Learn how to make Hokkien bak chang in a pressure cooker or with boiling method. The recipe is a no fuss but with same great taste. Also find the step-by-step on how to wrap bak chang. 
I ’ ve never imagined making zongzi or bak cang in Hokkien dialect, on my own. I mean this was something I took for granted. Either my ma would make them or my aunt would make some or my dad would buy some. regardless, we always had some to eat. They are besides available at most asian grocery store stores besides, however, I constantly miss the one I had at home. Zongzi is traditionally eaten at the Dragon Boat Festival on the one-fifth day of the fifth lunar calendar month ( confused yet ? wear ’ t concern about the sidereal day and the calendar month, equitable focus on the food ) .
WHAT IS DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL?
The Dragon Boat Festival is the memorial of the end of the great poet and official of the state of Chu, Qu Yuan, during the Zhou dynasty. He wrote a great hand of poetry during his life and serve in high offices. He was accused of treason during the warring states period. He felt despair and Qu Yuan drowned himself in the Miluo river in northern Hunan. People who admired Qu Yuan made rice parcels and threw them into the river in the hope that the pisces would not consume Qu Yuan ’ second consistency and ate the rice parcels alternatively.
MY GRANDMA’S STORY OF DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL
The interpretation I ’ ve learn, told by my late grandma, was that zongzi is made and used as one of the offerings for dead person people. Zongzi made with gluey rice is muggy in nature, so it will be sticky when eat using hands. Some chinese believe that the asleep person international relations and security network ’ triiodothyronine mindful that he has passed away and hence, when he eats the gluey rice cones on the seventh day of his pass, his hands are muggy and when he washes hands, he will see his fingernails that have turned total darkness ( rotten ). He will then know that he has deceased. so, the zongzi is used to help them realize that they have passed away and rest in peace. interest story !
Despite all the stories out there, no one in truth knows for certain. I fair know that Zongzi is eaten all over the world, specially in Asia. Of course, as the Chinese immigrated to early countries, this acculturation is carried along and nowadays is eaten in early parts of Asia and has been adapted to local preference besides.
DIFFERENT KINDS OF STICKY RICE DUMPLINGS (BAK CHANG)
SAVORY VERSIONS: There are yue bak chang jiang, Hokkien bak chang jiang, Teochew bak chang jiang, Hainanese bak chang jiang, and Nyonya Chang adenine far as I know. All are made with gluey rice and wrapped in bamboo leaves but with different variations in filling.
SWEET VERSIONS: alkaline dumpling ( kee chang jiang ), sago dumpling
HOKKIEN BAK CHANG
My Dad ’ second family is Hokkien and acerate leaf to say, Hokkien bak chang jiang is what I grew up eat. even though my ma ’ south kin is Teochew, but I ’ ve never tasted Teochew bak chang jiang before. Teochew bak chang jiang has both dulcet and savory fill.
Hokkien bak chang jiang is a lot dark in color because darkness soy sauce is used and I know some has black-eyed peas added to the fill. I didn ’ triiodothyronine function that. The meat woof is besides cooked in five-spice powderize and chestnuts and salted egg yolk are added. The gluey rice grain is normally stir-fried in five-spice powder and dark soy sauce for that blue appearance .
PRESSURE COOKER SAVES COOKING TIME
After the success with making easy no-wrap bak exchange, I mustered up some guts to try out the traditional wrap bak chang jiang. The Nyonya chang jiang I made with blackmail cooker turned out actually capital besides. I simplified the recipe to make it less intimidating but I can assure you it still has the lapp great sample
1. NO SOAKING OF STICKY RICE
This is probably one of the best parts for me. The gluey rice can be cooked in the pressure cooker without having to be soaked for hours or overnight. If you plan to boil them, you however need to soak the rice for at least 4 hours
2. REDUCTION IN COOKING TIME
By using a pressure cooker, you save fourth dimension importantly from regular 2- 2 1/2 hours of boiling down to 50 minutes !
HOW TO MAKE AND PREPARE BAK CHANG
1. STIR FRY THE RICE
After soaking the rice ( if you are not using a pressure cooker to cook the bak chang jiang ), drain all urine. Preheat a boastfully wok or frying pan. Add cook oil. Stir fry garlic until very fragrant. Add the rice followed by all the seasonings.
Stir fry the rice until it picks up all the seasonings and the rice turns slightly sticky. Remove from the heat and let it cool down before using it to wrap
2. COOK THE MEAT FILLING
Preheat a pot or Dutch oven. Add cook petroleum and stir fry the garlic until fragrant. Add dried runt and stir fry for another minute.
Add the meat and touch electrocute until the kernel turns semblance.
Add water chestnuts and mushrooms. Continue to stir child until the kernel is cooked through
Stir to mix everything.
Add Chinese sausage and bustle fry for another minute. Have a smack and add more soy sauce or salt to taste. It should be savory in taste.
Stir in the crisp shallots ( bawang goreng ) if using. Dish out and set apart
HOW TO WRAP BAK CHANG (STICKY RICE DUMPLINGS)
1. Stack 2 leaves on top of each other. If you have ragged leaves, you can use another leaf to cover by overlapping them so there acquire ’ metric ton be any escape. Make sure the smooth side of the leaves are facing you
2. Fold into a cone determine
3. Fill it up with about 1 Tbsp of rice and use the back of the spoon to pack it in and slightly create an indentation in the middle for the fill
4. then add chestnuts, mushrooms, chinese sausage, and few pieces of the kernel
5. Top again with a scoop of rice and weight-lift with the back of the spoon to make certain they are tight.
6. Fold one side down
7. Fold the antonym web site down
8. Fold the top over
9. This is how it looks like at this point
10. Fold the 2 wings over
11. now you have this extra nibble
12. Fold it over to either side
13. secure with a kitchen twist
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT BAK CHANG
You can freeze the bak chang jiang in the deep-freeze and it ’ s good for 6 months. When ready to eat them, you don ’ thymine thaw them. They can go directly from the deep-freeze to the soft-shell clam with seethe water and steam for about 10 minutes on high estrus or until heated through. You can besides reheat them in a microwave on senior high school on 1 minute increase until heated through .
TRY NO-WRAP BAK CHANG TOO
This No-wrap Bak Chang recipe is easily to put together with the lapp capital taste. Thanks to mama for the recipe and thanks Fuschia, for another bang-up report behind this amazing food ! I just had a sting and OMG ! ! ! ! Superlicious ! ! ! ! The sense of satisfaction for being able to eat it and made it from scribble ! ! ! ! !
DID YOU MAKE THIS HOKKIEN BAK CHANG RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photograph and chase to show me what you ’ ve made ???? Simply tag me @ WhatToCookToday # WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I ’ ll be sure to stop by and take a glance for veridical !
Easy Hokkien Bak Chang (Zongzi-Sticky Rice Dumplings)
Prep Time
1
hr
Cook Time
3
hrs
Total Time
4
hrs
Servings
12
dumplings
from
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Ingredients
For the rice:
- 500 gr gluey rice / dessert rice / sticky rice
Seasonings for rice:
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil
- 10 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp dark soy sauce or use kecap manis
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp boodle neglect if you use kecap manis
Filling:
- 500 gr mixture of pork barrel border and pork belly cut into 2-inch chunks you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs excessively
- 4 Tbsp cooking oil
- 6 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
- 50 gr dried shrimp soaked and drained off water
- 10 shitake mushrooms soak and keep water and slit into 1/2-inch strips
- 12-15 dried chestnuts
- 2 links Chinese sausage remove casing and slice at angle
- 6 salted egg yolks halved ( optional ) – I did n’t use them this time
- ½ cup fried shallot crisp optional
Marinade for meat:
- 3 Tbsp dark soy sauce you can use kecap manis and neglect carbohydrate
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp oyster sauce
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 tsp carbohydrate or more to taste
You also need:
- 24-30 pieces dried bamboo leaves
- 1 ball natural-fiber string
Instructions
The day before:
-
If you are not using pressure cooker to cook the bak chang, you need to soak the rice for at least 4 hours or overnight. Drain off the water after that
-
Soak the bamboo leaves in water and then discard the water and wipe the leaves dry with clean cloth the next day when you are ready to use them
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Place the meat and ingredients for marinade in a large zipper bag or bowl and marinated the meat overnight for best flavor and taste
-
Soak the dried chestnuts, mushrooms, and dried shrimp in water separately until soft. I just leave them soaking overnight. Remove the red membrane in chestnuts with a toothpick if you see any. Cut the mushrooms into smaller pieces and finely chop the dried shrimp
Cook the meat filling the day before:
-
Preheat a pot or Dutch oven. Add cooking oil and stir fry the garlic until fragrant. Add dried shrimp and stir fry for another minute. Add the meat and stir fry until the meat turns color. Add chestnuts and mushrooms. Continue to stir fry until the meat is cooked through Stir to mix everything. Have a taste and add more soy sauce or salt to taste. It should be savory in taste. Stir in the bawang goreng if using. Dish out and set aside
Stir fry the rice:
-
After soaking the rice (if you are not using a pressure cooker to cook the bak chang), drain all water. Preheat a large wok or skillet. Add cooking oil. Stir fry garlic until really fragrant. Add the rice followed by all the seasonings. Stir fry the rice until it picks up all the seasonings and the rice turns slightly sticky. Remove from the heat and let it cool down before using it to wrap
How to wrap zongzi:
- Get the rice, the kernel fill up and the salt egg yolks ( if using ) ready for wrapping
-
Generally, you will need about 2 leaves, stacking on top of each other. If you have ragged leaves, you can use another leaf to cover by overlapping them so there won’t be any leakage. Make sure the smooth side of the leaves are facing you
-
Fold into a cone shape. Fill it up with about 2 Tbsp of rice and use the back of the spoon to pack it in and slightly create an indentation in the middle for the filling
-
Then add chestnut, mushrooms, sausage, and few pieces of the meat into the cone. Top again with more sticky rice, filling up almost 3/4 of the cone. Make sure you really pack it down so the dumpling will be nice and tight later
-
Fold one side down. Fold the opposite site down. Most people don’t fold the two sides and go straight to folding the top part down (as shown in the next step). But I feel like this helps me to wrap “neater” and shows the triangle shape better
-
Fold the top part down. Fold in both sides. You’ll have this extra piece on top now. Simply fold it down to either one of the side
-
Tie with a string. Repeat with the rest of the filling and rice
Cooking with Instant Pot pressure cooker:
-
Press saute and bring water to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp of salt. Place the bak chang in the inner pot of instant pot. I can cook 12 dumplings in my 6-quart instant pot. Fill up with water to make sure it covers the zongzi
-
Cover the lid. Turn the steam release valve to seal. Press “pressure cooker” and make sure it’s on “high pressure”. Set the timer to 50 minutes. Release pressure immediately after that
- carefully open the eyelid and use a tong to gently remove the zongzi from the pot to a cooling system wrack. Let the urine drips down. The zongzi will however be soft to touch. I recommend waiting 24 hours before eating them
Boiling on the stove:
-
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1/2 tsp of salt. Place the bak chang in a large pot. Bring it back to a boil and then cover and lower the heat to let it gently boil for the next 2 to 2 1/2 hours. If your bak chang is large in size you may need 3 hours or so. At the end of cooking time, you can take one out to see if it’s cooked through. If the rice doesn’t stick to the leaves and doesn’t fall apart and the rice holds together nicely. It’s done. If the rice falls apart, you need to boil them longer
-
Carefully use a tong to gently remove the bak chang from the pot to a cooling rack to let it cool down for 24 hours before eating them. They will still be soft to touch, but will firm up once they are cooled down completely
How to store and reheat:
-
If you have leftovers, you can freeze the zongzi in the freezer and it’s good for 6 months. When ready to eat them, you don’t thaw them. They can go straight from the freezer to the steamer with boiling water and steam for about 10 minutes on high heat or until heated through or you can reheat them in a microwave on high on 1 minute increment until heated through
Video (appear as pop-up)
Recommended products:
Instant Pot
Dutch Oven
Nutrition
Serving:
1
bak chang
Calories:
460
kcal
Carbohydrates:
67
g
Protein:
16
g
Fat:
13
g
Saturated Fat:
4
g
Cholesterol:
45
mg
Sodium:
1300
mg
Fiber:
2
g
Sugar:
4
g
Tried this recipe ?
Mention @ whattocooktoday or tag # WhatToCookToday You besides need to check out this quick method acting for making salted eggs. I like to use this method because I can use the egg whites for early things and the salt egg yolks for this recipe any many other recipes calling for salted testis yolks.
