hokkien bak chang

Hokkien Bak Chang

60 - 70 bamboo leaves

straw strings

Pork

kg Glutinous rice

200 g Dried Prawns (100 g fried, 100 g grounded)

300 g Dried Chestnuts (without skin)

120 g Dried Shiitake Mushrooms

Salted Eggs (optional)

300 g Garlic (chopped)

Cinnamon sticks

Star anise

Five Spice powder

Pepper

soya sauce

Dark soya sauce

chicken stock

Shaoxing wine

Salt

Sugar

Cooking oil

pork

tsp pepper

salt

sugar

Tbsp light soy sauce

Tbsp dark soy sauce

Tbsp five spice powder

Tbsp Shaoxing wine

100 g dried prawns (fried)

Tbsp chopped garlic

Tbsp chopped shallots

120 g dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked)

Tbsp pepper

1.5 Tbsp dark soy sauce

chestnuts

Water shiitake mushrooms

shallots

cinnamon

star anise

garlic

rice

shallot oil

Tbsp chopped shallot

g grounded dried prawns

Tbsp concentrated chicken stock

tsp five spice powder

tsp salt

ml mushroom water

Boil bamboo leaves and strings for about 30 mins.Remove the strings and soak the leaves overnight. Rinse the strings and leaves before using.

Marinate pork belly and keep overnight in the fridge.

Wash and soak dried chestnuts overnight. Remove any remaining skin with a toothpick. Boil for about 25 minutes to soften.

Wash and soak dried shiitake mushrooms for at least 3 hours

Fry thinly sliced shallots (about 100 g) on medium heat until golden brown. Set aside fried shallots and the shallot oil.

Chop garlic and shallots.

Soak glutinous rice for at least 2 hrs.

Drain and rinse glutinous rice.

Preparation

Wash and sauté dried prawns until crispy.

Add chopped garlic, shallots, mushrooms, pepper, light and dark soy sauce and mix all the ingredients well

Add boiled chestnuts (200 g), mushroom water and stir fry. Set aside 100 g chestnuts for final assembly.

Taste and adjust seasonings according to preference.

Remove and set aside to cool.

Braised Mushrooms, Chestnuts, Dried Prawns

Sauté cinnamon sticks, star anise, chopped garlic and shallots briefly.

Add the marinated pork belly and mix everything well together. Add some water.

Cover and simmer over medium heat for about 40 minutes till cooked (but not too soft as the pork will cook further when dumplings are boiled).

Taste and adjust seasonings to your preference. Seasonings have to be strong as they will be diluted through the boiling of the dumplings.

Braised Pork

Stir fry finely chopped shallots and pounded dried shrimps in a pan of shallot oil.

Drain the soaked white glutinous rice and add to the pan. Mix well.

Pour the seasoning and mix thoroughly. Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference.

Rice:

Take 2 bamboo leaves and wipe dry with a cloth.

Use the smooth side of the leaves to wrap the rice and fillings.

Fold into a cone shape and put in 1 Tbsp rice and lightly press to sides with a spoon. Put in the fillings, ie pork belly, mushroom, chestnut, dried prawns, salted egg (optional) and some fried shallots.  Put in 1.5 Tbsp of rice and compress with a spoon.

Fold over the bamboo leaves forming a pyramid shape. Make sure that the 2 sides (‘wings’) of the leaves fully enclose the dumpling and form a tight seal. The 2 ‘wings’ must be firmly tucked against the sides of the dumpling to prevent leakage.

Hold the dumpling firmly (with the 2 ‘wings’ locked in position) and tie the dumpling with the straw string tightly. Check that the 2 ‘wings’ are safely tied in position. Double knot the string.

FINAL ASSEMBLY:

Put the dumplings in a pressure cooker pot of boiling water and cover and lock into place. Make sure that the water level is above the dumplings.

Cook in the pressure cooker for about 45 minutes.

Slowly release the pressure before unlocking the cover

Take out one dumpling to test for doneness.

Remove from the pot and hang to drip dry or place on a wire rack to dry before serving.

Cooking Stage

Learn how to make Hokkien bak chang in a pressure cooker or with boiling method. Recipe is a no fuss but with same great taste.

Easy Hokkien Bak Chang (Zongzi-Sticky Rice Dumplings)

500 gr glutinous rice / sweet rice / sticky rice

Tbsp cooking oil

garlic (peeled and finely chopped)

Tbsp dark soy sauce (or use kecap manis)

soy sauce

Tbsp oyster sauce

tsp sugar (omit if you use kecap manis)

shrimp

mushrooms

sausage

shallot

Tbsp dark soy sauce (you can use kecap manis and omit sugar)

tsp white pepper

tsp Chinese five-spice powder

tsp sugar (or more to taste)

bamboo leaves (see notes)

Kitchen twine

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

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

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

Cook the meat filling the day before:

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

Stir fry the rice:

Get the rice, the meat filling and the salted 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&#039;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&#039;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 &quot;neater&quot; and shows the triangle shape better

Fold the top part down. Fold in both sides. You&#039;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

How to wrap zongzi:

Fill up the inner pot halfway with water. 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 12-14 dumplings in my 6-quart instant pot. Top up with more water to make sure it covers the zongzi if necessary

Cover the lid. Turn the steam release valve to seal. Press &quot;pressure cooker&quot; and make sure it&#39;s on &quot;high pressure&quot;. Set the timer to 1 hour. Release pressure immediately after that

Carefully open the lid and use a tong to gently remove the zongzi from the pot to a cooling rack. Let the water drips down. The zongzi will still be soft to touch. I recommend waiting 24 hours before eating them

Cooking with Instant Pot pressure cooker:

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&#039;s cooked through. If the rice doesn&#039;t stick to the leaves and doesn&#039;t fall apart and the rice holds together nicely. It&#039;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

Boiling on the stove:

If you have leftovers, you can freeze the zongzi in the freezer and it&#039;s good for 6 months. When ready to eat them, you don&#039;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

How to store and reheat:

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/7C7veg19.mp4

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 sharing how to wrap zongzi

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Easy Hokkien Bak Chang (Zongzi-Stic...

Top 2 hokkien bak chang recipes from across the web

The most viewed hokkien bak chang recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Hokkien Bak Chang

Easy Hokkien Bak Chang (Zongzi-Stic...

The most viewed hokkien bak chang recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine