Rice Dumplings（端午节粽子）

Red Bean Paste Rice Dumpling




Pork, Mushroom & Chestnut Rice Dumpling








Some of the Ingredients



Soaking Bamboo Leaves in Warm Water



Rice dumplings are eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival or "Duan Wu Jie" in Chinese festivals. It falls on the fifth day of the fifth month in Chinese lunar calendar. There are many versions of the origins of why rice dumpling is eaten during this festival. The version I liked best is: In 278BC, a righteous patriotic poet - Qu Yuan, drowned himself in a river. To commemorate him, people threw rice wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river, in the hope that fish will eat the rice and won't eat his body instead. Dragon boat racing is meant for similar intention: to commemorate Qu Yuan by chasing fish away to present them eating his corpse; and to search for his body in the river.

Ingredients:
Savory: Glutinous Rice (soaked, then roughly fry in minimal oil, then flavored with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, sugar, chicken stock), pork, mushroom, chestnut, chinese sausage, dried shrimp

Sweet: Plain Glutinous Rice (soaked), red bean paste

Also needed: Bamboo leaves, string.

Steps:
1. Fry all the ingredients together, flavor as you like, e.g. soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, chicken stock, etc.
2. Fry the soaked raw rice, then flavor as you like.
3. Use 2 pieces of soaked bamboo leaves, twist into cone shape, add some rice, then other ingredients, then more rice, squeeze tight, wrap around with a piece of string. Make sure it is very tight, with no leakage.
4. Boil in boiling water, for minimum of one hour. Make sure the dumplings are submerged under water.

屈原 － 渔父

屈原既放，游於江潭，行吟泽畔，颜色憔悴，形容枯槁。渔父见而问之曰：
“子非三闾大夫与？何故至於斯！”
屈原曰：“举世皆浊我独清，众人皆醉我独醒，是以见放！”
渔父曰：“圣人不凝滞於物，而能与世推移。
世人皆浊，何不淈其泥而扬其波？
众人皆醉，何不餔其糟而歠其酾？
何故深思高举，自令放为？”
屈原曰：“吾闻之，新沐者必弹冠，新浴者必振衣；
安能以身之察察，受物之汶汶者乎！
宁赴湘流，葬於江鱼之腹中。
安能以皓皓之白，而蒙世俗之尘埃乎！”
渔父莞尔而笑，鼓枻而去，乃歌曰：
“沧浪之水清兮，可以濯吾缨。
沧浪之水浊兮，可以濯吾足。”
遂去不复与言。