Dragon Boat Festival 端午節

Dragon Boat Festival 端午節 is the 5th Day of the 5th month in the Chinese Calendar.  Usually falling in early June but this year it is today, 23rd June.

It means that there are sticky rice parcels to eat "Joong" in Cantonese 粽 - YUMMY!  Chinese isn't romanised well and you may recognise it as being Chung, Zong-Zi.  Basically it is a bamboo leaf wrapped parcel containing glutinous rice.  They can be savoury and filled with a variety of fillings some dependent on your region (salted duck yolk, mung bean and 5-spice pork belly is a common in Southern China - Guangdong).  You can also have a sweet variety where the rice is soaked in water with added alkali water.  When cooked the rice is yellow and you eat it dipped in sugar, syrup or have red bean paste in them.  Not my thing really.

My mum is a whizz at making Joong - but she makes what I describe a pillow shape.  I have not mastered this technique and I remember when I was younger, my mum going round to one of her friend's house to teach her a few of her friends how to wrap pillow Joong.  Not sure if she is making any this year as she has been busy with work.  I must video her technique so this skills are not lost!

In the meantime, here is a video of Joong wrapping.  This one is of a Pyramid shape which my mum wants to learn >.<   Will have to get her to watch this!  This video is in Cantonese :)

Happy Dumpling Festival!


Triangle Shaped Rice Dumpling