Yeah, I do know you’re probably wondering the same question as well. What are rice dumplings? Are we being dumped by rice for the greater good of mother nature? Oh shhh, don’t be silly 
In case you have not been following our blog during its journey from fetushood to its present stage ( still growing, yep ) fret not! I have dugged through piles & piles of posts and found, “et voila!” Penny’s post on the origins of Bak Chang a.k.a Rice Dumplings a.k.a Zongzi. OMG NO! I’m not going to bore you on the origins, processes in producing this edible pyramid.
Did I just say pyramid? Well, the Egyptians are famous for leaving its mark in history books and travel guide books. The Chinese ( and other achievements but this is an exception ) are famous for leaving its mark within the gastronomical realms and what lurks beneath its acidic exterior, lies remnants of edible what nots that have long since been digested with roots that can be traced back to China.
I was on my way to the night market earlier and thought, “Omg I want to spoil myself and be fat”. Kidding but walking past a store selling hot rice dumplings is as difficult as walking past a store that says, “Everything must go sale!”. That was how it was to me. Anyhow, it was a bargain for this bak chang 10 dollars and you’d get 3 pyramid-like thingy. Let’s just go for it!
Here are some pictures taken. To be brutally honest, this wasn’t the best bak chang I’ve had but it will suffice while my fingers peck on the keyboard, detailing what I’ve thought of it.
Judging from its external appearance, it would look like any rice dumplings that you’ll be able to see, in asian restaurants etc.
External encasings of the rice dumpling.
Traditionally, rice dumplings made good use of bamboo leaves, something that’s quite common in China years ago. To give it a different flavour, modernized versions of this rice dumplings have been known to be wrapped in leaves from lotus, bananas, pandan, maizes etc. I have tired pandan-wrapped rice dumplings before and the smell/taste is distinctly different from the ones made of bamboo leaves. In my opinion, bamboo leaves gives it a rustic roasted smell which pandan leaves cannot quite marry well with dumplings.
Unwrapping a rice dumpling is not easy where patience is concern. But oh look at how beautifully squashed the glutinous rice are!
But as they say, time is golden / all good things come to those who wait ( BUT I CAN’T WAIT!) etc. Yah, you know the whole proverbial saying but the unwrapped rice dumpling is a sight to behold! Chunky pieces of meat tears away, literally at that too, nicely with pieces of mushroom at its top. The dumpling I had, consisted of beans hidden somewhere, a duck’s egg yolk etc.
Here goes..
*Proceeds to open my mouth as widely as I could*
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OMG! It’s not as droolycious as it looks! Bugger!
