ZONG ZI (RICE DUMPLING)

The dumpling festival ( Duan wu Jie ) fall on 2nd june 2014 is celebrated by chinese worldwide.
Zong zi or rice dumpling is made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo leaves.I still prefer the traditional zong zi.All prices for the ingredients  are very expensive.
When I was at the grocery shop at the counter paying,at the corner that is a bag of dried chestnut i was looking  at,the lady boss offered to sell me the broken pieces of chestnut 400 g for $18.00.I immediately took it.  The whole dried chestnut  cost a kilo $55.00 to $60.00.

ZONG ZI (RICE DUMPLING)

Ingredients; for rice
1 1/2 glutinous rice
fish sauce 4 tbsp
1/2 bowl finely sliced shallot
2 tbsp black soy sauce.
salt 3 tsp
msg 2 tsp
White peper powder 3 tsp full
five spice powder 3tsp level
some hem string (soaked in water until you want to use)

Method;
soak rice overnite,the next day ,drain off the water and wash many time till the water is clear.
Drain the rice on colandar and let the water drip dry.In a wok add 3/4 bowl of oil to fry the shallot till golden brown,add in the rice,black soy sauce,fish sauce,msg ,five spice powder,white pepper powder
and stir well all well mixed and fry a bit longer ,so that the rice absord the flavour.

Ingredients;For filling Make a day ahead and put into fridge
I kg pork belly,skin off the skin,cut into 1 inch chunk and blanch in hot boiling water,drain.
In a hot wok,add 2 tbsp of cooking oil,put in 5 garlic peel and smashed ,add in the pork belly , 1 tbsp black soy sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce,1 tbsp light soy asuce,1 tbsp sugar,stir fry well mixed and cook till the gravy is dry.( taste for saltiness and the sweet to your preference).Dish out and put aside
(cut the pork belly into 30pieces)

Mushroom;30 pcs of dried mushroom soaked in water till soften and cut off the stem.A pieces of mushroom i cut into 3 or 4 strips.(your prefer,can use whole or cut into two or either buy the smaller pcs).In a wok,heat 1 tbsp of oil,add in the mushroom,1/2tbsp black soy sauce,1 tps msg,1tbsp fish sauce and add enough water to simmer till the gravy is dry.dish out and put aside.

Dried chestnut;30 whole dried chestnut ( I use the broken piece400g).Soak in water for half a day,use a sharp object or a pin to dig out the bit of red colour skin.Then put in a pot of water to cook till cooked.( I took an hour)when you see the water is about to dry add a few tbsp of sugar,mix well and cook till dry,don't burn.Dish out.In a wok,add a tbsp of oil,put in the cooked chestnut to stir fry and dish on to a plate set aside.

Dried shrimp: 300g dried shrimp soaked in water till soft ,drain.In a wok,heat 2tbp of oil,put in the dried shrimp to fry until fragrant.dish on to a plate,put aside.

Bamboo leaves; 250g dried bamboo leaves,trim off the sharp end with scissors.Large pot filled with water,add 1 tsp sodium benzoate stir to mix well,put in the bamboo leaves bring to a boil and for 15 minutes,off the heat.drain off the water.use a large basin filled with water a clean towel  to clean every leaves.Throw away the water and wash another time,then use a dry towel to wipe the bamboo leaves and put into a large plate or colandar.(use sodium benzoate to cook the bamboo leaves ,so that the rice won't stick to the leaves).

Method for wrapping;

1.take two leaves overlap, shape into a cone and place a tbsp of rice inside,1 tsp dried shrimp,a pcs of pork belly ,one cook chestnut,mushroom.
2.cover with 2 heaped tbsp of rice,press to compress and wrap up into a triangular shape.secure with hemp string.
3.once all the dumplings are wrapped place into a boiling stockpot with sufficient water  to cover dumplings.cook for 2 hours adding more hot water should water level goes down.