The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the traditional Chinese festivals. Every year on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar, people eat zongzi, race dragon boats, hang mugwort and other activities to honor Qu Yuan. And in these activities, zongzi is one of the most important food. Today, we will experience the delicious flavor and culture of zongzi, together with the picture of zongzi.

Making Rice Dumplings

The steps to make rice dumplings are not very complicated, but they require certain skills and patience. First, prepare the dumpling leaves, glutinous rice, meat, egg yolk and other ingredients. Soak the glutinous rice for a few hours, then add an appropriate amount of salt and oil, mix well and set aside. Meat can choose pork, chicken, salted egg yolk, etc., cut into small pieces and set aside.

1. Soak the rice dumpling leaves in water until softened, then dry and set aside.

2. Take a rice dumpling leaf and fold both ends into a triangle, then fold the bottom into a small triangle.

3. Fold the two corners of the small triangle outwards to form a small pocket.

4. Put an appropriate amount of glutinous rice and meat in the pocket, and add an egg yolk.

5. Fold the leaves on both sides of the pocket upwards, then fold the upper leaves downwards to wrap the dumplings.

6. Tie the rice dumplings tightly with a thin rope or thin branches of the leaves to make sure the package is tight.

7. Put the dumplings into a pot, add the right amount of water, and bring them to a boil over high heat, then turn down the heat and cook them slowly.

Features of Rice Dumplings in Different Places

Regions of China have their own characteristics of rice dumplings, and different places have different flavors and practices. Below, we take a look at some representative zongzi.

1. Southern Rice Dumplings

Southern rice dumplings use glutinous rice as the main ingredient, which is soft and sticky with a sweet flavor. Guangdong's salted meat dumplings and salted egg yolk dumplings, Fujian's meat dumplings and fresh meat dumplings, and Jiangsu's lotus seed paste dumplings are all representatives of southern dumplings.

2. Northern Rice Dumplings

Northern rice dumplings are made with a mixture of glutinous rice and rice as the main ingredient, with a slightly hard texture and light flavor. Beijing's pork dumplings, Tianjin's fresh meat dumplings, and Shandong's lotus seed paste dumplings are all representatives of northern dumplings.

3. Taiwan dumplings

Taiwan dumplings with glutinous rice, rice and red beans as the main ingredients, soft and sticky texture, sweet flavor. Taiwan's red bean dumplings, meat dumplings and egg yolk dumplings are representative of Taiwan's dumplings.

The Culture of Rice Dumplings

The rice dumplings are not only a kind of food, but also have deep cultural connotations. The origin of zongzi can be traced back to the Warring States period, Qu Yuan in order to protect the motherland and the people, and ultimately chose to throw himself into the river. In order to prevent aquatic animals such as fish, shrimp, snakes and earthworms from encroaching on Qu Yuan's body, the people put some zongzi along the river as a way of preventing the encroachment of aquatic animals.

Since then, people have designated the fifth day of the fifth month of every year as the Dragon Boat Festival, and have commemorated Qu Yuan by eating zongzi and racing dragon boats. Zongzi has thus become an indispensable food for the Dragon Boat Festival.

Ending

The zongzi is an indispensable food in the traditional Chinese festival, and every year there are various kinds of zongzi for people to taste in the Dragon Boat Festival. Whether it is the south or the north, whether it is sweet or salty zongzi, each kind of zongzi has its own characteristics and cultural connotations. Let's come together to feel the delicious and cultural Dragon Boat Festival, together to taste the delicious dumplings!

(Pictures of rice dumplings)