Enkelhet← Back
Zongzi (Joong, Bamboo Sticky Rice Dumplings)
Toisan-style savoury sticky rice dumplings: glutinous rice and mung beans around pork belly, Chinese sausage, salted egg yolk, dried shrimp, shiitake and peanuts, wrapped in bamboo leaves and boiled for 3 hours. The batch makes about 20 dumplings; it's easiest spread over two days (marinate the pork and prep the leaves the day before), and the cooked dumplings freeze well. In an Instant Pot, cook covered in water for 1 hour on high pressure with natural release. Recipe by Daddy Lau, Made With Lau (madewithlau.com/recipes/bamboo-sticky-rice). Nutrition is an estimate.
0 of 16 steps done — tap a step to check it off as you cook
1
The day before (or at least 3 hours ahead), make the Marinated Pork Belly and prepare the Bamboo Leaves.
2
A few hours before wrapping, rinse 900 gGlutinous Rice three times: cover with water, rub it around, and drain.
3
Rinse 450 gSplit Mung Beans (peeled), 340 gPeanuts, 55 gDried Shrimp (large) and 15Shiitake Mushrooms (dried) the same way, each in its own bowl.
4
Soak each ingredient separately in water for 30 minutes, no longer (the rice and mung beans get too soft). Drain well in a colander.
5
Slice 2Chinese Sausage (Lap Cheong) diagonally into 1 cm pieces. Halve the dried shrimp (leave small ones whole) and cut the mushrooms into thirds; keep soaking any that are still firm.
6
Halve 10Salted Egg Yolk.
7
Mix the rice with 1 1/2 tspSalt, 1 tspSugar and 1 tbspOlive Oil for 60–90 seconds.
8
Mix the mung beans with 1 tspSalt for 60–90 seconds.
9
Make a pocket: lay a large and a small leaf shiny side up, pointing in opposite directions and overlapping by about 2.5 cm. Fold in half, then fold about 2.5 cm along the bottom edge to form the corner of a cone. Patch any cracked leaf with another.
10
Fill the pocket in layers, spreading each evenly: 2 tbsp rice, 1 tbsp mung beans, then 1 piece pork belly, 1 slice sausage, half an egg yolk, 2 shrimp, 2 mushroom pieces and a few peanuts, then 1 tbsp mung beans and 2 tbsp rice.
11
Wrap a third leaf around the pocket, high enough to close it. Fold the sides in over the filling, then fold the excess down toward the bottom.
12
Tie with cotton butcher's twine: hold a 15 cm tail under your finger, loop several times around the width, cross with the tail, loop once lengthwise, and double-knot. Trim the string and any excess leaf. It doesn't need to be neat, as long as the filling is sealed in.
13
Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
14
Pack the dumplings into a large pot and cover completely with cold water (don't start with boiling water). Put the lid on.
15
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and cook for 3 hours. Check every 30 minutes and top up with boiling water from a kettle so the dumplings stay fully submerged.
16
To serve, cut the string and unwrap the leaves.
Sub-recipes
Sub-recipeMarinated Pork Belly
1
Cut 450 gPork Belly into roughly 2.5 cm pieces.
2
In a bowl, combine 1 tspSalt, 1/2 tspFive Spice Powder, 1 tbspSoy Sauce (light), 1 tspChicken Bouillon Powder and 1 tspShaoxing Wine.
3
Add the pork and stir for 60–90 seconds to coat.
4
Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
Sub-recipeBamboo Leaves
1
Soak 80Dried Bamboo Leaves in a large basin of cold water for 30–60 minutes. Weigh them down with a small bowl of water so they stay submerged. You need 3 per dumpling plus spares for torn ones.
2
Move the leaves to a wok or large pot, cover with cold water (not pre-boiled, which makes them crack) and put the lid on.
3
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer for 15–20 minutes.
4
Scrub both sides of each leaf with a clean sponge. If wrapping the next day, keep them in a bucket of water overnight so they stay pliable.