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Zong zi or chung in Cantonese is a traditional Chinese glutinous rice dumpling
wrapped in bamboo leaves. They are normally made once a year on the fifth day of the fifth month
of the lunar calendar to commemorate Chu Yuan (340-278 BC), the famous poet of ancient
China. Now Chinese zong chi has become very popular and is available all year round.
There are many types of zong zi differing not only in shape and size, but also in their
ingredients. Vegetarians dumplings are now available for those who do not eat meat for various
reasons.
Special skill
The unique triangular shape and the use of bamboo leaves as the wrapper make zong zi a
very distinctive food. The bamboo leaves impart a distinctive flavour to the dumplings.
Preparing and wrapping zong zi, which were normally done by female members of a family,
is a skilful art and not many Chinese families are able to do it nowadays. The main ingredients
is glutinous rice which is pre-soaked for several hours or overnight and wrapped in one or two
bamboo leaves, with or without filling in its centre. There are some dumplings that use more
leaves and are shaped like a pillow.
The dumplings require to be boiled for more than two hours in a pot. Using a pressure cooker
will shorten the cooking to about 40 minutes.
Ingredients
There are many recipes developed locally such as those with spicy or savoury fillings or even a
mixture of all flavours like the nyonya chung. Common ingredients used in the fillings
are meat, sweetened bean paste, chestnuts, mushroom and salted egg yolk.
Glutinous rice
Glutinous rice is also known as sweet rice or pulut in Malay. Unlike normal rice,
glutinous rice is very sticky and resilient. It has low swelling power and less water is
required for cooking. Its glossy and translucent appearance when cooked makes it a suitable
ingredient in many recipes for cakes and sweet desserts.
Glutinous rice has starch granules with higher amylopectin and lower amylose content than that
of the non-glutinous rice. The chemical structures of these two starch granules are different.
The glucose units in amylose are linked together in straight chains, whereas in amylopectin, the
glucose chains are highly branched. The glucose units are hydrolyzed by the enzyme amylases in
our digestive tract, and made available for absorption into our body.
Rice, especially the unpolished type, is generally a good source of B vitamins such as thiamine and niacin. It provides iron, phosphorus, and magnesium. Although rice is lower in protein compared with other cereals, its protein quality is good because it contains lysine, which is an essential amino acid. Unfortunately, only milled and polished glutinous rice is available in the market. During milling and polishing, the rice bran and germ layers that contain the valuable nutrients is removed. Glutinous rice has high carbohydrates and is not suitable for the diabetics.
Chestnut
Chestnut, li zi in Mandarin or foong lut in Cantonese, is shaped like half a balls.
It is flat on one side and round on the other with a diameter about 20mm-40mm. The outer shell
is hard and is dusty red or dark brown. The edible nut has a thin out skin, which is usually
removed before cooking. The cooked nut is pale yellow in colour. It is sweet and of powdery
texture and has a fragrant flavour.
As recorded in Chinese food cures, chestnut invigorates vital energy and benefits the body
gradually. It improves absorption. If consumed regularly chestnut is believed to promote good
health, especially for the asthmatic and people who have chronic throat inflammation or with
kidney problems causing frequent urination. It rejuvenates energy for those who have just
recovered from sickness.
Salted egg yolk
The red salted egg yolk gives the dumpling a rich flavour and nutrient values besides adding
appealing colour to it. Salted egg yolk has high cholesterol and sodium levels. It is not
recommended for people with hypertension.
Pepper
Pepper used in the spicy savoury dumpling stimulates stomach excretions and thus aids digestion
and absorption. People with hypertension or high blood should not take pepper in excessive
amount.
Yellow zong
The yellow zong (kan sui chung) is a plain dumpling usually without filling. It can last for many days without refrigeration. Some are filled with sweet red bean that has shorter storage life.
Yellow zong is made by treating the glutinous rice with lye water. The yellow colour is
not a dye, but is produced by the hydrolytic reactions of lye water and rice. Lye water also
improves the texture and prolongs the storage life.
Chemicals used
Chemicals commonly used to improve the texture of zong zi are lye water and borax. Lye
water (air abu soda or kan sui) is a strong alkali. It is also available in solid form.
Local solid lye has more than 60% sodium carbonate. The lye water has about 20% sodium carbonate
with other ingredients such as sodium hydroxide and silicate. These are permitted food additives.
Excessive amounts can cause a astringent taste and darker yellow colouring.
Non-permitted additives
Borax or sodium borate is not recommended for use in food. However, it helps in maintaining the
firm texture as well as prevent microbial spoilage in zong zi. Some traditional recipes
call for the addition of a small amount of borax in the water while cooking, but most recipes do
not recommend it any more.
Borax is easily absorbed and accumulated in the body. High accumulation of borax affects our
kidney function. Excessive consumption of food containing borax can cause vomiting, loss of
appetite and diarrhoea.
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