all my own wrapped dumplings are ready to be cooked for 6 hours
It's this time of the year!
Every single year, when my birthday is around the corner, there's another Chinese community folklore celebration that shares my special week.
That's the Rice Dumpling and Dragon Boat Festival
Although it originated in commemorating reputable poet (and one of the entrusted advisors) who caved in and committed suicide (I think) by sheer corruption and successful coup upon him, the original story has been buried deep as a family reunion celebration.
In this Month if gratitude that my pastor initiated to encourage us to learn to give thanks in all circumstances, good or bad, I decided that since my birthday falls on a public holiday, it is a good quality time exercise to spend with my parents, particularly my mom, and learn this age old generation passed down custom that many small town Chinese speaking families still adopt to make.
(The more well-to-do ones and lost the art of making it have already opt to acquire from services and give out as gifts)
The process
cleaning up salted egg seasoning layer
This thousand-year nationwide phenomenal tradition that comprises different clans from the Chinese speaking communities has created a huge variety of rice dumpling. Even the original Rice Dumpling originated from China has become very different when passed down and evolved in the peranakan (nonya) community in Malaysia.
The one I learned is from the Northern Peninsula Malaysia's taste, where 5-spice is one of the main ingredients that derived from the Hokkien community.
carefully discard then whites
However, as long as I have lived on this earth, I have noticed that most of the savory version of the Rice Dumpling will always have salted egg yolk as part of it. If you don't have that, it's not the usual Rice Dumpling.
Unless it is the vegetarian / vegan version
all ingredients are ready for the ultimate wrap
The next savoury version ingredients are: pork belly (with all the fat, yes), rehydrated shitake mushrooms, rehydrated chestnut, red beans (my family tradition) and glutinous rice.
If you want more umami-ness then dried shrimps 🍤 or dried oysters are added.
The taste has a balance ingredients of soy sauce, oyster sauce, 5-spice, salt,a tad bit of sugar (to balance the saltiness), and caramelised dark sauce.
All the pre-semi-cooked marinating process has to be done at least 8 hours prior in order to have the ingredients thoroughly suck in the taste.
Do take note that the salted egg doesn't require marinating. It is the last ingredient to prepare right before the wrapping begins.
The fun part
placing ingredients into the shaped bamboo leaves
When I was little and my hands were too small to tie the rice dumplings, ingredients assembly was my expertise. So if I missed out on one of the ingredients, I would have been in big trouble 😅
Both mom and grandma were very strict and I ended up getting scolded if I wasn't balancing the ingredients placing in.
And to make it more "scientific", the portion has to be precisely following the bamboo leaves: they cannot be too little as it will cause the tying to lose later, or too full as the Dumpling could burst 💥 during cooking process because the food will expand.
This requires experience; and I had to dig deep into my muscle memory to get the portions right.
Now, the DAUNTING process.
some of my dumplings look like they are "suffocating from being strangled" 🤣
The strategicly folded bamboo leaves plays a very significant role on how your Dumpling can be wrapped perfectly like a pyramid shape. Some actually do the "pillow" shape but what we learned from the beginning was the "pyramid".
If the ingredients weren't in the precise ratio, the Dumpling will have a lot of "air pockets" and for an inexperienced wrapper like me, the % for the knot to loose and the Dumpling burst and dissolve into the water is relatively high.
So "tying tightly" was the mantra; but I guess my very first batch was too suffocating tight haha
into the boiler!
Next would be the ultimate test. The 3-6 hour boiling with high to medium heat would determine whether the knots were tied correctly and in place. Otherwise you will end up nothing left to eat.
And... voila!
It is ready for consumption by the evening, or can be stored in freezers for as long as a month (without preservatives) and we can either use microwave or steamer to heat it up.
Dumplings are best served when it is "smoking hot". 😋
How about you?
Have you ever tried this 2-millennial old recipe?
One Dumpling these days, due to inflation, can cost an average of 6 HIVE for a basic one (without special ingredients like 🥓 bacon, oyster, clam)
Until Then
Stay healthy, stay curious and learn new things, and stay happy!
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