Bak Chang 粽子

Bak Chang means Zong zi (粽子) in Chinese. Bak in Hokkien means meat and Chang I believe means rice dumpling.

Zong zi or ba chang is a kind of traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice and stuffed with different filling such as: pork, shiitake mushroom , wood ear, dried shrimps, preserved duck egg yolk, beans and etc then wrapped in bamboo leaves.

According to Wikipedia:

"Zongzi is traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) which falls on the fifth day of the fifth moon of the Chinese calendar (approximately early- to mid-June), commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period. Known for his patriotism, Qu Yuan tried unsuccessfully to warn his king and countrymen against the expansionism of their Qin neighbors. When the Qin Dynasty general Bai Qi took Yingdu, the Chu capital, in 278 BC, Qu Yuan's grief was so intense that he drowned himself in the Miluo river after penning the Lament for Ying. According to legend, rice dumplings were thrown into the river to prevent fish from eating the poet's body. Another version states that the dumplings were given to placate a dragon that lived in the river."

Here is how I made my bak chang (I used what I had in my pantry)

1) Soak the bambo leaves for a few hours. Or put in the boiling water for 1/2 hr until they are soft.

2) Soak over night glutinous rice or a few hours. By doing this will shorten the cooking time.

3) I only use pork, shiitake mushroom and wood ear as my filling.

4) Par-cooked the pork. I saute my pork with chopped garlic, white pepper, salt, soy sauce, oyster sauce and black soy sauce.

5) Saute the shiitake mushrooms and wood ear with chopped garlic, black soy sauce, salt and soy sauce.

6) Wash and drain the rice. Saute the rice with chopped garlic, chinese five spice powder, soy sauce, black soy sauce and salt.

7) You need some kind of skill to wrap the bak chang. I am so lazy to type out the steps, found this how to wrap bak chang from You Tube: (I wrapped my bak chang slightly different than the lady in the video. It doesn't which method, the end result will be the same..taste good)

8) After you done wrapping the bak chang, put the back chang in a deep pot and then fill the pot with water. Make sure the water is covering the bak chang.

9) Lucky me, work in commercial type of kitchen, I use the steamer instead, only took me about 1 hr to steam the bak chang. But if you are like anyone else, make this at home, boil the bak chang for arrpox 3 hrs. If you soak the rice overnight, it only take approx. 2 hrs.

So, are you up to the challenge?

花开福贵--Broccoli with Stuffed Shiitake Mushroom

Last week, I promised this 芒果安娣 that I would give her some ideas on Chinese New Year dishes. Since it is -25C outside (who wants to go out on the cold weather like this right?), so I decided to cook this super easy dish that looks gourmet enough to serve during Chinese New Year dinner or lunch.

Ok, here is the recipe on how to make this 花开福贵:

Ingredients: (serve 8)
30 to 40 dried Shiitake mushrooms

For pork mixture:
1 lb ground pork
1/3 cup finely diced carrot
2 stalks green onions - finely sliced
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbs soy sauce or to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tbs corn starch

For center of the plate:
2 cups broccoli florets
1 carrot thinly sliced

For sauce:
Mushroom water
Some sesame oil
White pepper
Chicken base
Cornstarch/water mixture


1) Soak dried mushroom in warm water to softern them. Save the soaking water/mushroom water for sauce later.

2) Mix pork mixture's ingredients together.

3) Cut off the mushroom stems and squeeze the water out .

4) Stuffed the mushroom caps with the pork mixture.

5) Arrange them in a steamer or a plate raised above the boiling water in a large pot.

6) Steam stuffed mushroom for 10 to 15 minutes.

7) Cook the broccoli florets and carrot in salted boiling water for one minute.

8) Arrange broccoli and carrot at the ceter of the serving plate.

9) Arrange the stuffed mushroom around the broccoli and carrot.

10) To make the sauce, heat the mushroom water in a pot. Add in a few drops of sesame oil, some white pepper and some chicken base to taste.

11) When the mushroom water is boiling, thicken the sauce by adding the conrstarch/water mixture.

12) Pour the sauce over stuffed mushroom, broccoli and carrot.

Enjoy!!