Sticky rice bundles
Sticky rice bundles (粽子 Zongzi /dzong-dzrr/) are made from sticky or glutinous rice and a filling, which is kneaded in.
They are then wrapped in bamboo leaves in pillow or triangular-based pyramid shapes, and tied with plant stems.
If you are careful the bamboo leaves can be folded back like a wrapper so that you don't get your fingers (too) sticky while eating them.
They are often found sold at train and bus stations and make more of a meal than a snack (see Chinese Snacks). Glutinous rice is very filling.
Zongzi are traditionally eaten during the Duanwu Festival (Dragon Boat Festival), which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar. A popular belief amongst the Chinese of eating Zongzi involved commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period. Qu Yuan tried unsuccessfully to warn his king and countrymen against the expansionism of their Qin neighbours. Qu Yuan's grief was so intense that he drowned himself in the Miluo river after penning the Lament for Ying. According to legend, packets of rice were thrown into the river to prevent the fish from eating the poet's body. Although it may have originally been a seasonal food, zongzi are available year-round in most major cities with a significant Chinese population.
Typical Zongzi Fillings
- Egg yolk
- Lotus seeds
- Ham
- Red bean paste
- Chestnut
- Fatty pork
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