Nyonya Chang

The 5th day of the 5th moon should be around the corner and i am sure everyone will be scrambling for recipes. Every dialect or family have their own version of these dumplings. My mil's of just ground pork is so delicious and memorable and i have not been able to come close. She is Indonesian Chinese and if any readers know of such recipe, kindly share.

This recipe is from The Best of Singapore Cooking by Mrs Leong Yee Soo - Kueh Chang Babi. She used screw pine leaves aka pandan leaves but i made using bamboo leaves instead, limiting a tiny piece of pandan leave wrapped with the rice. I too have added cooked chestnuts to the filling as they give a better feel to it.




Ingredients:

4.5 lbs glutinous rice
3 tbsp salt
18 fl oz water
3 level tsp pepper
15 oz lard
30 - 35 pieces of pandan leaves - 2 inches in length
30 - 35 bamboo leaves
blue coloring

FILLING

2.5 lb lean pork
4 oz pork fat
2 oz dried chinese mushrooms
8 oz preserved sugared winter melon(tong toong kuah)
1 cup or more cooked chestnuts
7 fl oz lard or oil
2 oz garlic, pounded finely
8 oz shallots, pounded finely
1 heaped tsp salt
14 oz sugar
2 tbsp pepper
4 tbsp dark soya sauce
6 tbsp roasted ground coriander seeds.



Method:

To prepare rice:

1. Soak glutinous rice overnight. Drain and divide into three parts. Steam each part over rapidly boiling water for 30 minutes. Make steam holes before steaming.

2. Remove glutinous rice to a saucepan. Dissolve 1 tbsp salt in 6 f l oz water, Add 1 tsp pepper and pour around the steamed glutinous rice. Mix well. Cover for 10 minutes and mix lard evenly with rice. Keep warm in saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Repeat with remaining glutinous rice.Add a drop of blue coloring to one batch of glutinous rice.

To prepare filling:

3. Place the pork and pork fat in a saucepan. Pour in 30 fl oz water and bring to the boil. Boil over moderately high heat for 20 minutes then remove pork and fat. Cool, dice and set aside pork and fat, Continue boiling stock till it is reduced to half.

4. Soak chinese mushrooms and cut into tiny cubes. Dice sugared melon.

5. Heat oil in wok and fry the pounded garlic and shallots, adding pork, salt, sugar, pepper and dark soya sauce. Stir till pork changes color. Add stock, mushrooms, sugared melon and fat. Continue cooking over medium heat for 1/2 hour.

6. Now add the coriander powder and stir well. Reduce heat and simmer till filling is almost dry. Remove to a large bowl to cool. Keep overnight before filling.

To wrap dumplings:

7. Soak bamboo leaves in cold water. Cook bamboo leaves in hot boiling water for 10 minutes. Cool, then wipe dry. Take 1 broad or two leaves and fold from the centre to form a cone. Take a fistful of plain glutinous rice and a dollop of blue rice, line the sides.

8. Put 2 - 3 tbsp of pork filling over rice and cover neatly with more glutinous rice. Top with a piece of pandan leave before folding leaf over. Tie tightly with string or raffia.

9. Tie dumplings in groups of ten and boil in rapidly boiling water for 3 - 3 1/2 hour. Alternatively use the pressure cooker and cook for 1 hr. Add 2 tbsp salt to the water. (unwrap one dumpling to check if glutinous rice is cooked and smooth. Otherwise, continue boiling for another 30 - 45 minutes.)

10. Hang dumplings for 1 - 2 hours after cooking to drip dry, thus preventing sogginess.

Serves