Taiwanese Style Zong Zi (Ba Zhang)

What does a dumpling have to do with Dragon Boat Festival? Everything!

Growing up in Canada, I didn’t pay too much attention to the festivals and celebrations that my parents took note of in their red and gold calendars. 

What I did know, was that every year, around May, my mum would start preparing her delicious Zong Zi. Zong Zi are pyramid shaped rice dumplings, wrapped in bamboo leaves. Depending on where the Zong Zi come from, they are filled with a variety of different ingredients. From pork belly, dried prawns and peanuts, to sweet red beans. 

My mum’s Zong Zi, or Ba Zhang, in the Taiwanese dialect, were plump. Instead of having thin strips of pork like you’d see in most restaurants, hers are CHONKY pieces of pork belly, hefty dried prawns (sometimes, even giant medallians of scallops) and shiitake mushrooms. My mum was well known for her Taiwanese cooking in the Vancouver community for many dishes, but I reckon this is one she is most well known for. 

I didn’t realise that these rice dumplings were eaten during Dragon Boat Festival in June. Perhaps it was because I was too busy racing in Dragon Boat regattas in high school…maybe not. Most likely, it was the same reason why I didn’t know much about Taiwanese food until I was an adult. I spent my childhood and teenage years trying as hard to be a cool Canadian, I never asked my mum about the hundreds of Zong Zi she would make, even though me and my siblings absolutely loved them. I never asked my mum to show me how to make them. They looked tedious to make and why mess with her system!?

So, for me, 端午節 (Duan Wu Jie), or Dragon Boat Festival, was marked by the smell of bamboo leaves in the kitchen, string dangling from the kitchen cupboard handles and of course, eating these beautiful sticky rice dumplings.

But as an adult, I grieve for that lost time. The time I could have spent watching her carefully marinade each grain of glutinous rice. Ask her why she needed to soak each ingredient overnight. Learn how to wrap the bamboo around the mixture or the significance of this beautiful dumpling for this time of year. 

Luckily, my mums still around and I came to my senses in time to learn this wonderful recipe from her. 3 Zoom sessions during covid, I managed to learn how to make 10 dumplings in an hour. 

TOO SLOW. 

Her speed, a dumpling a minute, baby!

I’m still not quite that fast, but I’ve definitely picked it up and now I make it each year for my friends and family here in Melbourne.

Last year, I started running masterclasses around Melbourne, showing people how to make this dish. And my favourite part is chatting to people about who in their family used to make the Zong Zi. An aunt, a mum, a grandmother. Some are too old to make it anymore and some are not longer around. So many people tell me they wish they learned when they still could, and were grateful to be in class with me. 

Nothing brings me more joy than to be able to share these lost skills. And it’s just a wonderful reminder to go and ask your nonna, your uncle, your mum for that recipe you love and get them to make it with you. Write down their ridiculous recipes that have no measurements and laugh in frustration. 

Trust me. 

It’s worth it.

Here is my interpretation of my mum’s recipe!

Yield: 12

Author: Cristina Chang

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Taiwanese Style Zong Zi (Ba Zhang)

Celebrate Dragon Boat Festival with these beautiful pyramid shaped, sticky rice parcels. Stuffed with umami packed ingredients such as braised pork and shiitake mushrooms and carefully wrapped in bamboo leaves. They are sure to impress your family!

Prep time: 1 H & 30 MCook time: 2 HourInactive time: 12 HourTotal time: 15 H & 30 M

Ingredients

• 20-30 bamboo leaves, soaked overnight
• 3 and 3/4 cup glutinous rice, soaked overnight
• 12 pieces of marinated Pork Belly
• 12 pieces of marinated pork shoulder
• 3 marinated eggs or 12 duck egg yolks
• 12 rehydrated small shiitake mushrooms
• 36 rehydrated small prawns
• 1/2 cup peanuts, soaked and boiled
• 3/4 cup fried shallots
• 1 Tbsp neutral oil (sunflower)
• 1/4 tsp chinese five spice
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• optional: 1/2 tsp msg
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 cup stock or water

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large pan or wok on medium high heat. Add in the soaked glutinous rice and toast slightly. Add in the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, salt and chinese five spice. Mix until all of the rice has been covered with seasoning and turn off the heat. Stir through about 1/4 cup of stock or water. The rice will not be cooked at this point.
2. Place the two types of pork, egg (quartered), peanuts, shiitakes, prawns and fried shallots in separate bowls to organise your bench and make it easier for assembly.
3. Tie the twine around the handle that you will hang the Zong Zi on. For 12 Zong Zi, make 12 loops around the handle, you will need 3 loops the length of your forearm.
4. Tie up the top of the loop (the end that is hanging on the handle) with remaining twine. Cut the bottom of the loop so that you get 10 loose ends hanging from the handle.
5. Take 2-3 soaked bamboo leaves and stack them on top of each other and spread them like a hand of cards.
6. Fold the bottom corner to the center right of the leaf.
7. Create a 'funnel', by digging your left thumb an inch from the left and turning the edge of the folded corner with your right hand up towards the top of the leaf.
8. The thumb placement will mean that there is not hole at the bottom of the funnel, and no rice will fall out!
9. Take a large spoon and spoon in the rice into the 'funnel'. Lightly tap it down.
10. Add in one of each cuts of pork, quarter of an egg (or full duck yolk), 3 prawns, 1 spoonful of peanuts, 1 shiitake and a small scoop of fried shallots. Press all of the filling down until slightly compact.
11. Scoop in another 2-3 scoops of rice until all of the filling is covered.
12. Hold the zong zi in your left hand, and fold the top of the leaves over the 'funnel'. Pinch down with your right thumb and middle finger, and swap over to your right hand.
13. Fold the remaining edges of the bamboo leaf over.
14. Bring it over to your twine. Wrap the twine around the zong zi once, tighten it well, and tie a knot to connect the Zong Zi to the hanging twine.
15. Repeat until you have 12 zong zi hanging on the twine. (you may end up with a few more if you are a beginner and need to add in a little less filling! Yay, for more zong zi!)
16. Steam the bunch of zong zi on a medium heat for 45 minutes. Make sure to fill the water up if necessary. Or you can boil for 2 hours on medium heat, making sure to keep the zong zi covered in water.
17. Unwrap your beautiful zong zi and garnish with siracha, oyster sauce, chopped peanuts and fresh coriander.

Notes

For the marinated ingredients:

Place 1 inch pieces of pork belly and shoulder in a large pot with 1/4 cup of soy sauce, 2 Tablespoons of dark soy, 1 Tablespoon of sugar, 1 star anise, 1 cinnamon bark and bring to a boil. Strain away the film and simmer for 30 minutes. Add in the boiled eggs and let sit for at least 30 minutes.