Dragon Boat Festival where everyone celebrates with family gatherings, watching the dragon boat races and eating yummy Zongzi.
Can you hear the drums beating? Can you feel the intensity in the air? Can you see the sweat building up on the paddler's brow?
I know I promised everyone one straight month of Italian yummy dishes but this is a day that we need to pay respect to local tradition here in Hong Kong and in Asia and take a quick moment for reflection.
Actually, festivities have been going on all week but today is the actually holiday on the calendar. Come along with me to find out more about this Chinese Holiday...
Why is the Dragon Boat Festival Celebrated?
The Dragon boat festival is also known as Tuen Ng Festival. Yesterday one of my dear foodie friends from Singapore explained that this festival commemorates the death of a popular Chinese national hero, Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the Mi Lo River over 2,000 years ago. Qu Yuan was trying to protest against the corrupt rulers. Legend has it that as townspeople attempted to rescue Qu Yuan, they beat drums to scare fish away and threw dumplings into the sea to keep the fish from eating his body. Today they celebrate by making and enjoying the zongzi (glutenous rice dumplings) instead of throwing them into the sea.
Each year many Dragon Boat racers compete to be the fastest in the competition. This is the real excitement. There are many leagues and much hard work, endurance and synchrony to get the 20-22 paddlers moving this boat quickly. Trust me I have tried it a few times and it is a lot of hard work. I found out about some new muscles I did not even know I had.
What is a Zongzi?
After all that hard work, you need some quick, fast and nutritious bites. Zongzi is just the perfect treat to keep your strength up for the Dragon Boat competitions. Zongzi are glutenous rice balls wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves which have many different types of goodies inside.
My dear friend Safie brought me over a few zongzi for our family enjoy today. I just finished steaming the zongzi for about 20 minutes. She brought over two different kinds for me to try. There is one type of zongzi with black bean paste, shrimp and pork.
The other zongzi has peanuts and some other items really I could not even after tasting it identify. (Not even me, and you know how I love re-engineering everything, maybe it was a chestnut?) Both types were quite nice but I really kind of liked the one with the black bean paste. It was both sweet and savory and that was kind of nice. This week, zongzi are being sold at almost every street corner. There are so many types and some even plain that they serve with honey.
We love celebrating the Drago Boat Festival with Zongzi. What is your favorite kind of Zongzi? Do you have a family recipe for Zongzi?
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Have a safe and Happy Dragon Boat Festival Celebration.
bitsandbreadcrumbs says
Those dragon boats are so long, colorful and amazing looking! Only rivaled by the looks of the Zongzi!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thank you. Each team wears their matching shirts and some have sponsors. Of course, on regular days of practice there are no flags or decorations, this is just for the big event. Many individuals practice both on and off the water as it really requires good fitness and dedication. I started on a team once and really loved but have an old shoulder injury that will not cooperate. So instead I get to sit on the sidelines, cheer the teams on and enjoy zongzi.
cityhippyfarmgirl says
Oh I so wish I was having these today instead of the soup I just cooked up.
The boats look like lots of fun.
Healthy World Cuisine says
Everyone really gets into the festivities here on the waterfront. I like that part, but my favorite part is watching how the wet markets change their ingredients and items for sale based on the holiday. I know, I am predictable. Where is BAM? In the food markets of course....
Hannah (BitterSweet) says
Amazing! I can practically feel the energy through your writing! Someday, I'd love to experience this festival firsthand... It's unlike anything I've experienced yet. Plus, those steamed rice dumplings have so much tasty potential. The remind me of onirigi, a lunchbox favorite of mine when I was in high school!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks Hannah for your kind comment. Fun event but be prepared for the crowds and the heat it is also like nothing you have ever experienced before. My teenage boys actually prefer onigiri hands down compared to Zongzi as they are simple with ingredients that you know and you can even buy these at the 7/11 so that counts as junk food for most teeenagers. Zongzi can sometimes be a bit of a mystery in the area of ingredients but delicious as well. Take care, BAM
Jeno @ Week Nite Meals says
Ahhh, Zongzi! My parents are visiting at China right now, so we didn't get any zongzi this year for the dragon boat festival holiday! I remember it was a huge deal when we lived at Taiwan, the races were always so much fun to watch. Believe it or not there are annual dragon boat races at Houston, it's become quite mainstream, though for some reason it never happens on the right day... Anywho, I am still trying to get back to normalcy after 12 days of family vacation, completely exhausted due to all the outdoor activities we did, will try to catch up on all the postings I missed while we were gone. Have a great day Bam!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Welcome back and looking forward to hearing about your family adventure! Does your mom make zongzi from scratch? I heard they are pretty complicated and take at least 4 hours to prep. Take care, BAM
kitchenriffs says
I've never been to Hong Kong, but it's one of those places I really want to visit some day. Sounds like a wonderful place. What's the best time of the year to visit, weather-wise? The zongzi look great! That's a new dish to me - I've never heard of it. Another fun post - thanks.
Healthy World Cuisine says
The best month to visit Hong Kong is in November as the weather is quite good, cool and comfortable. If you ever plan to visit HK, please let me know and maybe I can give you some ideas of things to do from an inside perspective. Take Care, BAM
Promenade Claire says
I love celebrations of all kinds, but I've neve rhad the pleasure of trying Zongzi, so thank you for sharing!
Healthy World Cuisine says
Celebrations are very fun and love experiencing the culture. You can always count on me to be there with camera in one hand and a local foodie treat in the other. Take care, BAM
Geni - Sweet and Crumby says
These look fantastic! The black bean paste does intrigue me and I so wish I had a bite of it right now...ok I want the whole thing. Those dragon boat races are gorgeous! I would love to get to see that and am so happy you shared that photo.
Healthy World Cuisine says
Have you ever tried making desserts with either sweet red bean or black bean paste? Very tasty...
Averil Gomes says
The zhongzi look amazing... do you have a recipe for them, just a base recipe perhaps? I'd love to try it out with shrimp and some minced lean pork. Can't handle a big piece of pork fat 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
I will ask my local friends here to see if we can get the base recipe for the zongzi for you. Sometimes they can be made just plain and people just add a drizzle of honey on the top or sometimes it is made with mushrooms and nuts. So many options. I saw this recipe on the internet and they have great directions for this complicated dish. http://eatingchina.com/recipes/zongzi.htm
agnostichica says
I love Zongzi! My favorite one is the vegetarian version at Lock Cha. Thank you so much for the memories of dragon boat races in HK 🙂
Healthy World Cuisine says
Thanks for stopping by. I also think the vegetarian ones are quite nice. Did the zongzi at the tea house have mushrooms? I hope you are doing well, wherever your travels may have taken you to next. Take care, BAM
jothetartqueen says
for a moment, i thought you were brave enough to attempting making zhong zi on your own! I love them very much but have never attempted making them. Lots of work!!
Healthy World Cuisine says
I heard it is at least a 4 hour event and that is assuming that everything goes as planned. So needless to say, why make these zongzi treats from scratch when all those sweet little Cantonese ladies at the market make them so well. Take care, BAM
rsmacaalay says
I love that rice dumplings, I remember when I worked in Hong Kong I always crave for that when I go back to my apartment
Healthy World Cuisine says
Awesome! When did you live in Hong Kong? If I could send you some zongzi, I would....but I don't think that customs officer at the post office would like that very much...
Dawn says
Looks delicious!! A friend of mine is moving to Hong Kong next month with her three children - any advice?
Healthy World Cuisine says
Good for her! Where would you like for me to begin? You can put her in direct contact with me at [email protected] and I can lend her a hand. I know what a big feat moving with kids can be. The first step in moving to HK with kids- GET THE SCHOOLS SECURED, then everything else falls into place. Take care, BAM
Courtney says
Gosh, I feel like I've just learned a ton! I've never even heard of zongzi, so thank you for sharing about it and the awesome boat tradition.
Villy says
Your photos are great! I don't have a favorite zongzi because I've never ever tried one, but I'm curious to try when I get the chance!
Healthy World Cuisine says
The street vendors had so many different kinds of zongzi for sale. I was in awe or maybe that was just confusion as I am learning simplified characters and everything was written in traditional characters. In addition, I noticed that at each stall they wrapped them a little differently. Each person has their own special technique. Come and take a quick visit to HK next year and you can give zongzi a try.
Jasline says
I love zhong zi, I grew up eating my grandma's home made zhong zi, with just dried shrimps, shiitake mushrooms, fatty pork (which melts in the mouth!!) and glutinous rice inside. It's really tedious to make them! All the frying of ingredients, then the wrapping then the boiling for at least 4 hours...! I'm hoping to master them in the future... I'm glad you enjoyed eating the zhong zi!
Healthy World Cuisine says
4 hours plus of labor and that is if you know what you are doing, we would have to add some extra time for the unexpected. LOL However, I did enjoy eating them very much. Let me know if you ever try to make them from scratch.