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Happy Dragon Boat Festival!

2022-06-03

                             —Dragon Boat Festival · Enjoy the Joy of Zongzi—

"Duan is the theme of the birth of things."


That is to say, "duan" means the beginning


Therefore, the fifth day of the fifth lunar month is called the Dragon Boat Festival


The Dragon Boat Festival, also known as the Duan Yang Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, the Tianzhong Festival, etc., originated from the worship of natural celestial phenomena and evolved from the ancient dragon worship. On the Dragon Boat Festival in midsummer, the seven constellations of the Azure dragon ascend to the south-central sky, occupying the most "central" position throughout the year, as stated in the fifth line of the Qian hexagram of the I Ching at 爻辞 : "The flying dragon is in the sky."图片

The Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional cultural festival popular in China and other countries within the Sinosphere. Legend has it that Qu Yuan, a poet of the State of Chu during the Warring States Period, threw himself into the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. Later generations also regarded the Dragon Boat Festival as a festival to commemorate Qu Yuan. There are also sayings about commemorating Wu Zixu, Cao E and Jie Zitui, etc. The origin of the Dragon Boat Festival encompasses ancient astrological culture, humanistic philosophy and other aspects, containing profound and rich cultural connotations. In the process of inheritance and development, it integrates various folk customs. Due to the differences in regional cultures, there are variations in customs or details in different areas.


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Customs of the Dragon Boat Festival

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There are many customs for the Dragon Boat Festival, and due to

regional differences, there are variations in the content or details of

the customs. The main customs include: dragon boat racing,

eating zongzi, hanging mugwort and calamus, gathering for a luncheon,

taking a bath on the Dragon Boat Festival (bathing in orchides),

flying kites, swinging on swings, and so on.


In addition to these common customs, different regions also have

some unique Dragon Boat Festival customs, such as tying

hundred-day silk ribbons, giving incense fans, drying ginger for a

hundred days, hanging yellow kudl vines, and painting foreheads, etc.



Festival food
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Eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival is a traditional custom among the Chinese people. Zongzi, also known as "jiaoshu", "zongzi 籺"," tube zongzi ", has a long history and many varieties.

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DUAN WU

Overall, the customs of celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival among people in different regions are more or less the same. And eating zongzi during the Dragon Boat Festival has remained the same throughout history in all parts of China. The ancient zongzi 籺 appeared as early as the spring and autumn period and was originally used to worship ancestors and deities; By the Jin Dynasty, it had become a food for celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival.


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Best wishes for the Dragon Boat Festival
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Regarding the blessings for the Dragon Boat Festival, most folklorists believe that it was only after the festival itself that historical figures like Qu Yuan were attached to the festival and endowed with sacrificial or other meanings. These meanings are only a part of the Dragon Boat Festival. The original intention of establishing the Dragon Boat Festival was to be a joyous festival.

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The term "Ankang" is generally used in daily life to offer blessings to the elderly. The phrase "Wishing you a healthy Dragon Boat Festival" is not recorded in any literature and has only been circulating in recent years.

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How to make zongzi
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Several ways to make zongzi


1. Taiwanese-style zongzi


Ingredients: Long glutinous rice, pork, shiitake mushrooms,

salted egg yolks, soy sauce, sugar, five-spice powder, salt,

bamboo leaves, bamboo strings.


Method: Wash the glutinous rice and soak it for 3 hours before

setting it aside. Cut the pork into long strips about 4 centimeters

long and 2 centimeters wide. Soak the shiitake mushrooms until

they become soft, then remove the stems and cut them into strips.

Then marinate the pork and mushrooms with soy sauce,

five-spice powder, salt, sugar and other seasonings for 2 hours.

Cut the salted egg yolks in half and set aside.


Wash the bamboo leaves and the string. Take two bamboo leaves and

fold them into a funnel shape at one-third of the way. Scoop half of

the glutinous rice into the funnel, add pork, mushrooms, salted egg

yolks and other fillings, then fill it up with glutinous rice. Next,

fold the excess bamboo leaves back to cover the funnel and wrap it up.

Tie a knot tightly around the waist of the zongzi with the string.

After it's done, put it in a pot, cover the zongzi with water,

and cook over medium heat for 2 hours. It can

be eaten when it is fully cooked.


2. Mung bean and duck egg zongzi


750 grams of glutinous rice, 750 grams of mung beans, 25 grams of peanuts,

and 5 cooked salted duck egg yolks. Chop the egg yolks and mix them evenly

with glutinous rice, mung beans and peanuts to make the filling. Take the

soaked bamboo shell leaves, fold them into a bucket shape, fill them with an

appropriate amount of filling, wrap them up, and then put them in a pot with

cold water to cover the zongzi. Boil for 1 hour, then reduce the heat

and simmer for 1 hour.


3. Dried tangerine peel beef zongzi


1000 grams each of soaked glutinous rice and mung beans, 100 grams each of

beef and dried tangerine peel, 50 grams of minced pork, and an appropriate

amount of chopped scallions, ginger and salt. Stir-fry the minced scallions

in lard until golden brown. Then, add the beef, dried tangerine peel and

minced pork in sequence and stir-fry for half a minute. Drizzle with sesame oil and

the filling is ready. When wrapping, first fill in the well-mixed glutinous rice and

mung beans, place the filling in the middle, and then cook it in

the above way until done.


4. Hundred-fruit zongzi


750 grams of glutinous rice, 25 grams each of green plums, pineapple flesh and

winter melon strips, watermelon kernels, walnut kernels and raisins,

300 grams of white granulated sugar. First, boil the green plums, pineapple flesh

and winter melon strips in sugar water respectively, drain the water,

and then marinate them in sugar for 24 hours to make the filling.

Wrap it into a five-pointed square bottom zongzi, cook for 50 minutes,

then remove from the heat and let it rest for 4 minutes.


5. Healthy Vegetarian Zongzi


Ingredients: 3 bowls of cooked Sanbao rice, 1 meter of cotton rope,

1/2 cup of dried radish, 6 medium-sized shiitake mushrooms, 12 large

bean curd leaves, 6 chestnuts, 1/2 cup of boiled peanuts,

60g of plain egg yolk (10g per piece), 30g of plain meat floss (5g per piece)


Seasonings


1/8 teaspoon black pepper, 1/8 teaspoon sugar,

1/4 teaspoon sesame oil, 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce.


2. A little salt, white pepper and vegetarian oyster sauce.


Method:


1. Boil the bamboo leaves in hot water for 8 minutes,

then wash them, dry them and set aside.


2. Soak the dried radish in water for 10 minutes, then chop it up and squeeze

out the water. Soak the shiitake mushrooms until soft and then cut them into pieces.

Soak the chestnuts in water for 2 hours, and steam the mushrooms and

chestnuts until cooked (about 15 to 20 minutes).


3. First, stir-fry the shredded dried radish, diced mushrooms and seasonings

(1) until fragrant and set aside.


4. After the Sanbao rice is cooked, add the seasoning

(2) and mix well.


5. Overlap two bamboo leaves and roll them into a pointed bucket shape.

Put in 2 tablespoons of the Three Treasures rice from step (4),

then add 1 teaspoon of crushed dried radish, diced mushrooms, chestnuts,

vegetarian egg yolk, and vegetarian meat flakes. Add another tablespoon

of the Three Treasures rice, press slightly, and wrap it into a zongzi shape.

Tie it tightly with cotton string.


6. Place it in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes.


6. Fish-flavored lotus leaf Zongzi


Ingredients: 1 cup of Sanbao Rice, 1/2 cup of glutinous rice, 80g of fish meat,

20g of dried radish powder, 2 shiitake mushrooms,

5g of dried shrimp, 3 slices of ginger.


Seasonings: 2 tablespoons of soy sauce,

1 tablespoon of rice wine.


Method:


1. Mix the washed and soaked Sanbao rice with glutinous rice, add 1/2 cup of water,

and steam it in an electric rice cooker until cooked (if not an electric cooker,

add 1/2 cup of water to the outer pot). Soak lotus leaves in water and set aside.


2. Wash the fish meat and slice it. Wash the dried radish and drain the water.

Cut the mushrooms in half and soak them in water until they become soft.

Wash the dried shrimps and set them aside.


3. Heat the pan, add oil and stir-fry the dried shrimps until fragrant.

Then add the mushrooms and stir-fry until fragrant. Remove and set aside.


4. Heat the pan, add oil and stir-fry the ginger slices until fragrant.

Then add the fish slices and seasonings and simmer over low heat for 101 minutes.


5. Take a small steamer, line it with lotus leaves, put in the cooked

Sanbao glutinous rice, then add the ingredients from steps (3) and (4),

continue to add the Sanbao glutinous rice, wrap the lotus leaves,

and steam it in an electric rice cooker until done

(add 1/2 cup of water to the outer pot).


7 Meat zongzi


A. Soak 5 jin of fragrant glutinous rice in warm water

(neither too cold nor too hot, the water temperature should be slightly warm

but acceptable to the touch) for 2 to 3 hours (knead 1 to 2 times during this

period to ensure better penetration of the rice), and then drain the water with

A small winnowing basket or a filter basket.


B. Soak 2 jin of peeled mung beans in the same warm water for the

same amount of time, then drain the water.


C. 2.5 pounds of lean and fatty pork (if only lean meat is cooked, the zongzi

won't be smooth or fragrant enough). Cut the meat into strips that are 2cm wide,

1cm thick and 10-15cm long. Next, add a little salt, monosodium

glutamate (chicken essence), cooking wine, ginger slices,

1 teaspoon of light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and other seasonings,

and mix well with chopsticks. Set aside.


D. Put the zongzi leaves in water and boil them. After the water boils for

10 minutes, take them out, wash them with cold water,

cut off the excess at both ends and drain them.


E. Cut the cotton thread into several strips, each about 20cm long.

Put a towel on your leg (knee) to keep your clothes wet.


F. Take two bamboo leaves (both on the reverse side) and overlap

them in the opposite direction (not completely). Put a small bowl (125 grams)

of rice in it, gently draw a line in the middle of the rice with your index finger,

add 1 or 2 tablespoons of mung beans, then place the meat strips,

and put the same amount of mung beans on the meat strips. Finally,

fill the rice to cover the mung beans.


G. With your right hand, first fold the outer bamboo leaf inward and then backward.

After wrapping one end, complete the other end in the same way.

When tying the zongzi, tie it once in the middle first and then from

one end to the other one by one to prevent deformation. The tightness of the string

should not be too tight (boiling over) or too loose (water ingress),

and it should not move when gently pulled.


H. After tying them up, put them one by one into the pot, then add cold water to

cover the zongzi by about 1cm, and light the fire... After the water boils for 15 minutes,

swap the positions of the upper and lower zongzi in the pot,

and then simmer over low heat for another hour.


8. Red date zongzi


After understanding how to make meat zongzi, sweet jujube zongzi is not very difficult.

The biggest difference: Soak the jujubes in warm water, remove the seeds

and cut them into bean-sized pieces. Then mix them evenly with the drained

glutinous rice. As for the seasonings, if you like it sweet, you can add some sugar


Wash the glutinous rice and soak it for 3 hours


2. Blanch the bamboo leaves in hot water, wash them thoroughly and drain them


3. Seasoning of the zongzi filling: Wrap whatever you like to eat.

If it's salty, you need to marinate it first to absorb the flavor


4. Fold two bamboo leaves into a funnel shape, scoop in one spoonful of rice,

add fillings such as streaky pork, mushrooms, salted egg yolks,

and chestnuts, then scoop in another spoonful of rice, wrap it up, and tie it tightly

with a bamboo string. Put the wrapped zongzi into the pot.


5. Tying of zongzi: Red bean paste zongzi should not be tied too tightly to

prevent the rice grains from squeezing into the red bean paste. If it is not

cooked thoroughly, it will result in undercooked rice. If meat dumplings are

made with fat pork, they should not be tied too tightly; a moderate

degree of tightness is sufficient. If lean pork is used, it should be tied tightly

because the lean meat will contract when cooked, and the fat from the filling

will seep into the water, failing to maintain the rich and sticky texture of the zongzi.


6. Cooking of zongzi: When cooking zongzi, make sure to add them only

after the water is boiling. The water should cover the surface of the zongzi.

Once the water boils again, simmer over low heat for about 2 hours.

In fact, the length of time mainly depends on the size of the zongzi you are wrapping.


9. Salty and fragrant chicken rice dumplings


Ingredients: 600g glutinous rice, 800g chicken, 400g sweet potatoes,

80g dried shrimp, 1 tablespoon minced garlic, half a tablespoon light soy sauce,

scallions, salt, chicken essence, a few cornstarch, an appropriate

amount of bamboo leaves, an appropriate amount of bamboo string.


Method:


Chop the chicken, potatoes and Onions finely, and mix well with salt, garlic,

chicken essence, cornstarch and other seasonings.


2. Wash the glutinous rice and soak it in water for half an hour. Heat the pan,

stir-fry the scallions, ginger and garlic until fragrant, then add the

glutinous rice and light soy sauce and stir-fry evenly.


3. Use 2 bamboo leaves, fold them into a string-like shape, put in 1 tablespoon

of stir-fried glutinous rice, add the filling evenly prepared in step 1,

and then add another 1 tablespoon of glutinous rice on top.


4. Tie the zongzi with a string and put it in a high-pressure cooker

to cook for 30 minutes. It can be eaten while it's still hot. If it is a regular pot,

it needs to be cooked for about 2 hours.


10. Authentic gold medal wrapped steamed zongzi


Ingredients:


500 grams of glutinous rice, 1 dried shiitake mushroom, 4 lotus seeds,

10 grams of dried shrimp, 50 grams of mung bean kernels, 2 chestnuts,

1 dried lotus leaf, 6 dried bamboo leaves, 2 dried alkali grass.


2. 1 salted egg yolk, a little pepper powder, 30 grams of taro, ribs,

about 100 grams of fat meat; A little five-spice powder,

scallion oil and monosodium glutamate salt.


Method:


Soak the ingredients in water from Ingredient 1 until they are fully expanded.

Among them, the pointed glutinous rice should be soaked for at least two

and a half hours. Then, marinate with pepper, scallion oil, monosodium

glutamate and salt. Cut the taro into pieces, fry them and set aside.


2. Cut the fat meat into pieces and marinate them with five-spice powder for

about 30 minutes. Cut the pork ribs into pieces and marinate them with black vinegar,

soy sauce, salt, monosodium glutamate and flour, then set aside.

3. Tear the lotus leaves in half, with the thick side facing down, spread three bamboo

leaves on top, and place half of the glutinous rice. Then add shiitake mushrooms,

lotus seeds, dried shrimps, chestnuts, salted egg yolks, fat meat, pork ribs,

taro and mung beans. Then add the other half of the glutinous rice and cover

it with the other three bamboo leaves.


4. Fold the left and right sides of the lotus leaf tightly, then fold it back and

forth tightly and wrap it into a square shape. Wrap it

tightly with alkali grass and tie a knot.


5. Boil the zongzi in water for four hours and it's ready to serve.



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I wonder what flavor of zongzi everyone likes to eat? Do you like everything wrapped at home? Haha, welcome to leave a message and share

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