Sunday, May 24, 2009

Dragon Boat Festival 2009

Dragon Boat Festival (端午节) is a festival celebrated by many Chinese on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month to commemorate Qu Yuan, a patriotic poet and political figure who lived in the 3rd century B.C. The festival falls on 28 May (Thursday) this year. To celebrate the festival, the Chinese prepare and eat rice dumplings (粽子) which are made of glutinous rice and fillings (such as braised pork, chestnuts and dried shiitake mushrooms) wrapped in bamboo leaves. To cook the rice dumplings, wood stoves are used.

Wood Stoves

Cooking Rice Dumplings


There are a variety of rice dumplings available in the market. The most common savoury ones include braised pork rice dumplings and Nonya rice dumplings. Besides these rice dumplings with meat fillings, there are also vegetarian ones. I have just tried vegetarian braised meat rice dumplings and vegetarian Nonya rice dumplings and they both taste as good as those with meat fillings.

Vegetarian Rice Dumplings

Vegetarian Nonya Rice Dumpling (left) & Vegetarian Braised Meat Rice Dumpling (right)

Vegetarian Rice Dumplings (unwrapped)

Vegetarian Rice Dumplings (fillings shown)


Happy Dragon Boat Festival!


端午节快乐!



*I'm celebrating Ruby Tuesday's 1st anniversary on 26 May: Happy Birthday! To send your sweet birthday greetings to Ruby Tuesday, pls visit here.*


31 comments:

food-4tots said...

I luv nyonya rice dumpling too. My MIL can make very good Cantonese style dumplings. I only know how to wrap them. Hehehe! Happy Dragon Boat Festival to you too!

Food Lover said...

the dumplings look nice been some time since i ate dumplings ha

Willa said...

great post! all is new to me!

Carver said...

I love dumplings. Thanks for visiting and commenting on my photohunt post. My WS post isn't up yet as I'm moving a little slowly.

eastcoastlife said...

I love rice dumplings but the hot weather is not good for eating them. I cannot afford to fall sick.
*looks longingly at the rice dumplings*

tigerfish said...

I ate rice dumplings last week! :D

Hazel said...

we have those stoves on the tables of some Thai restaurants here. they are made of clay, and they use it to keep the soup warm for long dining.

have a nice week :)

Indrani said...

You really tempt me with your shots, Dora!

Karen said...

Oh, we only have rice dumplings here but no stuffing.

Ebie said...

I love those rice dumplings. They are sold here in Chinatown. Happy Dragon Festival!

Anonymous said...

端午节快乐!
We just collected our dumplings from my MIL's place last night :P
It'll be dumplings for breakfast/lunch/dinner/supper for a long time.. LOL~

marites1034 said...

oh my, i miss those rice dumplings. just love them, we also have them here in my country. those woodstoves look quite the same with what we have here.

Kero said...

I missed the dragon boat show here last month. I bet it was pure excitement. Happy celebration! and i would really love to try those dumplings! they look gooey and yum yum!

Race said...

rice dumpling looks deliciously good!

Anya said...

Nice new look from your blog :)
I did not now you eat catfood....LOL
You want to be a kitty pet !?! ;)
I like your new Loooooook ^__^

Lovely post
and it looks
very deliciously as always ;)

Jama said...

Now you make me crave for them, time to go and look for the halal dumpling!

Felisol said...

"My teeth are running in water,"is our way of saying, "I'd love to taste rice dumplings."
They look so tempting, and that old cooker must be very practical for outdoor use.

Have a happy Ruby Tuesday and ditto Dragon festival.
From Felisol

Leora said...

Tasty. Thanks for sharing your scrumptious dumplings.

Ellen Whyte said...

I'll be buying some this week - but it's hard to get ones that aren't too sugary! Esp the Char Siew ones...

KitchenMaus said...

The dumplings look like something i made too...what is inside? thanks for sharing this wonderful event! happy rt!

Jim said...

Hi Yes, I like those rice dumpling too! Duck is my favorite. We had them all over China a couple of years ago.
Happy RT, enjoy your festival,
..

Anonymous said...

Informative series. Thanks for sharing.

yyam said...

Wow, these look yummy...I've always liked the Nonya ones..haven't tried the vegetarian ones though..

Robin said...

Those dumplings look delicious - I wish I could be there to help you eat them!

Annie Jeffries said...

Rice dumplings are soooo good. Happy eating to Mr. Kitty as well. He knows a good thing when he sees it.

Mary said...

Fascinating to learn all of this.

prkl said...

Very delicious food and reds you've got here. Happy RT!

Dianne said...

so much yummy to look at!!

maryt/theteach said...

The dumplings look delicious, Dora! I hope you do win one of the prizes but I can't guarantee it! Ha! Thanks for participating in Ruby Tuesday! :)

Ralph said...

The dumplings are good eating...we don't see this in our area in the smaller 'Chinese' restaurants, although I would enjoy these - they look great, and taste even better...

Tastes of Home said...

love dumplings!!! miss the nyonya kinds especially since they are not available here hehe