Zongzi

China

Also known as Rice Dumplings

About Zongzi

Zongzi are Chinese sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves into pyramid shapes and boiled or steamed. They are eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival.

Fillings vary by region. Southern zongzi are often savory, filled with pork belly, salted egg yolk, mushrooms, mung beans or peanuts, while northern ones are often sweet, with red bean paste or dates.

Tradition links zongzi to the poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in a river in the 3rd century BC. People threw rice into the river so fish would not eat his body. The leaves give the rice a subtle, grassy aroma.

Ingredients

• glutinous rice
• bamboo leaves
• pork belly
• salted egg yolk
• mungbeans
• peanuts