Easy Homemade Zong Zi sticky glutinous rice dumpling FAMILY RECIPE! - Happy Dumpling Festival Everyone!
25 JUNE, 2020
Its the 25th of June, and that means dragon boats, story telling, family dinners and of course DUMPLINGS!
So, my family has the tradition that we all come together to wrap dumplings together but I was never really taught how to make it last time.
This year, I begged and begged them to let me try it out and let me share the recipe with all of you
and it finally worked!
Family gatherings are often centered around shared meals and the cherished recipes passed down through generations. These meals, infused with love, tradition, and the warmth of togetherness, offer a taste of history and connection. Recipes, like family heirlooms, bring unity, drawing everyone closer over each carefully prepared dish. From appetizers to desserts, every ingredient tells a story, woven into the fabric of home, belonging, and legacy. Whether it’s a grandmother's secret sauce or a simple dish loved by all, these moments create memories and reinforce the bonds that make family so special.
So the recipe calls forth a few ingredients: (serving size 5)
1. Pre fried shallots (3-4 whole shallots skinned and cut into small pieces)
pour some oil into a skillet and fry the sliced raw shallots until golden brown. It should look like this:
2. Salted egg yolks (5 egg yolks)
just wash the salted duck eggs and remove the yolk. It does not need to be cooked
3. Oysters (5 oysters)
put frozen oysters to soak overnight then wash thoroughly. This does not require cooking as well
4. Braised mushrooms (5 whole mushrooms)
wash and slice mushrooms in half, cover the pan with a bit of olive oil and garlic, stir fry the mushrooms, then add 1/2 cup of water, pinch of salt, both light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce. Cover the pan and let it braise for about 15 - 20 mins/ until it can be poked with a chopstick.
5. Half fried glutinous rice (1 cup)
soak the glutinous rice and drain the water. Heat the wok and some oil. Fry some minced garlic and small shrimps. Pour in the rice and stir fry until rice is slightly sticky.
6. Half boiled green mung beans mixed with navy beans (MY FAV about 1/2 cup of each type of bean)
soak the beans for 30 mins - 1 hour, then drain the water and boil it in a fresh bowl of water for 30 mins. Add salt and seasonings to taste. Drain the water and scoop the beans into a bowl:
7. Bamboo leaves and grass shoots (10 - 15 leaves and 10 grass shoots)
wash the both sides of the bamboo leaves and the grass shoots in water to remove the bacteria.
AND YOU'VE ASSEMBLED YOUR INGREDIENTS! Let's start wrapping the dumplings!
For clearer steps on how to wrap the dumplings, watch my video below:
Click on the image above to watch it now!
Wrapping Dumpling Procedure
Prepare your grass shoots. Tie a knot like this:
Hang it on a hook. In my case I used a long ruler tied to a ladder but you can be creative with what you have at home.
Hold TWO leaves lined together (the top part where the leaves backbone cannot be seen and is smoother) like this:
Fold a cone (detailed demonstration by my uncle in youtube video above)
Add the ingredients in this order:
1. Glutinous rice
2. Mung beans + Navy Beans
3. Egg Yolk
4. Oyster
5. Shallots
6. Mung beans + Navy beans (again)
7. Top it off with more Glutinous rice
This is a picture of my FIRST ATTEMPT and I am so proud of it^^
Flatten the ingredients into the cone, wrap the leaves over the ingredients and pinch the edge:
Fold the excess leaves back into the dumpling body and wind the dumpling with one grass shoot twice before tying a deadknot at the top
Repeat for the other dumplings. Your end result should look like this:
Use a tall pot filled with water and heat on HIGH heat. I suggest using the traditional way of starting up some coal and watching over the fire until the water starts to boil.
Then you can put the entire bunch of dumplings in to boil.
boil for 2 hours.
Remove from the pot and serve HOT! You can also keep it in the fridge and store it for up to an entire month
I hope this recipe helped you guys! See you again foodies! Until next time...