TheFoodBehindTheDragon&DragonBoatRaceScheduleEveryoneknowst
heracingdragonsthatinvadelocalwaterwayseachJune.Somemay
haveeventriedzongzi,theholidaytreat.butalmostassuredly,
almostnooneknowshowtomakeit—untilnow.?Firmlywrappedint
ofragrantbambooleaves,ricedumplings,knownaszongzi,arese
rvedonemonthbeforeandaftertheDragonBoatFestival—thoughi
t’ssoldyear-round.Thisheavyorlight,saltyorsweet,sticky
andchewydelicacyhasbeenfavoredbythedescendantsofthedra
gonforthousandsofyears.It’snotonlyfortheholiday,butan
easy-to-grabtreattoenjoyanytime.?Whendragonboatingbegan
overathousandyearsago,itwascommonlybelievedtocommemorat
ethebanishedpoetQuYuan’sloyaltytohismotherstate.Thear
tist,inasimilaracttoSocrates,self-fulfilledhisowndeath
penaltyinprotestofthecountry’sinvasion.?Thepreparationand
processofmakingzongzicouldlastfordaysandrequireintensi
veworkfromseveralpairsofhands.Theneatwrappingisaskill
requiringaconsiderableamountofpractice.Toprotecthisfloat
ingbodyfromhungryfish,residentstooktotheriverandscatte
redrice-wrappedzongzidumplingsforthecreaturestoeatinstea
d.Gradually,thedragonpaddlingwascontinuedandevolvedinto
races,whilethezongzidevelopedintoafavoredsnack.Zongzivar
iesfromplacetoplacewithdifferentshapesandfillings.Inth
enorth,elongated,cone-shapedzongziarefilledwithsweetred
beanpaste,servedasadessert.Inthesouth,tetrahedral-shaped
dumplingscontainsaltyduckeggs,porkbellyandgreenbeanpas
te,lendingtoamoresavorytreat.?Thepreparationandprocesso
fmakingzongzicouldlastfordaysandrequireintensiveworkfr
omseveralpairsofhands.Theneatwrappingisaskillrequiring
aconsiderableamountofpractice.Decadesago,makingzongziwa
sarespectedfamilyactivityinvolvingeveryone—fromtheoldto
young—thatstrengthenedbonds.Eachfamilymembertypicallytook
homesomezongziinexchangefortheirefforts.HowtomakeDonggu
an-stylezongzi?Althoughbelongingtothesouthern,savoryvariet
y,asizeableamountofsugarisalsoused,typicalofDongguand
ishes.LargerDaojiaozongziwaspopularizedthroughoutthePearl
RiverDeltawithasaltierflavoranddoublethefilling.?Thezo
ngzirecipebelowisprovidedbyGuanXiangLou,oneofthemost
famouswater-fronttowncuisinerestaurantsinDongguan.?Ingredie
nts：GlutinousriceSaltyduckegg(Werecommendyoubuydriedsalt
edduckeggyolk)Porkbelly(halflean,halffatorfullfat)Peel
edgreenbeansBambooleavesCottonstringsFivespicepowderAllof
theseitemsareavailableatGuancheng’sNewGuangmingMarketon
GuangmingRd.Preparation：Soakglutinousriceinwaterfor2hours
.Mixwithareasonableamountofsalt,sugarandpeanutoilbefo
restartingtowrap.Ifyoubuyregularsaltyduckeggs,removeth
eeggwhiteandletsitforatleasthalfanhour.Slicethepork
bellyintoathumb-sizedpieces.Marinatewithfivespicepowder,
sugarandalittlebitofricewinefor4-8hours.Soakthebeans
inwaterforatleast2hours.Steamforanother2hours.Usea
wok(preferable),stirfrywithpeanutoilandgarlicpaste.Add
sugarandsalt,untilcreatingapaste.?Cutthetwoendsofbambo
oleavestomakethemabout28cmlong.Soakinboilingwaterand
leavefor8hours.Washeachthoroughly.?TheWrapping?Taketwol
eaves,putoneontopoftheotherinacross.?Holdthemiddleup
perpart,twothumbspressdownandfoldtocreateapointonthe
bottom.Thedeeperthepoint,thehigherandsharperthezongzi
willbe.Placethepointbetweenyourmiddleandringfinger.Hol
dfirmly,preparetofilltheingredients.Placeathinlayerofr
iceinthepoint.Grabahandfulofbeanpasteandsqueezeintoa
novalball.Pressathumbinmiddletocreateaspaceandplace
thebeanpasteontherice.Theholeisfacingup.Puttheyolkin
thehole,thenputapieceofporkontop.Covertheeggandmeat
withanotherballofbeanpaste.Again,pressathumbinmiddle,
concealingtheitemsbelow.Grabmorericeandcoverontopuntil
thericeisparallelwiththeleaves.Evenoutthesurfaceandm
akesurethefillingsarefull.Closethezongzibyfoldingthele
avesinward.Makesureitformsasquareandnoleavesarelefto
utside.Thissideisthebottomofazongzianditshouldbeasq
uare.Holdtheleavestogetherwithathumb,taketwooverlapping
leavesandwrapthemonthesideedge,foldintheexcessivepart
s.Takeanothertwoleavesandwraptheotherside.Thewrapping
mustbetightandsmooth.Takeastringandencirclearoundthezo
ngziasleastsixtimes,makingsureit’stightandthefillings
can’tescape.Tieaknotonthebottom.?Boilthefinishedzongzi
inwaterforatleast3hoursundermid-lowheat.It’spreferable
toheattheminapressurecooker,butanydeeppotwilldo.The
zongzimustbecompletelysubmergedduringtheentirecookingpr
ocess.Cookedzongzicanstayinthefridgeforupto5daysandi
nthefreezerformonths.Ifyouwanttoskipallthehard(fun)
work,headtoGuanXiangLoutotrythistraditionalWanjiang-sty
lezongzi,instead.GuanXiangLouAddress:No.1,JintaiRd.,Wanj
iang2017DragonBoatRaces&ParadesMAY26(FRI)WanjiangDragonB
oatCulturalFestivalDongjiangRiver,FromQuhaiBridgetoWanjia
ngBridgeSection10am.Thefirstandlargestdragonboatraceof
theyear.?MAY27(SAT)DaojiaoFoodCulturalFestival&DragonBo
atParadeDaojiaoBridgeOneofthe?openingceremonyevents.Thedr
agonboatingstarts10am.?MAY28(SUN)RiverinFrontofHongmei
Government,HongmeiParadestartsat11am.MAY30(TUE)LiaoxiaRiv
erNorthBridge,WangniudunRace?startsat11am.JUNE3(SAT)Shilo
ngJinshaBaySquareParadestartsat11am.JUNE3-5DongguanDrago
nBoatTournamentHuayangLakeWetlandPark,MachongThedragonboa
traces''qualifyingmatchesfortheNationalGameswillalsobeh
eld,welcomingdragonboat?teamsfromalloverthecountry.OnJu
ne5,Dongguan’s10waterfronttowns(Wanjiang,Shatian,Zhongtan
g,Daojiao,Gaobu,Wangniudun,Shilong,Shijie,LiaobuandMachon
g)willcompeteagainsteachotherinthemale’s500-meterstraightrace.JUNE7(WED)LongzhouSquare,ZhongtangParadestartsat11am.JUNE8(THU)XincunRiver,WanjiangParadestartsat10am.JUNE9(FRI)JiangbinSquare,GaobuRace?startsat11am.JUNE10(SAT)MachongDragonBoatTournamentHuayangLakeWetlandPark,MachongRace?startsat12pm.https://www.heredg.com/2017/05/the-food-behind-the-dragon/ |
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