Rice Dumpling

The Rice Dumpling Festival (端午节) or some call it the dragon boat festival occurs on the 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar, so it happens that I will eat some rice dumpling today. While eating the rice dumpings, my mind suddenly thought of  Qu Yuan. The origin of rice dumpling actually came from commemorating the death of the poet, Qu Yuan who was also a minister of the ancient state of Chu during warring states period of the Zhou Dynasty.

Qu Yuan was in despair when Qin conquered Chu and committed suicide by jumping into the Miluo river. Many who admired him raced out in their boats to save him or at least try to retrieve his body. When his body could not be found, they made balls of sticky rice and threw into the river in belief that the fish would not devour the body of Qu Yuan. This is how the rice dumpling and the dragon boat race developed from.

There are a variety of fillings used in the making of the rice dumplings. They are usually wrapped in bamboo leaves in triangular shapes before boiling for hours to be served. What I have eaten earlier are the most commonly found rice dumplings in Singapore and also Malaysia, namely 'Bak Zhang', 'Nonya Zhang'(Peranakan version) and Lye water rice dumpling.

'Bak zhang' is usually stuffed with pork, waster chestnuts and mushrooms whereas the 'Nonya zhang' uses pork belly, spice powder and candied winter melon as the main ingredients. As for the lye water rice dumpling, it is not too popular as there is no meat inside the fillings. It can be filled with some lotus seed paste or red bean paste or can be just plain with no filling at all. Some people will eat this with some palm sugar syrup (gula-melaka) and dip it with some sugar like a dessert.