You may have recently heard about the annual Chinese Dumpling Festival. It is a unique event that is held within China each year at a particular time, but it also has a real purpose to it. Today, we will be looking more closely at the Chinese Dumpling Festival, as well as the food dish most associated with it.
What is it?
To begin with, the Chinese Dumpling Festival, which is also known as the Dragon Boat Festival and the Double Fifth Festival, takes place every single year to mark the holiday of the same name. It occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the modern, lunar Chinese calendar. Bare in mind that Chinese New Year is celebrated either in late January or at the beginning of February, which means that the Festival tends to fall between late May and the middle of June. The 2019 Festival took place a few weeks ago, back on Friday June 7.
As for what it involves: there are multiple aspects to the festivities, one of which concerns dragon boat racing, and these take place in great number within the country of China on the day itself. But another major trait of the event, and the main reason why we are spotlighting it today, is that Chinese families and friends will share the Zongzi rice dumpling as the primary dish of the festival. The dumpling, and in particular Zongzi, is considered a lucky food, and is deemed a symbol of positivity, hence its selection as the main meal that day.
Zongzi
Also known as Chinese Hallacas, Rice Dumplings and Sticky Rice Dumplings, Zongzi consists of glutinous rice which surrounds a number of fillings, before being wrapped in bamboo leaves. These leaves can contain reed, lotus or banana depending on the choice of the person making the dish, and the intention is to use the leaves to form a pyramid shape around the dumpling. It is an exquisite dish to enjoy, and it is a highlight of the festival as a whole. It can be eaten all year round, but it takes on its greatest importance during this event.
Though the 2019 Festival has now come and gone, you can still enjoy Zongzi right here at Tiger Rock Liverpool. Find out more Southeast Asian festivals please follow us on social media (facebook and twitter) to receive upto date events we celebrate in our Liverpool restaurants.
Check out what we were upto during this years Chinesse Dumpling festival…