Zongzi, 粽子

Classic dish to make for a rainy day

In the category of things we always have on hand in the freezer, a stash of zongzi goes a long way when you need a quick delicious meal. It’s also a fun dish for creativity, as you can stuff it with lots of interesting combinations to yield different flavor profiles.

"With just a little honey" - Aunt Kim

Ingredients

• 4 lb long grain sweet rice

• dried bamboo leaves

  

• ½ tsp potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution (雪碱水) - Koon Chun brand OR ⅓ tsp of the equivalent powder (碱粉代替)

  

• string divided to 2.5 feet long pieces

  

• Optional for flavor: peanuts, red bean, green peas, dried scallops/shrimp, or marinated pork

• For dipping: honey or sugar

Cooking Tools

• pressure cooker

• scissors

Steps 

Soak the fried bamboo leaves in ~50 deg Celsius water for 10 minutes. (Mix half boiling water / half cold water)

Wash the rice and dry. Then, mix 1/2 tsp of the alkaline water in well.

Stack 2 bamboo leaves and fold into a pocket.

When folding bamboo leaves, always make sure that corners are folded over
so that there is no opening for rice to fall out.

Fill the pocket with rice and pack the rice in tight.

Make sure to leave an inch of clearance on top.

Fold the top over and wrap the bundle tight. Make sure all corners are folded over well.

Wrap a string around the bundle twice, pull tight, then tie a half-shoe tie so they can be opened easily.

Optionally cut off any extra leaf.

Make sure all bundles are cooked before storing in the refrigerator.

To cook, put in pressure cooker with COLD water. Hot water will unevenly cook the rice. Cook on high for 30 minutes.

It is okay to cook in a normal pot, but it can take over an hour. To check when done, poke the rice with a chopstick. If it comes out soft and sticky, it's done.