Homemade Dish - Rice Dumpling in Bamboo Leaves (Zongzhi)
A traditional Chinese recipe eaten during Dragon Boat Festival

 

Dumpling Recipe:

Ingredients:

40 large dried bamboo leaves (2 for each zongzi)
20 long strings (for binding leaves) 
1 kg sticky rice
1 kg pork belly, cut into small cubes
5 salted duck's egg yolks
40 small dried mushrooms
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine 

200 g shelled peanuts 
Vegetable oil
5 cloves of garlic, roughly crushed
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon five spice powder

1 tablespoon cooking oil.

Method

Prepare and cook ingredients

1. Soak rice in water for 1-2 hours and drain it. Put 1 tablespoon cooking oil and mix well. 
2. Soak mushrooms until soft. Clean and trim stalks. Cut into 2 or 3 pieces.
3. Stir-fry pork and mushroom together for a few minutes. Add soy sauce, rice wine, 1 teaspoon of sugar and five spice powder, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 1/2 hour. Remove pork and mushroom from liquid and set aside.
4. Pour the liquid (from pork and mushroom) into rice and mix well.
5. Boil peanuts until tender (35 - 45minutes).
6. Halve duck egg yolks.

Wrap zongzi

(Information: http://eatingchina.com/recipes/zongzi.htm)

1. Soak bamboo leaves in warm water for 5 minutes to tenderise, before washing thoroughly in cold water.
2. Wet strings to make them more pliable.
3. Take 2 leaves with leaf stem or spine facing out. Overlap them lengthwise in inverse directions (pointed end of one leaf facing the rounded end of the other).
4. With both hands hold leaves about 2/3rds of the way along their length. At that point bend them so that they are parallel lengthwise and also overlap. This should produce a leafpouch that you cup firmly in one hand.
5. Add a small amount of rice mixture, compressing with a spoon.
6. Add 1 piece each of pork, mushroom, duck egg yoke.
7. Add more rice until you have nearly a full pouch. Compress firmly with a spoon.
8. Fold leaves over the open top of zongzi, then around to side until zongzi is firmly wrapped. Zongzi should be pyramid shaped with sharp edges and pointed ends. Trim off any excess leaf with scissors.
9. Tie up zongzi tightly just like shoes laces with a double knot. Normally they are tied to a bunch of zongzi.
10. *Steam for 2 hour, unwrap and serve. [Yummy yummy ^^ ]