Nyonya Rice Dumpling - Nonya Bak Chang
Ingredients
- 700g glutinous rice, soaked overnight
- Some screwpine leaves, cut into 4 cm lengths
- Dried bamboo leaves, washed and soaked for several hoursHemp strings for tying
- 2 tbsp salt1 tbsp sugar
Filling: - 5 shallots, minced
- 2 tbsp chopped garlic
- ½ cup oil
- 3 tsp preserved soya bean paste (tau cheong)
- 7 tbsp coriander powder (ground ketumbar), mixed with 170ml water into a paste4
- 50g belly pork, skin removed and cut into very small cubes
- 12-14 dried mushrooms, soaked and diced
- 100g candied winter melon, diced
Seasoning (combined) - 3 tsp pepper
- 5½-6 tbsp sugar or to taste
- 1 tbsp thick soy sauce1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2½-3 tsp salt or to taste½ tsp ground black pepper
Method
To prepare the fillingHeat oil in a non-stick pan, fry shallots and garlic until aromatic. Add soya bean paste and coriander paste. Fry until fragrant.
Add pork, winter melon and mushrooms, and mix in combined seasoning. Fry until pork is heated through. Dish out and set aside.
To assemble the dumplingsOverlap 2 bamboo leaves lengthways then fold into a cone. Fill the cone with glutinous rice. Spoon a heaped tablespoon of filling over. Top up with more glutinous rice and cover with a piece of screwpine leaf. Press down to compress the dumpling. Wrap into a pyramid shape. Tie tightly with hemp string to secure. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt and sugar then put in the dumplings and immerse them completely. Cook in rapidly boiling water for 2-2½ hours. Remove the dumplings and hang them to drain off excess water.
More Chinese Rice Dumpling recipes at myfood.mymalaysiabooks.com
