Cantonese Glutinous Rice Dumplings/Zongzi

The Dragon Boat Festival falls on Saturday this year and it's a day before Father's Day.  I thought I would make some Zongzi for the family.  Zongzi is usually eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival in China and other Asian countries.  If you like to know more about the history of the festival you can check here.

I know for most people, making Zongzi might sound intimidating, but if you have been reading my blog on recipes, you would agree that there's always a way to simplify things.  As I've said before, I like easy, quick and healthy recipes, so I have tried my best to keep the instructions simple.

Ingredients:
Sweet Glutinous Rice (4 cups will get you about 15 medium dumplings)
Bamboo leaves (soak overnight and dry them when ready)
String or Twine (or any string that will not break easily)
1 lb chicken breast (season with soy sauce and five spice powder)
4 Chinese Sausages (cut into 1 inch length)
4 salted duck eggs (cut in quarter)
1 cup of peeled split mung beans(soap in water overnight and boil in water for 5-10 minutes)
5 dried Shiitake mushrooms (soap in water overnight)
Optional:
1/2 cup of dried shrimp

Instructions:
Although for convenience, I prefer to soak the bamboo leaves overnight but the down side to this is the leaves tear easily and are more brittle than if you boil them in water for 5 minutes.
After you have marinaded the chicken breast, place into the oven and cook on 300 F for 30 minutes.  Shred the chicken after it's cooked.
While the chicken is in the oven, cut the sausages and salted duck eggs and put aside.
Boil the mung beans.
Mix in 1 teaspoon of salt, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and all of the cooked mung beans into the rice and mix well, transfer to a drainer to remove the excess liquid.

Personally, I think wrapping the Zongzi is the hardest part.  The works of Life has very detailed instructions on how to do this.
After wrapping, place all the dumplings into a big pot, fill it with water making sure all the dumplings are covered and boil for 2 hours.  Be sure to add boiled water when the water level goes down.

and voila! now you can enjoy a savory glutinous rice dumpling without the hassle.  My motto in cooking is to be creative and making it work with the ingredients you already have.  Thank you for reading!