Skip to main content

Chinese Sticky Rice Dumpling 粽子 and Dragon Boat Festival

In late May or Early June, you may see Chinatown vendors offer sticky rice dumplings, that are actually quite large, roughly the size of a fist. This is called zhong-zi 粽子 and it has some history behind it. 

The most accepted origin story traced it to roughly 300 BC, when China was in its "Warring States" period, lots of smaller kingdoms vying for survival. A poet-politician by the name of Qu-Yuan 屈原 (pronounced chu-yuan) in the State of Chu, was exiled for opposing an alliance with the state of Qin as he feared the "ally" would later turn on them. He was proven right 28 years later when the ally turned on them and captured the Chu capital. Saddened by the event, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the nearby Miluo River. He was beloved by locals, and many rushed to the scene, if not to save him, then to at least recover his body, but his body was never found. This was said to be the origin of the dragon boat races. Some also dropped sticky rice into the river, hoping the fish would consume that instead of the body, which is said to be the origin of the zhongzi, sticky rice dumpling. 

SIDENOTE: Northern California International Dragon Boat Festival is usually held in Oakland's Lake Meritt in September, but it could be moved to Lake Merced in San Francisco. It is usually held in September of every year. Due to COVID in 2022, the plans have not been set as of June 2022. 

The truth is probably a bit more nebulous, as the datable references linking Qu Yuan to the activities were only found a few hundred years later, about 500AD. What is known is the festival is also a celebration of start of summer and also a reminder to observe best health practices. 

For those who had never seen a zhongzi, it can be best described as a Chinese tamale, albeit, usually larger, done with sticky rice instead of corn/corn. The inside can be sweet (made of green or red bean paste) or savory (eggs, meat, peanuts, and other stuff), but wrapped in a triangular fashion in bamboo or other large leaves. It can also be wrapped in different shapes, not always triangular, but the common version is often triangular. 

Zhongzi, courtesy CC4 by Siweihuang1028

NOTE: You will sometimes see a square-looking leaf-wrapped sticky-rice item in some dimsum restaurants, called sticky-rice-chicken 糯米鷄 (noh-mai-gai in Cantonese), with Chinese sausage, shitaki mushrooms, pork, and other fillings. These are NOT considered zhongzi. Zhongzi starts with uncooked sticky rice, can be sweet or savory, and can be boiled or steamed. Noh-mai-gai is savory only, steamed, and starts with par-cooked sticky rice. 

Noh-mai-gai, courtesy CC by Bryan from Taipei



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

About the author

Kasey is a professional tour guide and amateur historian who specialized in Chinatown History and Tours. You will often find him guiding groups sampling delicious food and learning interesting historical tidbits about Chinatown most weekends.

Popular posts from this blog

Dragon Gate and its Surprising History

You can't come to SF Chinatown and leave out Dragon Gate, aka the Chinatown Gate, at the corner of Bush and Grant. But do you know its history?  Chinatown Gate, aka Dragon Gate, San Francisco Dragon Gate (aka Chinatown Gate, aka Dragon's Gate) was designed by Clayton Lee and others in 1967 in response to a mayoral competition, and his was the winning entry. Originally two gates were proposed, but the other gate leading to Barbary Coast was dropped due to lack of funds, and cost overrun.  The gate itself was designed after a Chinese "pailou 牌樓" or "paifang 牌坊", which were the "gates" that marked separate fang 坊, or "ward" within a city. However, later it evolved into a purely decorative element. As with tradition, the gate faces South, and is composed of a large gate with two smaller side gates.  The gate has a lot of its materials donated by Taiwan (Republic of China) including artisanal tiles, roofing, and the two guardian lions. Despite...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chinatown Q&A: Things You Probably Never Thought to Ask

Here are some questions that are a bit too short to deserve their own posts, but are interesting information nonetheless.  Q: When did Chinatown become known as Chinatown?  A: According to PBS's "Chinatown Guide" , the first Chinese in the area settled either on the street next to Portsmouth Square, or in the immediate block around it. The area was first known as "Little Canton", and it wasn't until 1853 that the local press named the area "Chinatown".  Q: What books should I read if I want to know more about San Francisco Chinatown?  A: In no particular order: San Francisco's Chinatown by Judy Yung and the Chinese Historical Society of America , full of vintage photographs, this book documented the life in Chinatown never seen before.  The Children of Chinatown: Growing Up Chinese American in San Francisco, 1850-1920 by Wendy Rouse , discusses the seldomly touched subject: children in Chinatown, who really feel the prejudices against them and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Chop Suey Still Available: New Woey Loy Goey Restaurant

Chop suey is reputed to have been invented in Chinatown. The story goes that in the 1850's, Chinatown is barely established, but word was already out that Chinese food is cheap and delicious. So, late at night, 2 miners fresh off the gold fields, wandered into this Chinese restaurant, even as the owner and cook is about to close up. Already half drunk, they want food, and they want it now! To avoid confrontation, the cook went into the kitchen, found whatever scraps of vegetables left, tossed them all into the wok, whipped up some sauce, added whatever scraps of meat he had, added an egg, and served it on a plate and gave it to the miners.  The miners loved it, to the surprise of the owner, as they wanted the name of the dish as they want to order it again when they come back.  The owner, flabbergasted, simply told them 雜碎 tzap-suey which literally means "mixed scraps". The miners heard that as "chop suey", and a legend was born.  Keep in mind this is a story, a...
Post a Comment
Read more