30/05/2017

Dumpling Festival 端午节 2017


The 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese calendar has been set as Duānwǔ jié 端午節 (Dragon Boat  Festival) to remember the incident. Although there were versions of legends and stories that indicate Duan Wu has existed way before Qu Yuan's death, the tradition still carries on.

The rice dumplings (Zòngzi 粽子) are glutinous rice, or sticky rice in some countries like Thailand and Hong Kong wrapped in bamboo leaves, or other large leaves (lotus is one of the more commonly used leaves). You can find all sorts of different fillings in the rice: pork, roast pork, chestnut, egg, salted egg, mushroom, red bean, or just simply without filling. They could be just white rice dumpling (not pre-fried), or brown (pre-fried with soya sauce).

Nowadays, you can buy Zòngzi almost everyday of the year, in restaurants or hawker stores in most oriental countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and other Asian countries where large amount of Chinese reside.

Happy Zongzi 粽子 Festival, 5th day of 5th Lunar month