Making Nyonya Rice Dumpling

Every year during the "Five-month, Five-day" of Lunar calendar is known as the "Dumpling Festival". In Singapore, this traditional Chinese festival is celebrated by the eating of a variety of steamed glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves call "Zong Zi". Dumpling Festival (Duan Wu Jie) is also known as Dragon Boat Festival. It is celebrated in rememberance of Chinese poet Qu Yuan, who was a loyal official in the court of the Chu Kingdom in old China.

Fishermen who heard that Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river set sail on boats to look for his body When they could not find it, they threw rice wrapped in bamboo leaves into the river so that the fish in the river would eat the rice instead of his body. Thus began the tradition of dragon boat races (creating a din to scare away the preying fish?) and eating rice dumplings on Duan Wu Jie.

The usual local favourites of rice dumpling in Singapore are - Bak Chang(with salted egg), Nyonya, Mung Bean Rice Dumpling, Red Bean Rice Dumpling, etc. So for today we are making the Nyonya version which is towards the sweet side of Rice Dumpling.

The process of making Rice Dumpling can be consisted as tedious preparation. Because from the boiling,washing and soaking of bamboo leaves and strings to prepare all the necessary ingredients. It could take up to a few days to prepare ahead and after the wrapping up the dumpling, you still need to boil it in water for about at least 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs in order to get it cooked. But it's always good to make your own dumpling because you can add in whatever ingredients you prefer. I had include a short video clip for those who is interested in wrapping the dumpling, hope it helps.



Ingredients: (make about 35, depending on the size)
2Kg Glutinous Rice
1 Tablespoons Salt
3 Tablespoons Oil
3-4 Cloves Garlic
2 Tablespoons Bunga Telang Juice/Blue Food Colouring
12-15 Pandan Leaves,cut into 1.5" length

Methods:
1. Soak Glutinous rice for at least 3 hrs or overnight, drain and set aside.
2. Preheat pan with oils and stir-fry garlic till frangrant then add in the drained rice and stir for a few minutes then add in salt, stir till combined.
3. Divide the rice into 2 portions, mix 1 portion of rice with colouring then set all aside to cool.

Bamboo Leaves
50-60 Pieces Bamboo Leaves
3-4 Bunch of Hemp Stings

Methods:
1. Bamboo leaves and hemp strings have to be pre-treated in advance too.
2. Heat a large pot of water, when water starts to boil, place bamboo leaves and hemp strings in. Make sure bamboo leaves and strings are fully immersed in water.
3. Continue boiling for 5 minutes, turn fire off remove the leaves and strings.
4. Roughly wash them in water then soak it in a pail of water overnight.
5. Remove leaves and strings from water before you need to use them.

Fillings:
800g Pork Belly/Chicken
300g Candided Winter Melon
30g Dried Mushrooms,
150g Dried Shrimps
150g Dried Chestnut, optional
50g Chopped Garlic
200g Chopped Shallot

Seasoning:
2 Tablespoons Black Pepper
6 Tablespoons Coriander Seeds
2 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sugar
Pinch Of Salt
8 Tablespoons Cooking Oil

Methods:
1. Soak the dried chestnut overnight and drained.
2. Soak dried mushroom and shrimps separately until soft.
3. Dice the mushroom finley then chopped the shrimp.
4. Cut pork or chicken into small cubes/thick strips.
5. Heat 8 tablespoons of oil in a wok, fry shallots and garlic until fragrant then add dried shrimps, chestnut and mushroom.
6. Fry further till fragrant, stir in pork and seasoning and fry till pork is cooked.
7. Turn off heat and add in candied winter melon and mix well and set aside to cool.

Notes: If you are making Bak Chang, then you can omit the candied winter melon and add in 1 /2 Tablespoons of 5 spices powder when frying the filling.

You can either cooked all the ingredients together or you can separate the chestnut, dried shrimp and meat & mushroom in 3 different sections.

Wrapping the Dumplings:
1. Overlap two bamboo leaves and fold into a cone.(wipe the leave if it's too wet)
2. Put 1 tablespoon colour glutinous rice, 1 tablespoon plain glutinous rice, 1.5 tablespoons of filling and another 1 tablespoon plain glutinous rice on top.
3. Press gently with a spoon and top with a small pices of pandan leaves and wrap dumpling into a pyramid shape.
4. Tie with a string.
5. Boil some water in a pot, add 2 tablespoons of salt to the water, put in the tied dumpling and cook over high heat for 1.5 - 2 hours until rice is cooked through.
6. Remove the dumpling and hang it up to drip away any excess water and you can leave it at room temperature over night or keep unfinished dumpling in the freezer for a few weeks.

Notes: The ingredients and taste of the fillings are depend on individual, you can add in different kinds of meats(eg: chicken instead of pork) or beans(black-eyed bean, mung bean or red bean) and even salted egg) according to your taste.

There is no bean, chestnut or salted egg for traditional Nyonya Rice Dumpling, but you can create any favour when you get the hand on how to prepare the filling and wrapping.

Fish & Century Egg Soup

The century egg, also known as preserved egg, thousand-year egg, thousand-year-old egg; or in Chinese call 皮蛋 or 松花蛋. It is a Chinese food made by preserving duck or chicken eggs in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime and rice straw for several weeks to several months, depending on the method of processing.

For this soup, I add in extra ingredients such as mince meat, doufu and tomatoes to make it more complete dish. Century eggs, coupled with doufu are good for treating chapped lips. A small bowl of the soup a day can help to alleviate the symptoms of ulcers and dry mouth. This soup is also good for clearing up and moistening the body, resolving heatniness, cooling the body and relieving fatigue.


Ingredients:
300g Sheng Yu Fish Slices
1 Tomato
150g Pork Mince
1 Tube Plain Doufu
2 Century Eggs
2 Slices Of Ginger
Some Spring Onion, cut into sections
1.5 Litres Of Water
Some Coriander

Methods:
1. Marinate the pork mince with some pepper, soy sauce, cornflour, cooking wine and set in the fridge for at least 20 minutes.
2. Wash the fish slices and lightly marinate it with some pepper and salt.
3. Add about 1/2 Tablespoons of Oil in a pot, add in ginger and spring onion and stir-fry till fragrant then add in the tomatoes and stir for a while.
4. Pour in the water and bring to boil, add in pork mine balls, doufu and century eggs and let it boil then simmer on low heat for about 10 - 15 minutes.
5. Before you serve, add in the fish slices and bring to boil for a few minutes until cooked through then sprinkler some chopped coriander leaves and season with salt to taste.

Steam Tapioca Kueh

Tapioca prepared from the tuberous root of the cassava plant. Tapioca is commonly used in making Indonesian Kueh. Cassava was introduced into Indonesia during the Dutch reign. Cassava was the main foodstuff of Moluccans and Irians in Western Indonesia Islands. They ate steamed or boiled cassava roots.

This is one of the Nyonya Kueh delight call Steamed Ubi Kayu which mean Steamed Tapioca Kueh. The Tapioca is blended then mixed with sugar and desire colouring and steam until cooked.

Ingredients:
1kg Blended Tapioca
250g Sugar
Pinch Of Salt
A few Drops of Different Food Colouring Each
250g Fresh Grated White Coconut
2 Pandan Leaves

Methods:
1. Steam grated white coconut with salt and pandan leavs over low heat for about 5 minutes, then set aside to cool.
2. Peel the skin of tapioca, wash and cut into small pieces, blend them in a few batches with some water in a blender until smooth.
3. Squeeze the liquid from the blended tapioca under the running tap for a few times.
4. Mix the tapioca with sugar and a pinch of salt.
5. Divide the mixture into 4 portions.
6. Add one food colouring to each portion, place in a microwave plastic container and steam over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes.
7. Remove from heat, cool completely, and roll it in desire shapes and coat in grated coconut and serve.

Bake Pumpkin With Rice Stuffing

A Pumpkin is a squash fruit, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit. When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, baked and roasted, or made into various kinds of pie, alone or mixed with other fruit; while small and green it may be eaten in the same way as the vegetable marrow. They are a good source of essential fatty acids, potassium and magnesium.

Brown rice = whole grain rice. Many rice varieties come as either brown rice or white rice. Brown rice isn't milled as much as white, so it retains the bran and germ that makes brown rice more fiber-rich, nutritious, and chewy.


Usually stuffing rice in pumpkin is an a very western dish that they usually had during Halloween. But I had come across this dish from a children TV program and after souring for a suitable recipe for this dish. I invented something new which called Bake Pumpkin With Rice Stuffing using Brown Rice Mixture which is more Nutritious for my family.

Ingredients:(serves 2-3)
1 Small Pumpkin, around 1 - 1.2 kg
2 Cups Cooked Brown Rice Mixture/White Rice
2 Tablespoons Frozen Mix Vegetables
3 Tablespoons Finely Dice Taiwan Sausage
6 Fresh Chestnuts
1 Tablespoons Golden Raisin
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Minced Ginger

Seasoning:
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine

Methods:
1. Boil chestnuts in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until tender.
2. Drain and remove any shell or skin then chopped in pieces.
3. Cook 1 cup of brown rice mixture or white rice accordingly and let it cool to room temperature to obtain about 2 cups of cooked rice.
4. Wash and cut a lid from the top of the pumpkin, remove seeds and fibers from it then drizzle 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil in it and coat evenly.(remember to coat the lid as well)
5. Preheat a non-stick pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, saute the diced sausage for a few seconds then add in the mix vegetables, chestnut, raisin, ginger and garlic.
6. Stir-fry the above mixture until fragrant then add in the rice and stir through quickly.
7. At the meantime, add in seasonings(can adjust more or less according to individual taste) and stir till well mixed.
8. Scoop the fried rice into the pumpkin and press it tightly until the rice is firm then cover with the lid.
9. Place the pumpkin in a small baking dish that is slightly grease with olive oil.
10. Bake in a preheat 200 degree oven for about 30 - 45 minutes(depending on the size of the pumpkin) until cooked and tender when tested with a skewer.
11. Turn off the oven, let the pumpkin stand in the oven for another 15 minutes.
12. To serve, remove lid and cut pumpkin into wedges with some salad.(if there is still extra rice left from stuffing the pumpkin, you can also serve it beside the pumpkin wedges.)

Notes:
For the fried rice, you can also used those pre-mix fried rice seasoning.
I suggest to use Brown Rice mixture instead of White Rice for it's fragrant and chewy texture.