Lazy Sticky Rice Dumplings (Zongzi)

As it was dragon boat festival I really wanted to make zongzi but as I didn’t have time to prep all the ingredients the day before I found this lazy version that cuts the prep time by 1-2 days. Next time I will make the real deal.

Recipe from https://thewoksoflife.com/lazy-sticky-rice-dumpling-shortcut-zongzi/

Prep Time: 6 hrs

Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Total Time: 7 hrs 30 mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups uncooked sticky rice (also called glutinous rice or "sweet rice," 500g)

  • 8-10 dried bamboo leaves

  • 1/2 pound pork belly (250g)

  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (divided)

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (plus 1 teaspoon, divided)

  • 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine

  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

  • 1/2 cup raw shelled peanuts (75g)

  • 2-3 Chinese sausages (lap cheung; cut into small chunks)

  • 2-3 scallions (chopped)

Instructions:

  1. Soak the uncooked sticky rice overnight (or at least 6 hours). Soak the dried bamboo leaves for at least 3 hours (or overnight). After soaking, wash and rinse each leaf front and back, keeping them in a large bowl or tub of water so they don’t dry out. 

  2. Cut the pork belly into ½ inch bite-sized pieces, marinate it with 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, and ½ teaspoon white pepper. Marinate for 1 – 2 hours in the refrigerator.

  3. Soak the peanuts for 1 hour. Then boil for 10 minutes, drain, and set aside.

  4. Drain the soaked sticky rice completely. Mix the rice with 1 tablespoon light soy sauce and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

  5. Add the peanuts to the rice along with the Chinese sausages and scallions. (If adding cooked salted duck egg yolks and/or soaked dried seafood, you can mix them into the rice as well).

  6. Line a bamboo steamer (or large shallow heatproof bowl) with 6-7 bamboo leaves. These bamboo leaves will provide flavor to the rice as well as prevent it from sticking. All with a layer of rice mixture, a layer of pork belly, another layer of rice mixture, and a layer of pork belly on top. Make sure everything is evenly distributed (so it can cook evenly).

  7. Cover the mixture with the remaining bamboo leaves to trap in moisture as well as the bamboo leaf aroma. If using a bamboo steamer, you can simply put on the cover. If using a heatproof bowl to steam, you can use a toothpick to keep the bamboo leaves in place on top of the rice. 

  8. Place the rice in the steamer, starting with cold water. Turn on the heat to high, and once the water starts to boil, steam for 60-90 minutes. Check periodically to make sure there is still water in the steamer, and add hot water if needed. 

  9. Keep in the steamer on low heat until ready to serve. The rice will harden if cooled. Serve hot! 

This is a great alternative for a quicker version of the traditional zong zi. next time if i make this version i will definitely play around with the quantities as I thought there was a bit too much meat. i would only add 2 chinese sausages and maybe a little less pork belly, and I might add some mushrooms in place so there are some vegetables. I am always unsure about how much glutinous rice will actually expand, so i was a bit conservative in filling it up, next time I will add more. I also couldn’t find bamboo leaves but instead i used banana leaves. I will need to try next time if the traditional way will work with banana leaves as they are larger and seem to be stiffer than bamboo leaves. So either i make this version next time or I find bamboo leaves. HOwever steaming them in any leaves does give the rice a different flavor and helps give added moisture. I guess I have a year to work on this recipe before the next dragon boat festival comes around.

chineseJackie Wongzong zi, rice dumplingComment