The Dragon Boat Festival is a time of festive celebration, community, and delicious food! As important as the thrilling dragon boat races are the culinary traditions of the festival. If you want to soak it all up and make your celebratory feast, you’re in the right place. So, in this blog, we will cover some of the essential Dragon Boat festival food recipes to bring the taste of the festival home.
The Main Star: Zongzi (粽子)
There’s no Zongzi, no Dragon Boat Festival. These are indeed the quintessential Dragon Boat Festival foods: glutinous rice dumplings wrapped in fragrant bamboo leaves. This is a simplified recipe to help get you started:
Simplified Zongzi Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1Kg of glutinous rice/sweet rice
- Bamboo Leaves (washed and soaked overnight)
- Butcher’s twine or kitchen string
For Savory Filling (Example):
- 500g pork belly, cubed
- 10 dried shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and sliced
- 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Five-Spice Powder
- Salt and pepper to taste.
For Sweet Filling (Example):
- 250g Red Bean Paste
- Jujubes (Red Dates), pitted
Instructions:
Prep the Rice: Soak the glutinous rice in water for a minimum of 4 hours, or ideally overnight. Drain well.
Make the Filling: Marinate the pork belly with soy sauce, oyster sauce, five-spice powder, salt, and pepper. If using red bean paste, prepare it before you start. Make the other filling ingredients.
Wrap the Zongzi:
- Overlapping two bamboo leaves, shape it like a cone.
- Place a thick layer of glutinous rice at the bottom of the cone.
- Place in a spoon of fillings-pork or red bean paste.
- Top with glutinous rice, pressing down slightly more.
- To give them a pyramidal shape, fold over the bamboo leaves over the rice.
- Use butcher’s twine to tie the zongzi tightly and securely.
Cook the Zongzi:
- Put the zongzi into a large pot with some water over them.
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for at least 2-3 hours, or until rice is cooked through.
- Serve and Enjoy! Peel open and savor the delectable flavors!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mwimImAFwg&t=715s
Alternatives and Tips for Your Zongzi
- Using different fillings, make your own Dragon Boat Festival food.
- Bamboo leaves are soaked before being used to weave the rice, which makes them more pliable and manageable.
- Press the rice as tightly as possible so that the zongzi doesn’t fall apart when you cook it.
- If you made larger zongzi, you will need to adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Bi Ling (肉圓), also known as meatballs or pork buns, is another popular dish among Chen families.
- Zongzi maybe this fair’s true shining star, but other scrumptious eats are tied to the Dragon Boat Festival as well.
Other Festive Treats
- Realgar Wine (雄黃酒): Traditionally taken for its supposed detoxifying capabilities. (Realgar, too, has been found to contain arsenic, so contemporary guidelines discourage drinking realgar wine.) You can also replace it with a comparable yellow wine.
- Jiandui (煎堆—Sesame Balls) is not a Dragon Boat Festival food per se, but often found at Dragon Boat Festival celebrations are these sesame-coated fried glutinous rice balls.
- Lo Mei (鹵味—Braised Dishes): Several braised dishes like chicken feet, duck necks, and tofu are considered the most common to eat at a festival feast.
Explore More Dragon Boat Festival Food Recipes:
There are numerous Dragon Boat Festival food recipes online, and a quick search will give you different variations and detailed explanations. Search for recipes from authentic sources so that you can really capture the festival’s true flavors. You can find some good starting places on websites like “China Sichuan Food,” “Rasa Malaysia,” and “The Woks of Life.”
These Dragon Boat Festival food recipes will not only make a delicious meal but also provide you with a deeper appreciation for the cultural traditions of this glorious holiday. Happy cooking!
What’s Next: Dragon Boat Festival 2025
2025: 31 May (Dragon Boat Festival) The Dragon Boat Festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar, which is generally around late May or June in the Gregorian calendar.
If you want to participate in the excitement or just keep up to date with what is coming, follow this link to register, view schedules, and more!
