Rice dumpling

Today I'd like to introduce another Chinese traditional food which has a history of more than 2300 years, rice dumpling. It is only eaten in a single day every year called Dragon Boat Festival, like moon cake in Mid-autumn Festival. Rice dumpling is handed down in order to memorize the greatest poet in Chinese history, Qu Yuan.

Rice dumpling is made of glutinous rice with meat or some grains. One more important materials is dumpling leaf which contains much amino acids and natural fragrance, and is used to wrap the rice dumpling.

Here is one way to make rice dumpling:

Prepare glutinous rice 1000g, ham 600g, soy 50g, sugar 27g, salt 25g, Chinese liquor 5g;

Boil 10-centimeter-board dumpling leaves for about 3 minutes, and then wash them with water; Chean the glutinous rice. After it has been dried, mix it with 20g sugar, 15g salt and 50g soy;

Cut the ham into small parts, about 20g of each;

Mix the ham with 7g sugar, 10g salt and liquor in a basin and rub them to make the spices infiltrate into the meat;

The following step is the most ifficult part. You have to shape the leaves into tetrahedron with one cover open. (The process is so complicated that I am not sure actually);

Put 100g glutinous rice into the tetrahedron with 3 pieces of cut ham, cover the leaves( no aperture in the dumpling);

Tight the dumpling with a thin line;

Boil the rice dumpling with water for two and a half hours.

After everything is done, you can eat savory rice dumplings.

I have tried once and taste not bad. Compared with boughten ones, the flavor is just the same, differece lies in the appearance.

Go and try it!