Homemade Bak Zhang (Pork Dumpling) / 肉粽 / 中華ちまき


Hokkien Pork Dumpling


Made some bak zhangs this afternoon to take step-by-step photos for My Kitchen and My Resipi. During lunch time, I removed the leaves before serving as I usually do. Tak asked where were the leaves. Dinner time, he asked for bak zhang again, I gave him the whole dumpling let him remove the leaves himself. He removed the leaves one by one and looked so excited like a little kid as he unwrapping the dumpling. I realised one thing when he said "This is real bak zhang". I have deprived his opportunities of experiencing this ethnic food... I am learning everyday.

I do agree with him, it really does not feel like eating bak zhang if the leaves are removed and served on a well presented plate. When I eat dumpling without removing leaves completely it does taste better as I can smell the aroma of the bamboo leaf. That is actually the traditional way of eating dumpling. In the old day... well, my home still practice this, people eat dumpling by removing part of the leaves leaving the bottom part on and holding on to it when eating.

Bak Zhang, is the only dish that my mom insisted all of her children to learn. Why? Story behind, she was not know how to make it until I was born, she was 34 or so then. Before that my grandmother always made dumplings (mom did help in making) for my family during the Dragon Boat Festival. That year, I was born 2 days before the festival thus mom was unable to help in making dumplings. As a result, grandma did not make dumplings for my family all my elder sisters and brother were salivated looking at the neighbours children eating the dumpling. Those days, we can only have dumplings during the festival so it was quite a big deal to eat dumpling! Since then, my mom was determined to make good dumplings for her children. I am glad that I have inherited her skill and able to pass the taste of home to the next generation.

Please note there are many types of dumplings in the market, this recipe is Bak (meat) Zhang (dumpling) which is a Hokkien style dumpling. 

Hokkien Pork Dumpling

Ingredients (20-24pcs):
60 pcs bamboo leaves (prepare more, some maybe broken)
String (24x60cm, hold one ends together and make a knot)
1 kg glutinous rice (soaked for 3-4 jam)
1 kg Chicken or pork belly (divided into 48 pieces)
200 g red bean (soaked overnight)
24 pcs dried chestnuts (soaked overnight)
½ cup (60gm) dried shrimp
12 salted egg yolks (each yolk divided into 2)
12 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked and divided into 2)

Ingredients for cooking the filling:
*1 tbsp cooking oil
*2 cloves garlic, chopped
*2 bulbs shallot, chopped
*1 cinnamon stick
*1 tsp sugar
½ tbsp Chinese 5-spices powder
1 tsp ground white pepper
1 tsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2½ tsp salt (it will be a bit salty as the gravy will be used in cooking rice
½ cup water

Ingredients for cooking the rice:
1 tbsp cooking oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bulbs shallot, chopped
1 tsp ground white pepper
½ tsp Chinese 5-spices powder

Methods:
  1. Soak the bamboo leaves overnight, boil for ½ hour so that the leaves will be soft enough for bending later. Then, clean each leaf with sponge or used cloth, rinse and trim the ends if necessary. Soak leaves in the water and set aside for later use.
  2. Filling: Heat oil in wok, stir in ingredients marked with * and stir-fry till the colour turns brown. Stir in the chicken or pork, mushroom, chestnuts and all other ingredients for cooking filling except the water. Stir to sear the meat then add in water and let it simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, strain and collect the gravy in a bowl.
  3. Rice: Heat oil in wok, stir-fry the garlic and shallot together with dried shrimp. Cook until the colour turned golden brown. Add in the glutinous rice and red bean, stir to mix until well combined. Cook for few minutes until the glutinous rice turned translucent. Add in the gravy from (2), white pepper and 5-spices, stir to mix and until the gravy is absorbed.

Assemble:

  1. Get 2 pcs of the bamboo leaves, the smooth side facing you (up). If making small dumpling, or the leaves you use are big ones, one leaf is good.
  2. Fold the leaves as shown in the picture (2). Feel the leaves with fingers, the smooth side should be in side. Fill in some rice and make a well in the middle.
  3. Fill in 2 pcs of the meat, ½ mushroom, 1 chestnut and ½ salted egg yolk. Then fill in enough rice to cover the fillings.
  4. Bend and cover the rice with the bamboo leaves, press gently to make it firm.
  5. While holding it, turn it around to make "horns" as shown in (5).
  6. Hold the side to fold the leaves as shown in (6).
  7. Bend the leaves to form another "horn" as shown in (7).
  8. Tie it up as shown in (8). Do not make it too tight as it will absorb water when cooked.
  9. Finish products as shown in (9).
  10. Boil water in a large pot and cook dumplings for at 2-3 hours with low-medium heat. The water level must be above the dumplings.
  11. Remove from the pot, hang it up to drain. Serve warm or at room temperature (room temp in Malaysia). Cooked dumplings can be kept in the fridge for 4-5 days and 2 months in the freezer (with freezer bag).

**Please use twine string, I had no choice but to use raffia string at the time I made it.
 

Comments

  1. i dont really like the taste of glutionous rice. if i use regular rice, are all the steps the same?

    ReplyDelete
  2. KA,
    The step will be the same if using regular rice. Please note that dumpling made with regular rice would not stick together as well as sticky rice.
    Happy cooking!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh wow - thanks so much for posting this! I love these, and they're sometimes hard to find where I live in Perth (Western Australia) I've never seen how to fold them before.

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is awesome!!! I used to help nanny & mum when i was a kid, and making them seem like a big process. I helped to separate/pick the glutinous rice (ya i always try to hide for doing that:D).

    Thanks for sharing, i definitely will give a go later.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Do we have to remove the skin on the pork belly?

    ReplyDelete
  6. No, skin is the best part in bak Chang.

    ReplyDelete

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