Tomorrow is a national holiday in Taiwan, the Dragon Boat festival, or the May holiday (fifth day of the fifth month on the Lunar calender). Everyone will be off from work and school. The holiday commemorates the Chinese poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the river to protest the overthrow of the Zhou emperor by the Qin in 278 B.C.E. During this time of year, Chinese eat zongzi, which are like tamales. (Legend is that the people threw rice packets into the river to placate the dragon in the river.)
Zongzi are made with sweet and sticky (glutinous) rice and a filling (meat, vegetable, etc.), wrapped in two bamboo leaves, and steamed. They can be savory or sweet. The ones we ate for dinner tonight (white string) had meat and salted duck egg yolks. The little ones on top are made with glutinous rice flour (like mochi) and have sweet fillings (red, black, or yellow bean; or sesame). Taiwan style zongzi have meat and peanuts. Some are vegetarian. A few weeks ago, our friends B. and C. came from Hong Kong and brought Cantonese zongzi, which are really big and have green (mung) bean mixed in the rice, and stuffed with meat, egg, sausage, etc etc. I remember my grandmother used to make them, 100 at a time, which, according to custom, she'd give away to friends and relatives.
Tomorrow is a national holiday in Taiwan, the Dragon Boat festival, or the May holiday (fifth day of the fifth month on the Lunar calender). Everyone will be off from work and school. The holiday commemorates the Chinese poet Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the river to protest the overthrow of the Zhou emperor by the Qin in 278 B.C.E. During this time of year, Chinese eat zongzi, which are like tamales. (Legend is that the people threw rice packets into the river to placate the dragon in the river.)
Zongzi are made with sweet and sticky (glutinous) rice and a filling (meat, vegetable, etc.), wrapped in two bamboo leaves, and steamed. They can be savory or sweet. The ones we ate for dinner tonight (white string) had meat and salted duck egg yolks. The little ones on top are made with glutinous rice flour (like mochi) and have sweet fillings (red, black, or yellow bean; or sesame). Taiwan style zongzi have meat and peanuts. Some are vegetarian. A few weeks ago, our friends B. and C. came from Hong Kong and brought Cantonese zongzi, which are really big and have green (mung) bean mixed in the rice, and stuffed with meat, egg, sausage, etc etc. I remember my grandmother used to make them, 100 at a time, which, according to custom, she'd give away to friends and relatives.
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