumpling is that some contain red beans instead of white rice but all are made fresh every day in the shop’s Kowloon factory.

If you happen to be on Lamma Island than the small stand at 69A Yung Shue Wan main street should not become just another street vendor to walk past. Here you can catch a glimpse of the cook at work folding the dumplings while the rest of the family members pass their time with a mahjong game. The vendor sells a simple style of zong zi with pork and pickled duck egg ($12). If requested she will happily add dried scallops or mushroom to her recipe.

Taiwanese import Din Tai Fong (3/F, Silvercord, 20 Canton Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, 2730 6928) also makes zong zi. They were kind enough to give us a lesson on how to make all sorts of zong zi and even shared their recipe for sweet zong zi (see below). They make zong zi for two weeks each year just around Duan Wu. Choose from sweet zong zi filled with red bean paste ($28) or salty zong zi ($32) filled with marinated pork and seasoned rice.

Looking for a nice dragon boat gift for a loved one? Then Congee King (G/F, 7 Heard Street, Wan Chai) is the right place for you. This year they have prepared a special zong zi set which includes a big zong zi only available during the Dragon Boat Festival, two all-year-round salt meat rice dumplings and some special Chinese ingredients. This set comes in a beautifully designed recycled bag that you can use for shopping. Coupons are also available for this set.

For zong zi made with the ‘eight treasures’ and special beans, visit Pat Chun (75 Wellington Street, Central). Here 17 different zong zi are available to take home.

Zong-zi Trivia
People in some parts of China still throw zong zi into the river during the dragon boat races.

An old superstition says that zong zi will not cook properly if a pregnant woman enters the kitchen while they are being steamed.

In 2005, the earliest zong zi ever found in China was discovered in a 700-year-old tomb in Dean County, Jiangxi Province.

Recipe for a sweet zong zi
as shared by Din Tai Fong Restaurant
Ingredients (makes one)
3gms of lard sugar
60gms of red bean paste
85gms of glutinous sticky rice
Two bamboo leaves
Approx one metre of string

Directions:
1. You will need to cook the sticky rice at least an hour in advance. Soak it for at least an hour in enough water to cover it.

2. Put water in the bottom of your steamer and cover the steam section with a cloth.

3. Pour the sticky rice onto the cloth and then cover it with the lid. Put it on the stove on medium to high heat for around 20 minutes.

4. The rice will look translucent when it is ready.

5. It is important that the rice is still hot when you put the zong zi together as otherwise it will not hold together.

6. Take half of the rice and flatten it with the palm of your hand.

7. Stick the lard sugar to the red bean paste.

8. Place the paste mixture on top of the rice.

9. After flattening the second half of the rice place it on top of the red bean paste.

10. Cup the zong zi with your hands forcing it to compact.

11. Wrap it up tightly and then tie the string around it.

12. Boil the zong zi in simmering water for two hours and then unwrap for cultural and tasty goodness!

The greatest challenge in the making of zong zi is wrapping them. Probably the easiest way is to take two leaves and overlap them. Cup your hand about one third of the way into the length of the leaves and mould the leaves into shape. Add the ingredients as specified above and compress lightly. Wrap the leaves around the dumpling into a pyramid shape focusing on making straight edges and sharp corners. Do not panic if your attempt doesn’t look quite like the pictures, it takes a significant amount of practice!