Dragon Boat Festival - fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar

There are six main Chinese festivals - three for the living and three for the dead. Duan Wu Jie or the Dragon Boat Festival is the second festival of the living.

Duan Wu Jie is held on the fifth day of the fifth month on the lunar calendar, or June 19th 2007. The "double fifth" day represents the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere.

The origins of the Dragon Boat Festival date back at least two thousand years, rooted in fertility rites performed to ensure abundant rainfall in China. Rice is a staple food for people in China, and rain is essential for an abundant harvest.

Later, this changed into a festival to honour the famous Chinese poet, Qu Yuan, who drowned himself in the river in 295 BC, in a protest against government corruption.

The people loved him so much that they threw rice and eggs into the water to draw the fish away from his body. They honoured him every year by searching for his soul on the river in dragon boats, brightly coloured and decorated to resemble dragons, with a head at the bow and a tail at the stern.

They also prepared special rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves, called Zhongzi, and threw them into the river as offerings to his soul.

The festival has developed to be more elaborate and fun. It is now celebrated with river parades, dragon boat races, rice offerings of Zhongzi, martial arts demonstrations, street theatre and firecrackers.

Festival Food - Zhongzi

Zhongzi can be either savory or sweet. Sweet Zhongzi are considered easier to make.

Sweet Zhongzi (Glutinous Rice wrapped in bamboo leaves)
Makes 12
Preparation Time about 1 hour, plus 2 hours soaking time
Cooking Time 2 hours

900g glutinous rice 1 tablespoon oil
24 dried bamboo leaves 450g black or red sweet bean paste
12 strings, each 1.5m long sugar to serve

1. Soak the rice for 2 hours, drain, change water and soak for a further 30 minutes.

2. Drain the rice well, mix in the oil.

3. Soak the bamboo leaves in warm water for 2 hours, rinse in fresh water, then drain and wipe dry.

4. Roll sweet bean paste into a sausage about 2.5cm in diameter, cut into 12 sections. Flatten each a little.

5. Place two bamboo leaves side by side together to form a triangular pouch. Add a portion of the rice and place a section of the bean paste on the rice. Cover with more rice and fold the leaves over the top and round the pouch to produce a plump, triangular-shaped bundle. Tie securely with string, but not too tightly as the rice will expand during cooking.

6. Simmer the Zhongzi in boiling water for 2 hours.

7. Open the Zhongzi packages at the table and serve hot with sugar as required. Any leftovers can be reheated unwrapped. Zhongzi taste even better reheated.

Glutinous Rice
While ordinary rice - long or short grain - is the daily staple of the Chinese diet, glutinous rice is regarded as a bit of a luxury in China and is only eaten special occasions. It contains more sugar and fat than ordinary rice, although they are both grown and harvested the same way.

The grains of glutinous rice tend to be whiter and rounder than ordinary rise and is much sweeter to the taste.

Source:
The Chinese Kitchen - a Book of essential ingredients with over 200 authentic recipes by Deh-Ta Hsiung, Kyle Cathie Limited, 1999