Candied Date Zongzi
1.
Wash the glutinous rice and soak it in cold water for 3-4 hours in advance. Generally soak at noon and pack it at night
2.
Soak the dried zong leaves in advance, omit this step if they are wet. After soaking the zong leaves, boil them in a pot for disinfection
3.
After the glutinous rice is soaked, control the moisture
4.
Add white sugar and stir well. (If you don’t like sweetness, you can leave it alone.)
5.
Wash the jujube and cook for a while
6.
Boil the flesh to make it plump
7.
If you can’t buy delicious dates, you can use this candied date instead, which is more sweet
8.
Pick two zong leaves. If the zong leaves are smaller and thinner, you can place them upside down. Let the smooth side of the blade face up
9.
Roll the zong leaves from the bottom into a funnel shape. The bottom of the funnel must be tight, otherwise glutinous rice will leak.
10.
Use a spoon to dig a little glutinous rice into the funnel. If you use jujube, you can put one first, and then put a little glutinous rice
11.
Put in a jujube. The jujube I used is Xinjiang jujube, which is relatively large, so I only used one. If you use jujubes, you can put a few more and you can decide for yourself! This is also related to the size of the zongzi we pack and personal preference
12.
Put glutinous rice on top and compact it with a spoon. Compacted dumplings will taste better
13.
Fold the zong leaves above
14.
Gently press down the zong leaves on both sides with your hands and wrap them tightly
15.
After pressing down the two sides, the remaining zong leaves are folded up
16.
Fold this folded tail inwards
17.
Tie with string. The whole process has to be pressed with your hands, and the glutinous rice will leak out if you are not careful.
18.
A zongzi is wrapped
19.
The dumplings are all wrapped up
20.
Put a small grate on the bottom of the pot. I use a pressure cooker, so put this, you can also use a steamer, just put the grate directly
21.
Put the zongzi on top of the grate and put in water. The water has to be over the rice dumplings
22.
Bring to a high heat, turn to low heat and steam slowly, about two hours, when the heat is up, the glutinous rice will be soft and sticky, and the flavor will be strong, so the time should not be short. Some people say that the pressure cooker can be used to shorten the time. I do not recommend it. I personally feel that the taste of the pressure cooker is not good
Tips:
1. The preparations for making zongzi should be done well.
2. If the zong leaves are too small, the top part will not be wrapped tightly, so two zong leaves should be placed upside down, and a large piece of zong leaves can be placed on one end.
3. The whole process of wrapping must be pressed tightly with your hands, otherwise the glutinous rice will leak out and the zongzi will not be wrapped properly.
The whole process is not difficult, but the intensity must be in place. As soon as the hand is loosened, the glutinous rice will leak as soon as the zong leaves are shifted.
4. The fillings in the zongzi can be used freely, as long as you learn how to wrap it! I feel that it is the last word to pack the zongzi that I like! Some people don’t like to eat dates, so you don’t need to pack jujube dumplings, and no one will eat them. Isn’t it a waste? How about replacing it with cured meat?
5. Are Zongzi cooked? I don't think it should be a simple one. If it is simply boiled, it will have a lot of water. Personally, I don't think it tastes good. Put a small grate on the bottom of the pot, and put water on it, so that the water is not over the dumplings. This is a boil, but at the last moment, the water is boiled to the bottom of the grate, so that the dumplings are not soaked in the water but remain on the grate. I think the zongzi cooked like this is the best! You can also try!
