Zhong Zhi ( Celebrating The Dragon Boat Festival)

Growing up in South Africa and being the only Asian kid in class wasn’t always easy, particularly when it came to meal time. My Korean mom always lovingly packed a little tin box with her delicious Korean and Chinese lunches, but I always dreaded opening it because inevitably one of the kids would lean over my shoulder, peer at whatever exotic item I had and ask snidely, “What are you eating?!” 

The most embarrassing food she packed was zhongzi, a savory rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves. Although it’s delicious, it also probably looked pretty bizarre to the other students. I so envied the white kids with their little sandwiches with the crusts cut off. And one year, to avoid being made fun of, I actually told my mom that I wasn’t hungry and didn’t want lunch. 
Surprisingly, she agreed to stop packing me a lunch, but when lunchtime came I could feel my stomach growling and began to think about my zhongzi at home. Then one day, a little girl named Abigail noticed I was hungry and started sharing her Vegimite sandwich with me for lunch. Then one day my older brother caught me eating the sandwich and accused me of lying to my mom. After he told on me, my mom called me over and said, “That’s so nice of Abigail, why don’t you bring her a zhongzi tomorrow for lunch?” 


The Dragon Boat Festival, which fell on June 9 this year, is one of the biggest holidays in the Chinese diaspora. The festival commemorates the death of the poet and government minister Qu Yuan, who lived from 340 to 278 BC during the Warring State period of the Zhou Dynasty. According to conventional history, when the Zhou king allied with the Qin state, Qu was banished to exile for opposing the alliance. Out of deep sorrow, the patriotic poet drowned himself in the Milou River. 

It was said that the people of Zhou raced out on the river in boats to find Qu's body, thus the tradition of dragon boast race was born. When they couldn't find Qu's body, they wanted him to rest in peace so the villages came together and made rice dumplings wrapped inside bamboo leaves to feed the fish in the river in order to prevent the fish to eat Qu's body. which is where the tradition of eating Zhong Zi came from. Other tales tells the Qu killed himself after his love was rejected by the the king. Whatever the real story was, The tradition of racing dragon boat and eating zhongzi are still practiced till this day and makes the Drago Boat Festival the Third biggest Chinese holiday in Asia.

Zhongzi come in different varieties but are traditionally made with glutinous rice, dried shrimp, five spice, pork belly, peanuts and cured egg yolks. There’s also a dessert version which is either made with sweet glutinous rice or tapioca with bean or fruit filling. Most people don’t make their own zhongzi anymore as it’s more convenient to buy them freshly made at the wet market. 

However, my mother has always made her own zhongzi and while it’s not the most traditional kind, it’s the most delicious zhongzi in my opinion. So this week I’d like to share with you my mother’s zhongzi recipe to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival.

Ingredients:
Directions:
You may also skip this step and just mix the pork, eggs and mushrooms in the rice. Although it would not be considered a zhongzi, it is just as delicious this way. But I do highly recommend wrapping it up in the bamboo leaves because the leaves give the rice a unique fragrance after it’s steamed. Zhongzi are often served with hot sauce. You can keep them in the refrigerator for two weeks or in the freezer up to three months. They heat up nicely in the microwave. 

(Makes 8 to 10 zhongzi)

For the braised pork:

¹⁄₂ lb. pork shoulder

³⁄₄ cup dark soy sauce

3 cups water

8 to 10 shiitake mushrooms

1 Tbsp. raw sugar

3 star anise

¹⁄₄ tsp. five spice

1 tsp. olive oil

4 to 5 hard-boiled eggs

For the rice:

2¹⁄₂ cups short-grain white rice

¹⁄₃ cup olive oil

1 cup shallots

5¹⁄₂ cup water

20 bamboo leaves (available at Asian grocery stores)

Start by cutting up the pork into one- to two-inch chunks and soak the mushrooms in warm water for five minutes. In a non-stick skillet on high heat sear the pork with olive oil for two minutes until it’s golden brown. Mix in the soy sauce and sugar and cook for another 30 seconds.

Now transfer the pork into a deep pot. Add in the mushrooms, hard-boiled eggs, star anise, five spice and water. Bring it to a boil and then turn it down to low heat. Let it cook for two hours. 

For the rice, cut shallots into small dices. Then on medium high heat, stir-fry them in ¹⁄₃ cup olive oil for two minutes until they are golden brown. 

Stir in the rice and let it cook for 1 minute.Then add in 5¹⁄₂ cups water, turn heat down to medium low, keep stirring until most of the water is reduced. This will take 10 to 12 minutes. Then turn the heat down to low, cover it up and let it cook for another 10 minutes. Once the rice is cooked, set it aside until the braised pork is ready.  

After two hours, the pork should be very tender. Ladle ²⁄₃ cup of the braised juice into the rice and mix to combine. 

Now for the assembling. Wash and soak the bamboo leaves for at least ten minutes. Stack two bamboo leaves on top of each other, fold the two ends together to create a cone, then stuff the rice, egg, pork and mushrooms into the leaves. Cover the rice up with the excess leaf, then tie up the zhongzi with butcher twine. Steam the zhongzi for ten minutes on high heat.

Enjoy!

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Coconuct and Mango Mochi Rice Cakes

People who know me personally know that there’s nothing I love more than making desserts. As much as I love baking pies and pastries, I often forget how fun it is to make Asian desserts. One of the most popular Asian desserts is the mochi rice cake, also known as sticky rice cakes. Although it is often thought of as a Japanese dessert, sticky rice is one of the most common desserts in East and South East Asia. Each country has its own version of sticky rice cakes made with unique fillings of local ingredients. Sticky rice is also eaten as a savory meal in Asia. As much as I love the humble Taiwanese traditional mochi cakes coated in sweet peanut powder, the famous Hong Kong coconut mango mochi cakes are my favorite. Not only are they very refreshing with the fresh fruit filling, they’re also really fun and easy to make. (Makes 16 bite-size rice cakes)

Ingredients:

For the batter:

1 cup sticky rice flour

4 Tbsp. cornstarch

³⁄₄ cup confectioner’s sugar

¹⁄₂ cup coconut milk (canned)

¹⁄₃ cup whole milk

4 tsp. melted coconut oil or melted butter

For the filling:

1 to 2 mangos (depending on size)

2 Tbsp. granulated sugar 

For the coating:

¹⁄₃ cup desiccated coconut

¹⁄₄ cup confectioner’s sugar 

Direction:

Start by sifting together the sticky rice flour, cornstarch, and confectioner’s sugar. Sticky rice flour is also called sweet rice flour or glutenous rice flour. You can find these at local specialty food stores and obviously at the Asian grocery store if there’s one near you.

Whisk in coconut milk and whole milk. Mix until there are no more lumps. Try to go for the full fat for both kinds of milk, which will give your mochi a much richer taste. I also find that the light coconut milk tends to have a bitter taste. Then mix in the melted coconut oil.

Transfer the batter into a shallow bowl so it will cook evenly. On high heat, steam the batter for 20 minutes.

Use a chopstick or a spatula to stir the cooked batter for one to two minutes. The batter will become stickier as you stir it. Let it cool for 20 minutes so it will be easier to handle.

While you’re waiting for the batter to cool down, cut the mango into bite-size cubes. Toss the cubes in the granulated sugar. You can also swap out the mango with kiwi, strawberries and pretty much any fruit you like. If the fruit is sweet enough, you can also cut the amount of granulated sugar if you like.

Divide the mochi batter into even pieces. The mochi will be very sticky, make sure you work with wet hands. 

Flatten the mochi in your palm and fill the mango cube in the center. Wrap it up tightly and toss it in the desiccated coconut and confectioner’s sugar mixture.

Chill it in the refrigerator for an hour before serving, which allows the flavors to infuse. These are best served the day when you make them, but they can keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for about three days.

Strawberry filling mochi rice cake.

More Asian desserts: Coconut Moon Cake

Garlic Naan Bread

Although bread is often associated with Western food, it’s also a staple of daily diets in parts of Asia. Naan is a type of bread that is widely eaten in west Asia, south Asia and even western China. Each region has its own version of naan and ways to prepare, cook and serve it. For me, nothing beats a fresh homemade bread. As much as I love baking my sour-dough bread every weekend, it does take a significant amount of time to make. So my solution to a “quick bread” is always some type of flatbread such as pita or naan. 

These days, bread seems to have a bad reputation as gluten-free diets have recently become the fastest-growing food trend. Obviously, there are people who have celiac disease who shouldn’t be eating gluten. There seems to also be a debate about whether “gluten intolerance” might be caused by the way the wheat is grown or how wheat-based products are prepared. People seem to forget that bread has been an important part of our lives for thousands of years. I’m a believer in making and preparing your own healthier bread at home, especially if you are sensitive to store-bought bread products. And believe it or not, it’s so much cheaper than buying it from the store! What better way to start making your own bread than by starting with the easiest (and tastiest) — naan. This week I’d like to share with you my go-to garlic and cilantro naan recipe. It’s so easy and fun to make and perfect for weeknight dinner. Makes 8 to 10 naany go to garlic and cilantro naan recipe, so easy and fun to make, perfect for week night dinner.

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

¹⁄₂ Tbsp. garlic powder

1¹⁄₂ tsp. granulated sugar

2¹⁄₄ tsp. instant yeast

2 Tbsp. melted butter

¹⁄₂ tsp. salt

¹⁄₂ cups plain Greek yogurt (full fat)

¹⁄₂ cups luke warm water (105-110 F)

¹⁄₄ cups fresh cilantro

1 clove of garlic

Direction:
Start by mincing the garlic and finely chopping the cilantro. Mix in flour, yeast, sugar, melted butter and yogurt until combined. Add in lukewarm water and kneed until dough is smooth and elastic (about 3 minutes). Cover it up and let it proof for an hour, until it doubles in size. 

After the dough has risen, roll it into a log and cut it into 8 to 10 pieces.

Roll the individual dough into 6- to 8-inch diameters. 

Heat up a non-stick pan on high heat. Once the pan is blazing hot, place the rolled-out dough on the pan. Let it cook until it starts puffing up (about two minutes). Flip it and let it cook for another minute. 

 

These are great to serve with curry or any type of stew. If you have any leftovers, you can also slap an egg on it and make breakfast with it.

Yang Nyeom Chicken AKA Korean Fried Chicken

Many cultures around the world have some version of fried chicken made with varying seasonings and batter ingredients. Unless you’re a vegetarian, fried chicken is one of those universal foods that nearly everyone loves. One unique regional variation is Korean yang nyeom chicken. With its unique, crunchy-on-the-outside and chewy-on-the inside texture, coated in a sweet and spicy garlic paste, yang nyeom chicken is a true comfort food in Korea. This is always something I look forward to whenever I go back to visit my mother’s family home in Korea, and it is most commonly available through a delivery service, like pizza. It took me quite a few tries to finally figure out how to make that chewy doughnut-like batter along with its special sauce, but it’s easier than you’d think. This week I’d like to share with you my own yang nyeom chicken recipe. (Serves 3-4 people)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. chicken thighs with skin and bone

³⁄₄ tsp. salt

¹⁄₄ tsp. black pepper

For the batter:

¹⁄₃ cup sweet potato starch

¹⁄₄ cup glutenous rice flour

¹⁄₄ cup all-purpose flour

¹⁄₂ tsp. baking soda

¹⁄₃ cup water

1 egg

For the sauce:

2 cloves garlic

¹⁄₃ cup ketchup

2¹⁄₂ Tbsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

1 Tbsp. honey

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. olive oil

¹⁄₄ cup water 

2 tsp. sesame seeds 

2 to 3 cups canola or vegetable oil for frying

Directions:
Cut the chicken thighs into 2- to 3-inch chunks. Season it with salt and pepper, cover it up and let it sit in the refrigerator for an hour. 

While you are waiting for the chicken to marinate, you can prepare the sauce. Mix the ketchup, gochujang, honey and cider vinegar. (photo 2) Also cut up the garlic and set both aside. Gochujang is a Korean hot pepper paste made with fermented soybeans and glutenous rice. It’s got a very unique, sweet and spicy flavor that cannot be replaced. You can find it at almost all Asian grocery stores, but it’s also available at local specialty food stores in the midcoast. Gochujang is great for stir-frying or with bulgogi (Korean BBQ) as well. (Recipe available at www.thewayriceshouldbe.blogspot.tw/2015/10/bulgogi-korean-bbq.html.) We also often use it as a dipping sauce for cucumbers or carrot sticks, which we call pangchan (Korean side dishes). If you can’t find gochujang, you can also just substitute it with other types of Asian sauces, such as sambal hot sauce. But I don’t recommend using Sriracha because it’s too strong! 

To make the batter, start by whisking together the sweet potato starch, glutenous rice flour, all-purpose flour and baking soda. You may substitute sweet potato starch with corn-starch, but unfortunately you can’t replace the glutenous rice flour because that’s what gives the batter its chewy, doughnuty texture. You can find it in specialty food stores under the name “sweet rice flour” or “sticky rice flour.” Mix in egg and water and stir until it becomes like a pancake batter.

Coat the marinated meat in the batter. In a large sauce-pan, bring 2 to 3 cups of oil to 350 F. You can also just drop a little bit of the batter to test if the oil is hot enough. If the batter sizzles and floats to the top, it means the oil’s ready for frying. Fry the chicken (in batches if needed) for 8 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat up 2 tsp. olive oil and stir-fry the chopped garlic for 30 seconds. Then pour in the mixed sauce and ¹⁄₄ cup water. Cook for two to three minutes until it thickens up. 

In the meantime, toss all the fried chicken back into the oil on high heat and fry for another three minutes. This will make the chicken extra crispy. Once the chicken has been re-fried, toss it in the sauce and make sure the pieces are all evenly coated. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds and it’s ready to serve. 

Yang nyeom chicken is great on its own or on rice and even with a cold beer, which is how Koreans typically eat it. 

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