Sticky Rice Dumplings Recipes

ZONGZI: CHINESE STICKY RICE DUMPLING (粽子)

Steps:

• Prepare: Soak glutinous rice, red beans and bamboo leaves in water overnight.
• Assemble (triangle shape): Use one wide bamboo leaf (or two overlapped narrow ones) to form a narrow cone. First, place a date in the cone, then some glutinous rice. Add a tablespoon of red bean paste. Top with more rice and whole red beans. Fold the two sides of the leaf over the rice. Then fold the top of the leaf down to cover the rice completely. Wrap the rest of the leaf around the shape. Tie with a cooking string. Please refer to the video below.
• Cook: Place Zongzi in a pot (ideally small enough to let them snuggle). Fill the pot with water completely covering the Zongzi. Place a heavy plate on top. Bring the water to a boil then leave to simmer for 2.5 hours (check the water level from time to time. Top up to ensure the Zongzi are always underwater).
• Serve: Equally delicious both warm and cold. Dip into sugar or honey for a sweeter taste if you wish.
• Prepare: Soak glutinous rice, shiitake mushrooms and bamboo leaves in water overnight. Marinate the pork with the rest of the ingredients overnight.
• Assemble (pyramid shape): Overlap two leaves like an X. Form a wide cone in the middle. Place some glutinous rice in, then the pork and mushroom. Top with more rice and make it level. Fold two ends of the leaves towards the middle. Then use another two leaves to seal two sides. Tie with a cooking string (opposite direction of the last two leaves). Please refer to the video below.
• Cook: Same as cooking sweet Zongzi (see above).
• Serve: Best to serve warm.

CHICKEN STICKY RICE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• First, prepare to marinade the Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thigh (1.5 kilogram). Cut the chicken thigh into chunks, about 3 centimeters in size.
• Make the marinade. Mix Chinese Five Spice Powder (2 teaspoon), Corn Starch (1 tablespoon), Granulated Sugar (2 tablespoon), Light Soy Sauce (2 tablespoon), Dark Soy Sauce (2 tablespoon), Oyster Sauce (1 tablespoon), Salt (1 teaspoon), Cinnamon Stick (1), Star Anise (2) and Ground White Pepper (1 teaspoon).
• Mix with marinade and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or preferably overnight.
• Then heat up oil in a wok and briefly fry the marinated chicken with chopped Garlic (6 clove) until they brown lightly.
• Remove from wok and place in a bowl or casserole and set aside while we prepare the other fillings.
• Crack the Salted Duck Egg (20) and remove the egg white. Gently rinse each yolk under the water to completely remove all the white. Then cut the Salted Duck Egg Yolk in halves and set aside in a bowl.
• Rinse and soaked Dried Shrimp (100 gram) for about 30 minutes.
• Drain well and fry in Oil (as needed) until golden brown. Place in a bowl and set aside.
• Then rinse and soak Dried Shiitake Mushroom (100 gram) till softened.
• Drain well and saute the mushrooms till aromatic and brown slightly. Remove from wok and place in a bowl.
• Soak the Dried Chestnuts (100 gram) in cold water, preferably overnight.
• Then boil the dried chestnuts for about 20 minutes or until softened.
• In the same wok, fry the chestnuts until they brown slightly. Remove from wok and place in a bowl.
• Next, rinse and add Split Mung Beans (300 gram) into Alkaline Water (1 teaspoon). Soaked in water for at least 3 hours.
• Drain well and mix well with the Ground Black Pepper (1 teaspoon) and Salt (1 teaspoon).
• Stir fry the split mung beans with chopped garlic until aromatic. Place in a bowl and set aside.
• Next, rinse and soaked Black Eyed Peas (250 gram) for at least 30 minutes.
• Drain and mix well with the Salt (1 teaspoon) and Ground Black Pepper (1 teaspoon).
• In the wok with oil, stir fry the black eyed peas with chopped garlic until aromatic, place in a bowl and set aside.
• Wash and rinse the Glutinous Rice (2 kilogram) until water runs clear. Then soak in water for 1 hour.
• Drain well before adding the seasonings into the glutinous rice and mix till evenly combined.
• Then, using the same wok, fried chopped garlic till fragrant. Add the seasoned glutinous rice and stir fry for 2 minutes. Stir in the black-eyed peas and adjust to taste.
• Transfer to a casserole and set aside.
• Soak bamboo leaves one day ahead or overnight until softened. First bring a large pot or wok of water to a boil. Add Sesame Oil (1 tablespoon) into the water.
• Carefully place the Bamboo Leaf (80 piece) into the wok. Make sure the water covers all the leaves and cook over high heat for about 15 minutes, just to soften the bamboo leaves.
• Also, boil briefly the grass strands used for tying the wrapped sticky rice dumplings.
• Remove the bamboo leaves from the wok to cool. Untie the bamboo leaves and use a clean cloth to wipe both sides of each bamboo leaf.
• Then snip off both stray ends of each of the bamboo leaves.
• Gently place the cleaned bamboo leaves and grass strings in a large container of cold water. Leave the bamboo leaves to soak in the cold water overnight. And we're ready to wrap the dumplings!
• To wrap dumplings, layer two bamboo leaves in opposite directions, the tail end of one lining up with the top end of the other, with the smooth sides up and form a cone.
• Then add in 1 heaped tablespoon of fried glutinous rice mixture. Fill about 1/3 of the cone with the glutinous rice mixture. Press down firmly with a spoon.
• Next, add a piece each of chicken, mushroom, chestnut and salted duck egg yolk. Also, add 1 teaspoon of dried shrimp and 1 tablespoon of split mung beans.
• Top the fillings with more glutinous rice mixture, till the brim of the cone. Press down firmly again with a spoon.
• Next, fold the leaves over to cover the open top of the rice dumpling completely. Make sure you press the tip of the rice dumpling so that the end is pointed. Then fold the leaves over the edges of the cone in a triangular shape.
• At the top of the triangle (base end of the leaves), fold over the ends either to the right or left, making sure the rice dumpling is firmly wrapped.
• Tie the rice dumpling firmly in the middle with grass strings by using a downward pulling motion.
• Tie the dumpling with the grass strand twice, each time with an easy knot to ensure no loose ends.
• Snip off excess bamboo leaves and strings. And we're ready to cook the sticky rice dumplings.
• First, boil water in a large pot. Add in Salt (1 teaspoon).
• When water comes to a boil again, gently lower the sticky rice dumplings into the water making sure they are fully submerged.
• Cover the pot with lid and cook the sticky rice dumplings over medium-high heat till cooked. If using pressure cooker, it will take about 1 hour. If using normal pot, the cooking process is about 2 to 3 hours, depending on the size of the rice dumplings.
• Always check for doneness once the rice dumplings are cooked. To check if they are cooked through, unwrap one of the dumplings in the pot, check for doneness and taste it before removing the rest of dumplings from the pot.
• Once the rice dumplings are cooked, remove from pot and hang them up to drain off excess water and to cool down. And we're done!
• Once the sticky rice dumpling has cooled slightly, unwrap and enjoy!

CHINESE STICKY RICE DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• Soak the dried mushrooms for 45 minutes. Then drain them and cut into a small dice. Set aside.
• Meanwhile -- chop the pork and the prawns finely. Do not mince them.
• Mix the pork and prawns with the 3 teaspoons of cornflour, wine and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok and then stir-fry the pork and prawn mixture for about 2 or three minutes.
• Add the remaining filling ingredients, including the mushrooms. Stir until the mixture boils and thickens. Remove and cool (overnight works best. Store in the refrigerator until ready to be used.
• FOR THE DUMPLINGS: Dissolve the 1/2 cup sugar and water in a saucepan. Add the glutinous rice flour. You will need to stir vigorously to blend. It is important that this is done energetically and quickly.
• Transfer the dough to a floured board (use rice flour) and knead lightly to a smooth silky dough. Use a very generous amount of rice flour. The dough is very soft and sticky- you cant have too much flour. Any excess flour can be dusted off when the dumpling is completed.
• Shape the dough into a long roll (sausage) and cut it into 24 pieces. Cover the dough with a damp tea-towel.
• Flatten each piece of dough with your hand or use a rolling pin. Form a flat circle about 6 centimetres (roughly 2 inches) in diameter.
• Into each round -place a heaped spoonful of the cooled filling mixture into the centre. Fold the dough over in half (now shaped of a semi-circle) and pinch the edges to seal. Repeat until all 24 dumplings are made.
• TO COOK: Roll each dumpling in sesame seeds and deep fry them in a moderate heat until they turn a golden brown. This should only take a few minutes. The dumplings will float to the top when they are cooked.
• Note- cooking time does not include overnight cooling.