The 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar year, called Duanwu Jie, is a unique Chinese celebration dating back to 277 BC. A patriotic court official named Qu Yuan, tried to warn the emperor of an increasingly corrupt government, but failed. As a last desperate protest, he drowned himself in the Miluo River. His sympathisers raced out in boats to search for him and made rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves in the hope that fish in the river would eat the rice dumplings instead of the body of the deceased poet. Today, people eat sweet glutinous rice dumplings called zongzi and have dragon boat races to mark the occasion.

Depending on regional differences, zongzi vary in shape and ingredients. Most contain sweet glutinous short grain rice and bamboo leaves, other typical ingredients include dates, sweetened red bean paste, dried sausage, cured pork belly, chestnuts, lotus seeds, and salted egg yolk. In southern China, salty zongzi with meat and complementary savoury items tend to be common while in northern China sweet bean paste or date filled zongzi are the custom. However, you can pretty much use any combination of ingredients you like as long as they take well to long, slow cooking.

Common Ingredients for zongzi
Bamboo leaves, Zong ye
Sweet glutinous short grain rice, Nuo mi
Guangdong style sweet sausage, Xiang chang
Smoked cured pork, La rou
Cured fatty side pork, Fei la rou
Dried peanuts, Hua sheng
Mung beans, Lu dou
Millet, Xiao mi
Red beans, Hong xiao dou
Dried shrimp, Hai mi
Salted duck egg yolk, Xian ya dan
Dried lotus seeds, Lian zi
Dried red dates, Wu he zao

Guangdong style zongzi Yields about 25
About 75 bamboo leaves (Zhu ye), some will be unusable
2.5kg Glutinous rice (Nuo mi)
1.5kg of Guangdong style sausage and/or cured fatty side pork (total weight)

250g Dried mung beans, Lu dou
250g Millet, Xiao mi
100g dried shrimp, Hai mi

25g Five-spice powder, Wu xiang fen
13 Salted duck egg yolks, split into two pieces

Cotton twine

1. Prepare the bamboo leaves by simmering in a minimum of three changes of
salted water
2. Soak the rice and any other dried ingredients for 4-6 hours in cold water
3. If using sausage or other meat, cut into short sticks or chunks roughly 3-4cm long
4. Using two leaves per zongzi, start with 2-3 small spoonfuls of rice, dip one or two pieces of meat into five spice powder and add to parcel, add 1 small spoon each of your other ingredients, finish with 2-3 small spoonfuls of rice (see picture guide).
5. Tie with cotton twine - not too tight, the bundles will expand when cooked
6. Cook zongzi covered with simmering water for 4 hours. After cooking remove from water and cool to room temperature.

Cooled zongzi may be eaten immediately, stored in the refrigerator for up to 12 days, or frozen for up to 4 months. Reheat in simmering water for 15-20 minutes or microwave for 1-2 minutes.