265. Dumpling Festival

*Adapted Picture

He is Mr Qu Yuan, the famous poet, also a victim of the court politics who committed suicide at the Milo River. His legacy is commemorated through the consumption of dumplings (aka Bak Zhang) on the day he committed suicide - 5th of the 5th lunar month.

You ask: " Why bak zhang and Qu Yuan?".

The Folklore: It was said that the civilians loved the patriotic poet so much that they feared the fishes would eat the body of Qu Yuan. So they wrapped rice (bak zhang) and threw them into the Milo River as a food offering to Qu Yuan and also to keep the fishes away from Qu Yuan's body.

Ingredients for making of Bak Chang:

1. Uncooked rice which was mixed with dark soy sauce.

2. Pork cut into cubes and seasoned with spices.
3. Dried Oysters.

4. Mushrooms sauteed with garlic.

5. Reed leaves aka dried bamboo leaves.

6. Plant-based strings for tying the dumplings.

7. Wrap them up!

8. Tie the dumplings, not too tight (it will damage the shape), not too loose (fillings will spill in the process of cooking).

8. Ready-to-cook

And so we did it the traditional way. Cooked using charcoal.

Ready-to-serve.

Other varieties of rice dumplings we made....碱水粽 (lye-treated rice dumpling). Lye caused the yellowish colour like what it caused the noodles. Some would wrap red bean paste in the lye-treated rice dumplings. My grandma's pretty unusual, she had the red beans added to the lye-treated glutinous rice (seen on the right). The plain lye-treated rice dumplings are usually eaten with fine sugar or even crushed peanut powder.

Do you know?

Rice dumplings have to be made pointy at the 3 ends, else one is deemed to have failed.

Have you had yours ?

Remember to slurp a cup of Chinese tea to reduce the greasiness and ease indigestion from over-consumption.

Happy Duan Wu (Rice Dumpling) Festival!