You won’t believe this, but I “accidentally” ate “zhong zi”, Chinese rice dumplings (or “bah-tzang in Taiwanese), on the right day without realizing it!
It’s a rare occasion when I actually get to eat these amazing rice dumplings.
You see, they are a pain to make (yes, quite labor-intensive), and they’re not that easy to find around Boston. Well, it’s not easy to find ones that taste just like the ones my mom makes.
Anyway, as luck would have it, my parents are visiting Boston right now. I’m sure the main reason they are here is to visit my cute little almost-two-year old nephew. Nevertheless, I’m still thrilled to be able to see my parents so much more often now. It just so happened that they were staying with me this past Wednesday evening.
This past Wednesday (June 12, 2013) was the Chinese holiday called Duanwu Festival, also know as the Dragon Boat Festival. Those of you in Boston may know of the dragon boat races that occurred on the Charles River this past weekend.
Chinese people eat rice dumplings on this holiday in remembrance of a famous Chinese scholar, Qu Yuan, who was a poet and minister serving the King of Chu during the Zhou Dynasty (around 340 – 278 BC). He was much opposed to the power neighboring Qin State, and spent much of his life energy focused on how to defend against the Qin.
Legend has it that when he finally heard that the Qin troops had conquered Chu’s capital, he committed suicide by tying a heavy stone around his body and flinging himself into the river. The concerned townspeople, who loved him, desperately threw rice dumplings into the river so as to prevent the fish from eating his body.
To this day, people still eat rice dumplings on this holiday in remembrance of him.
My mom taught me years ago how to make these things, though I seldom make them myself at home because they are quite time-consuming. For the full tutorial and recipe, check out this blog post I wrote a few years ago, which gives step by step photo instructions on how to make these.
Happy Duanwu Holiday!
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The zhong zi vendor wasn’t at the dragon boat festival this year so I didn’t get my annual fix. =( Will have to try your recipe soon. By the way, where do you find the bamboo leaves?
Aww bummer! I still hope to try dragon boat racing some day. The closest I ever got was that I practiced with the team at Millennium Pharm. *years* ago!
Heh, my mom brings me bamboo leaves, but I’m guessing they sell it in most Asian supermarkets?
Is that Oh-hu-gee I see in the background? Yum!
My Ama used to make the best Bah-tzangs too! Unfortunately, she is now in her late 80s..and with it being such a labor intensive process, she doesn’t make it often anymore. Our family puts chestnuts in them too!
You gotta eat the rice dumpling with “sweet spicy sauce” <—- like the one in the background of the the last picture. 😀