- Makes approx : 15 pcs
- Prep time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Cook time: 3 hours
INGREDIENTS:
- 500 g Langit glutinous rice or The Bites Millet (Glutinous)
- 40 dried bamboo leaves (larger size easier to wrap)
- 20 straw ties, or kitchen twine
- 100 g Lotus Textured Soy Protein
- 8 pieces Shen Li Chestnuts, cut half
- 100 g The Bites Red Lentil Split, soaked
- 8 dried The Bites Dried White Shiitake Mushroom, soaked
- 8 dried The Bites Dried Black Fungus, soaked
- 1 sticks Fresh Mushroom Eryngii
- 1 teaspoon Gourmet Chinese 5 Spice Powder
- ½ teaspoon Sonnentor Coriander Powder
- 5 shallots
Rice
- 1 teaspoon Sunria Natural Bamboo Roasted Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon Sonnentor Pepper White Powder
- 2 tablespoon Earthist Light Soy Sauce (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Blackstrap Molasses syrup (optional)
Textured Soy Protein Marinade
- 2 tablespoon Earthist Light Soy Sauce
- 1 teaspoon Blackstrap Molasses syrup
- 1 teaspoon The Bites Cane Sugar (optional)
- 2 buds Sonnentor Star Anise
- 1 stick Sonnentor Cinnamon Quills or 1 teaspoon Sonnentor Cinnamon Powder
- ½ teaspoon Gourmet Chinese 5 Spice Powder
- 4 slices ginger (quarter sized)
- 2 spring onions, chopped to 2″ lengths (optional)
STEPS:
- Rinse the bamboo leaves and straw ties thoroughly in running water, then put in a large pot with water and boiled, soak for ½ hour or so, till it is soft. When the water has cooled, check to see if the leaves are bendable. If still stiff, redo the boiling and soaking. Once the leaves are completely bendable without breakage, they are ready to use. Keep them soaking water until you use them.
- Rinse the rice and soak glutinous rice (1-2 hours) or glutinous millet (8-12 hours) in water. Strain out water thoroughly. Put cooking oil in pot and stir fry the shallots till aroma and add in the rice, then season with salt and pepper. Mix in some light soy and molasses syrup if you want to have some colour on the rice. Lentil also lightly stir fried with shallots, then season with coriander and sea salt.
- Soak the dried mushrooms and dried black fungal in boiling hot water (just barely cover). When the mushrooms and black fungal are soft through, take them out, give them a squeeze to get rid of excess water and slice into quarters. Slice the eryngii mushroom about 1cm, then pan fry and season it with pepper and sea salt. Put cooking oil in a pot and stir fry the ginger then add in all mushrooms and follow with textured soy protein. Then season with 5spices, salt and pepper, mix in some light soy and molasses syrup.
- With all the prepared ingredients at hand, take two bamboo leaves and cut off the hard tips at the base. Put them side by side, overlapping by 2” or so (depends on your leaf size). It should feel structurally like one leaf and not two. Fold the base up by around 3-4″ and then immediately fold in the left-hand side of leaf structure, to create a sturdy little pocket as per the photo below.
- Holding the pocket together with one hand, use the other hand to scoop 1 tbsp rice into the pocket, spreading it out from the base up. Then you can pile on 1 teaspoon lentil, 1 piece chestnut, 2-3 pieces of soy chuck, 2 pieces of mushrooms, 3 pieces of black fungal and 1piece eryngii mushroom.
- On top of all this heap 1-2 more tbsp rice to the top of the zong zi. All the fillings should now be covered by rice. Now comes the tricky part. Fold over top of bamboo leaf (the long part) snugly over the fillings, then make a triangle shape as per the photo below. Do not squeeze the zong zi while you’re holding it or else the rice will come out packed and sticky instead of fluffy. Gentle cradling is the operative word here, I think.
- You should have enclosed all the zong zi fillings and rice with this last fold. Now you will only have the remaining tip of the bamboo leaf to fold. Grab it and pull slightly to create snug fit. Pinch the leaves together along the bottom edge of zong zi and fold upwards and tuck again under your thumb. The dumpling should be completely wrapped by the bamboo leaves now.
- Grab a string with your free hand. Wrap around the middle of the zong zi once and then wrap the straw tie around once again as snuggly as you can, again not squeezing the zong zi to death at any time, and then tie off with another secure knot. Cut off any protruding leaf tips or loose ends and you have wrapped your zong zi!
