Bakcang or Zongzi (Sticky Rice Dumpling)

Adapt: family's recipe 
Sticky Rice Dumpling is traditionally eaten on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar (approximately in June). It made of glutinous rice with different filling and wrapped with the bamboo or banana leave.

The recipe that I use is adapted from my family. In my home town, we usually make two kinds of bakcang, salty and sweet (Lye water or Kan-Sui Zongzi-adapted in Cantonese). Nowadays, there are a lot of creation for the filling. It starts from salty egg yolk, five-spice powder egg, green bean, taro or yam, abalone, and shark-fin.

The difference from these two, Bakcang is filled with savory meat, and Kan-Sui Zongzi  is smaller than the savory one. It's tasteless and we have to put sugar or palm sugar or gula melaka to eat with.

Ingredients:

1 kg Glutinous rice, soaked for 8-10 hours

800 gr pork or chicken, slice into small pieces

100 gr dried-turnip, slice into small pieces

150 gr dried-shrimp

250 gr shiitake mushroom, slice into small pieces

100 gr peanut, cooked with pressure cooker before mix-up with other ingredients

150 gr chestnut, chopped

100 gr garlic, chopped

salt

pepper

bambu leaves for wrapping

Instruction:

1. Heat oil in a wok and fry garlic, shiitake mushroom, dried-shrimp  and dried-turnip until fragrant.
2. Add pork or chicken, peanut and seasoning. Stir-fry for about 20-30 minutes.
3. Dish out and set aside to cool.
4. For the glutinous rice, wash and drain out the water. Heat oil in a wok, fry garlic until fragrant and add the glutinous rice into the wok and water. Season with salt and pepper, cook for 3-5 minutes. Once most of the liquid has evaporated, dish out and set aside to cool.
5. For the bamboo leaves, it's better to use the fresh one. I couldn't find any fresh bamboo leaves in Sydney, I use the dry one which can be bought in Asian grocery shops. Firstly, boil the leaves for about 3 minutes. Drain out the water, and wipe with the wet cloth.

Instruction to warp Bakcang:

1. Prepare the same length ropes in a bundle for tying the Bakcang.
2. Stack two bamboo leaves on your left hand, cut an inch on each side of the leaves.
3. Bend the leave to form the cone shape, and make to have a good size Bakcang.
4. Put 1 tbsp of glutinous rice at the base, add 1 tbsp of mixed filling, and cover with 1 tbsp of glutinous rice.
5. Fold the bamboo leaves over the rice, and end up with the triangle shape. Then, fold the excess leaves to the left side follow the body of Bakcang.
6. Grab the rope and loop around Bakcang, and tie it.
7. In the boiling water, cook for about 25-40 minutes (depends on Bakcang size).
8. Carefully removed from the steamware and serve.