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Happy Dragon Boat Festival, my dear readers! It’s the time of the lunar year, when families make glutinous rice dumpling, aka bak chang (in Hokkien) or joong (in Cantonese) or zong zi (in Chinese 粽子), and retailers and restaurants start selling beautifully packaged ones that you can gift families and friends.
The Hokkien bak chang is quite commonly found in many food stalls, even outside of the Dragon Boat Festival season. I have below a detailed step-by-step recipe of how to make this delicious, meaningful Chinese rice snack. It’s chock-full of savoury goodness, albeit also quite fattening, but hey it’s once a year season to eat rice dumplings, so why not?
What is zong zi?
The zong zi (in Chinese) or commonly called bak chang (in Hokkien) in Singapore is a traditional Chinese rice dish made by wrapping flavourful glutinous rice with bamboo leaves. The rice is stuffed with savoury ingredients such as pork belly, chestnuts, salted egg yolks, mung beans, black eye peas, mushrooms, spicy dried shrimps (hae bee), or even candied winter melon strips, depending on which type of rice dumplings you got. It is then boiled for hours until cooked. The fillings can be savoury or sweet or a combination of both.
What are the different types of bak chang?
I created an infographic below, so you can see in pictorial form the main differences between each. Each dialect group has their own way of making the rice dumpling and each has a signature flavour. Nevertheless, they are all delicious. Hokkien and Nonya bak chang are the most popular and easy to buy, even outside of the Dragon Boat Festival season, in Singapore.
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It all started with a Chinese poet and government advisor
Rice dumplings were said to be made during the Dragon Boat Festival as a food offering to honour the late poet and patriot Qu Yuan (屈原) during the ancient Chinese Zhou dynasty. Also known as 端午节 in Chinese, it falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. It has probably only one simple version of meat wrapped with rice and this snack has today evolved into many creative variations.
Qu Yuan used to serve in the government as a court advisor and was a well-known poet during China’s Warring States period. However he was wrongly accused of treason. He drowned himself in the Miluo river in northern Hunan, after his prediction that the kingdom of Chu would be invaded by the state of Qin came to pass. According to folklore, his admirers made rice parcels and threw them into the river, hoping that his body will not be consumed by the fishes and at the same time, local villagers rowed out boats while hitting the drums loudly. Hence the tradition of rowing the dragon boat and eating rice dumplings during this festive.
What are the ingredients in Rice Dumplings?
- Glutinous rice wraps around the savoury ingredients. It’s naturally gluten-free. However do not eat too much in one go as you might suffer from indigestion.
- Pork belly is the key ingredient in this recipe. Choose one that has at least 50% fats as you will need the fats to flavour and lubricate the glutinous rice, giving it a rich texture and taste.
- Vegetable oil, nonetheless to say, essential for the cooking. I used 10 tbsp here, and the amount is really just nice to saute the aromatics. Use a neutral flavour one, so that the rest of the ingredients can shine.
- Shallots are what gives a subtle sweetness and aroma. Used as an aromatic to flavour the vegetable oil before cooking the rice and pork belly.
- Seasonings include salt, white pepper powder, five spice powder, Chinese rice wine, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce are added to the rice and meat. Five spice powder is a unique seasoning in the Hokkien bak chang of which the flavour is quite distinctive.
- Dried shrimps & dried shiitake mushrooms, needless to say give great umami flavours. Soak them for 30-60 minutes to rehydrate them and save the soaking liquid to cook the rice and pork belly.
- Dried Chestnuts are typically from Italy, once hydrated and cooked, it’s soft and nutty and very delicious.
- Salted egg yolks are my favourite, I can salted egg yolk anything. The egg yolks really add on another level of umami flavour in the dish.
- Bamboo leaves & strings will be used to wrap and tie the dumpling, important to not leave any gaps so the ingredients don’d burst out during cooking.
Tips on making Bak Chang (Rice Dumplings)
- This recipe makes about 30 (about 100g) bak chang which I liked as the portion is much smaller than the ones you buy in food stalls. If you wrap it in normal sizes (about 150-180g), it should yield about 25 bak chang.
- The smooth non-ribbed side of the bamboo leaves face upwards when you wrap. The stem side faces down. Some recipes will soak the leaves overnight to make it pliable. My mummy told me to soak and boil them and I find this process faster.
- The bamboo leaves are actually still quite dirty even after soaking and boiling. Be sure to wipe it with a clean cloth. Also ensure that the leaves and strings are moist so that they are pliable for wrapping the bak chang.
- Keep the leaves and string moist. Otherwise the leaves will break when you wrap the dumplings.
- The salted egg yolks are the raw type, not the cooked ones. Some supermarket sell them in a whole, meaning the egg is wrapped with black mud, which you have to wash off and extract the egg yolk from the egg white.
- You can opt to add an entire egg yolk into each bak chang, or use half of it.
- Buy the pork belly which has about 50% fats. The lard is what give the aroma in the dumpling.
- The pork belly should be left marinated for at least 4 hours. The longer the better.
- The meat filling, after cooked, should taste saltier than usual. This is alright as the bak chang will be boiled in water for more than an hour and the saltiness will be diluted into the water.
- Cook the pork belly until the meat is soft and tender. This takes about 45 minutes to an hour.
- When tying the knot around the bak chang, be sure not to tie it too tight. The rice will expand during boiling and the last thing you want is for the rice and filling to burst out of the bamboo leaves.
How to store Bak Chang
Cooked bak chang can be left in the open for up to 2 days and it’s best to consume as soon as possible since it’ll be fresh and tender.
To keep it longer, chill it in the fridge for up to 7 days. To serve, either open up the leaves (optional) and microwave for 2 minutes, or steam it for about 5 minutes on high heat.
To keep it longer for up to 6 months, keep it in the freezer wrapped in a plastic bag or box. Don’t need to thaw when ready to consume. Just reheat in the microwave for 3-4 minutes, or steam it for about 10-15 minutes on high heat.
Watch how to make Bak Chang (Rice Dumplings) on YouTube
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Hokkien Bak Chang (Chinese Rice Dumplings) 福建咸肉粽
Ingredients
Marinade for meat
- 1 tsp five spice powder
- 1 tsp white pepper powder
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
Rice
- 1 kg glutinous rice
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 150 g shallots
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white pepper powder
- 1 tsp five spice powder
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- ¾ cup mushroom water from soaking the mushrooms
Meat filling
- 600 g pork belly 40%-50% fat
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil
- 150 g shallots
- 80 g dried shrimps
- 15 dried shiitake mushrooms about 100g
- 30 dried Chestnuts about 150g
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp white pepper powder
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 cup mushroom water from soaking the mushrooms
Others
- 15 salted egg yolks raw, not the cooked type
- 70-80 bamboo leaves
- 30-40 bamboo strings
Instructions
Prepare the rice and meat the night before
- Wash 1 kg glutinous rice 3-5 times until the water runs clear.Soak the rice (make sure water more than covers the rice as the rice will expand) overnight or for at least 6 hours. (I soaked the rice for 12 hours)Darin off water the next day and set aside.1 kg glutinous rice
- Slice 600 g pork belly into about 1cm thickness. Marinate the pork belly with 1 tsp five spice powder, 1 tsp white pepper powder, 1.5 tsp salt, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine. Cover and chill in fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours. I marinated the meat for 12 hours)Before cooking the next day, remove from the fridge and bring it to room temperature.1.5 tsp salt, 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine, 1 tsp white pepper powder, 1 tsp five spice powder, 600 g pork belly, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Prepare the rest of the ingredients the next day
- Cut 15 salted egg yolks (raw, not the cooked type) into half.Note: you can also add the entire egg yolk into the bak chang, if so, just make sure you have about 25-30 salted egg yolks. If you bought the entire salted egg, just extract the egg yolks from the egg whites.15 salted egg yolks
- Soak 80 g dried shrimps for about 30 minutes or until softened. Mince the dried shrimps finely.80 g dried shrimps
- Soak 15 dried shiitake mushrooms for about one hour or until softened. Save the mushroom water for cooking later. Cut off the mushroom stems, and cut the mushrooms into half.Take note, if the mushrooms are small (like a 20 cents coin), no need to cut it.15 dried shiitake mushrooms
- Peel the shallots and dice the shallots finely.150 g shallots, 150 g shallots
- Cook 30 dried Chestnuts in boiling water over high heat for 20 minutes until softened. Drain off the water. Remove the remaining red shells on the chestnuts.30 dried Chestnuts
Cook the rice
- Warm 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or heavy based pan over medium heat. Add 150 g shallots and sauté until caramelised and aromatic.4 tbsp vegetable oil, 150 g shallots
- Add glutinous rice, 3/4 cup mushroom water, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp five spice powder, 1 tsp white pepper powder, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce. Mix well and cook until rice is evenly coated with seasoning. Rice should not be sticky. Remove from heat and let it cool down completely before wrapping the bak chang.1 tsp five spice powder, 1 tsp white pepper powder, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tsp salt, 3/4 cup mushroom water, 2 tbsp oyster sauce
Cook the meat filling
- Warm 6 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or heavy based pan over medium heat.Add the dried shrimps and 150 g shallots, and sauté until the shallots turn caramelised and aromatic.6 tbsp vegetable oil, 150 g shallots, 80 g dried shrimps
- Add the marinated pork belly, 0.5 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp white pepper powder, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, and 1 cup mushroom water. Stir fry to mix well and let the pork belly cook for about 3 minutes.0.5 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp white pepper powder, 1 cup mushroom water, 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- Add chestnuts and mushrooms and stir fry to mix well and ensure the ingredients coat evenly with the seasonings.Lower the heat to simmering. Cover and cook for another 45 minutes until the meat is thoroughly cooked and softened. Add water if it dries out.Do a taste test and adjust seasonings accordingly. The meat should be saltier than normal (we will boil the bak chang later and the saltiness will dilute with the water).Remove from heat and let it cool down completely before wrapping the bak chang.15 dried shiitake mushrooms, 30 dried Chestnuts
Prepare the bamboo leaves
- Soak 70-80 bamboo leaves for 2 hours.Note; use a heavy bowl to push the leaves down so that they fully submerged into the water.70-80 bamboo leaves
- Then boil the leaves over high heat for 30 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and wash the leaves under running water.Wipe off the water gently with a clean cloth. This will also help to remove any dirt that might be stuck on the leaves. Note: don’t use paper as the pulp will stick onto the leaves. Keep the leaves moist, otherwise dry leaves will crack while wrapping. If they dry out, simply rehydrate them by dipping them into water and wipe vwith a towel.
- Soak 30-40 bamboo strings in water for one hour so that they become pliable for wrapping.30-40 bamboo strings
Wrap the Bak Chang
- Make sure the rice and meat filling have completely cooled down.Stack 2 leaves on top of each other. The smooth side of the leaves should face up and the stem side faced down.Fold into a cone shape.Note: choose the leaves that are not broken or have holes in between to avoid leakage.
- Fill the cone up with about 1 tbsp of rice, filling up 1/3 of the cone. Make an indentation in the middle for the filling. (See 07:27 of the video)Then add pork belly, chestnuts, mushrooms, and salted egg yolk.Top up with 2-3 tbsp of rice. Press gently with the back of the spoon to make sure they are tight.
- Slightly squeeze the two sides of the cone. Then fold the top over.Fold in the 2 sides to close the gap on the side of the cone. Then wrap the loose end of the bamboo leaves over. (See 08:21 of the video)
- Use a long bamboo string, hold one end of the string and twirl the string around the bak chang 2-3 times. Tie the knot twice to secure the wrapping, but do not tie it too tight as the rice will expand after cooked and will explode out of the wrapping.
Cook the Bak Chang
- Bring pot of water to boil over high heat.Add the bak chang to the pot of boiling water. Make sure the water more than covers the bak chang. Bring it to boil, then reduce heat to simmering. Simmer the bak chang, covered. Add water if the water level decreases. Stir every now and then to ensure the bak change is cooked evenly.The whole boiling process is 1.5 hours. Note: if cooked in pressure cooker, you will only need about 45 minutes.
- Remove the cooked bak chang from the pot of water. Hang it to drain water off.
- Best served warm.
Video
Notes
-
- This recipe makes about 30 (about 100g) bak chang which I liked as the portion is much smaller than the ones you buy in food stalls. If you wrap it in normal sizes (about 150-180g), it should yield about 25 bak chang.
- The smooth non-ribbed side of the bamboo leaves face upwards when you wrap. The stem side faces down. Some recipes will soak the leaves overnight to make it pliable. My mummy told me to soak and boil them and I find this process faster.
- The bamboo leaves are actually still quite dirty even after soaking and boiling. Be sure to wipe it with a clean cloth. Also ensure that the leaves and strings are moist so that they are pliable for wrapping the bak chang.
- The salted egg yolks are the raw type, not the cooked ones. Some supermarket sell them in a whole, meaning the egg is wrapped with black mud, which you have to wash off and extract the egg yolk from the egg white.
- You can opt to add an entire egg yolk into each bak chang, or use half of it.
- The pork belly should be left marinated for at least 4 hours. The longer the better.
- The meat filling, after cooked, should taste saltier than usual. This is alright as the bak chang will be boiled in water for more than an hour and the saltiness will be diluted into the water.
- Cook the pork belly until the meat is soft and tender. This takes about 45 minutes to an hour.
- When tying the knot around the bak chang, be sure not to tie it too tight. The rice will expand during boiling and the last thing you want is for the rice and filling to burst out of the bamboo leaves.
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24 June 2023 at 5:11 pmWow this is another level! I always find it difficult and tedious to make this. Maybe it’s time for me to try. Your steps are so detailed
24 June 2023 at 5:17 pmThank you my dear. I hope you try it out too 😀