The History Of Bak Chang – Zong Zi
I remember when it was nearing the 5th day of the 5th month of the Chinese Lunar calendar, my grandma would come home from the market with lots of ingredients to make her favourite Bak Changs. In her kitchen, I would see slabs of pork belly, stacks of bamboo leaves, heaps of mushroom and chestnuts boiling over the stove. And the aromatic fragrance whiffing throughout the whole house, it was heavenly! I love Bak Chang because I get to eat them and more importantly, it is the happy memories of bonding with my grandma and cousins when we made them together.
- Bak Chang is also known as the Chinese dumpling, eaten in honour of the Qu Yuan, a poet and court official during the ancient state of Chu Who. He was wrongfully accused of betrayal. Later on, Qu Yuan committed suicide by jumping in the Miluo River when the kingdom fell into the enemy’s arms. In hopes that fishes would not eat his body, the locals thought that it would be a great idea to throw dumplings into the river to take the attention away from his body.
- The 5th day of the 5th month of the lunar calendar is a traditional holiday called – Dragon Boat Festival or 端午节 in Chinese. To commemorate Qu Yuan’s death, Dumpling (ZongZi) is the memorial name of this dish.
- Traditionally, there are 5 different types of Bak Chang: Hokkien Bak Chang, Cantonese Bak Chang, Teochew Bak Chang, Nonya Chang and Kee Chang. However, over the years, many people have experimented and come up with different flavours of bak chang.
- Even after so many years, Bak Chang is still made with love by hand.
INTRODUCTION OF BAK CHANG QUEEN
This is the sustenance of Bak Chang. Hokkien Bak Chang is savoury and is usually filled with braised pork belly, shiitake mushroom, dried shrimp and chestnut. The rice is made of glutinous rice mixed with dark sauce and five-spice powder.
What’s different about this is that glutinous rice is made special with lemongrass and galangal. Additionally, this is made with Omni-meat! What this means is that those on plant-based diets can also indulge in this traditional dish.
A pretty bak chang that you definitely won’t want to miss out on! Plus point, it is super instagrammable for all you social media addicts! This Bak Chang is both sweet and savoury. It is filled with minced pork and spices. The glutinous rice is dyed with pea flowers to accentuate the romantic blue marbles that you will see.
For all you calorie counters and health-conscious freaks, this is something you won’t want to miss out on! Traditional Bak Chang can be calorie-heavy, but this is a ‘healthier choice’ option! This Bak Chang is mixed with glutinous rice and quinoa to give you that extra texture.
Quinoa is a very popular rice replacement, it provides extra protein and fibre and leaves you with a satisfying crunch.
The difference between this and the other Bak Chang option is that uses lean meat. Miss Quinoa is the ultimate healthier choice! So don’t be a party pooper and miss out of this traditional dish.
Sunny Seng is the ‘Zeng up’ version of the Hokkien Beng Bak Chang. The golden yellow salted egg yolk is used to brighten up the Bak Chang, your day! This Bak Chang is perfect for all you savoury food lover that loved salted egg yolk everything! If the salted egg yolk is your thing, do give Sunny Seng a try!
Alternatively, if you want to try out some lovingly handmade ones from Bak Chang Queen, check them out on the link below. They have received many good reviews!
https://shoppercliq.com/h5/pages/groupbuy/groupbuy?id=&pid=11225
(photo credits to Bak Chang Queen)
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