The Time for Zongzi is Here!

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Dragon Boat Festival falls on Thursday, June 22 this year, and the official food of Dragon Boat Festival is already on sale at hotels all over the city. If you want to learn more about Dragon Boat Festival, check out Ten Things You Didn’t Know About Dragon Boat Festival be scanning the QR code below.

Zongzi is essentially glutinous rice with sweet or savory fillings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. It's eaten by foodies all year round, but around Dragon Boat Festival time, zongzi becomes especially popular for the locals. Not only are zongzi super delicious to begin with, but they're also actually easier to make than one would think.

The ingredients you'd need can be found at any local supermarket around this time of the year and it makes for a great family activity for kids of all ages to participate.

Ingredients:

600g glutinous rice

4 tbs red bean paste

12 Chinese dates (we recommend the pitted ones)

12-24 bamboo leaves (be sure to trim the ends)

12 pieces of cooking strings around 70cm each

Sugar for serving (optional)

Directions:

Soak the bamboo leaves until you can bend them without cracking. Prepare this the night before so the leaves have plenty of time to soak. Soak the glutinous rice overnight so that they're soft by the time you want to start making zongzi.

To make a zongzi, take a wide bamboo leaf and form a narrow cone. Place a date in the cone, then some glutinous rice. Add a tablespoon of red bean paste. Top it off with more rice. Fold the two sides of the leaf over the rice. Then fold the top of the leaf down to cover the rice completely. Wrap the rest of the leaf around the shape. Tie it tightly with a cooking string. And there you have it!

To cook, boil them in water for about 2.5 hours with something heavy (like a plate) on top so that they don't float to the top of the pot. That's how you'll get partially cooked zongzi.

Pro tip: The aromas from the leaves and glutenous rice is fantastic! If you like hard-boiled eggs tossing a few in while the zongzi are cooking is a great way to eggs infused with hints of banana leaves

Zongzi is best served warm. if you need to reheat them a few days later a few minutes in the steamer will do the trick.

Images: Uni You

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