It’s that time of the year again – the Zhang (rice dumpling) Festival also known as the Dragon Boat Festival or DuanWu Jie (the Double 5 Festival as it falls in the 5th Day of the 5th month in the Chinese lunar calendar). If anyone is interested in knowing more about the festival, just click this link to go and read all about it.
Well, this year, the actual day falls on the 6th of June, next week and these days, I no longer look forward to it as my mum has long stopped making the traditional nyonya meat dumplings even when she was still up and about and my mother-in-law is, more often than not, not up to it anymore as she too is growing too old. Otherwise, at least we would get the Hokkien variety to enjoy whenever the festival came around…but at least, there is not much of a problem buying this type in town – except that the homemade ones are usually nicer.
Imagine my delight when my friend, Richard, dropped by my house the other evening and gave me these…
…that he made himself, those nyonya ones that I very much prefer – with the fragrance of ground or pounded ketumbar seeds in it. If you check out this post, he has been so kind as to give me some every time this festival comes around since as far back as 2008!
His were BIG…
…and really conical in shape – unlike the ones my missus made when she tried her hand at it the other day. Hehehehehehe!!!
And look at all that meat inside…
Yum! Yum!
Thanks a lot, Richard. I gave some to my mum too, of course, knowing that she would enjoy them as well – exactly like those that she used to make a long long time ago.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
had some yesterday. more to come! **been staying up finishing the Angry Bird on Chrome… all 60 levels** Oh ya… good morning to you Art.
And also ‘gayu-guru, gerai-nyamai’, early one… go easy on the tuak!
Thank goodness I don’t celebrate. That tuak can make you go all weak in the knees one…and the sweet ones especially are dangerous. You enjoy drinking so much that you do not realise you’ve drunk a lot till the kick comes – one wham and you’re out cold…like vodka!
P.S. Mamakucing made a lot? Can’t wait to see her post on it. I wonder if she makes the Hokkien ones (with 5-spice powder) or nyonya ones like these (with ketumbar).
mine ones rae rojaks one. Duno know Chinese or Hokkien Chang but got put 5 spice powder la.
Ah! 5-spice, Chinese ones lah – Hokkien…same as my MIL’s. My missus tried making a week or two ago since her mum too old to make now, got all shapes like sampan! Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
Ya… she made a lot and sumbat me liao. kakakaka… she very efficient. 😀
Behold! She has risen!!! Muahahahaha!!!!! 😀
ahh so this is like our Suman yum yum especially if you got some coco jam
I guess your coco jam is our kaya (coconut jam). Your suman has meat in it too? Not very compatible with kaya or coco jam, I would think?
Looks superb and yummy. Drooling now. Wish can eat it for breakfast now haha
Me too! All gone now… Had the last one for supper last night. Hehehehehe!!!
So nice of your friend, Richard.. me salivating now.. i love bah chang and during my younger days, i remember eating a lot in a day.. but now.. don’t ask.. hahaha… the cells insides seems to be working on first gear only..
No problem for me…just that these days, I eat slow-slow – one at a time, savouring the taste so that I can enjoy over a period of a few days. Otherwise, habis one go, no more… Sobs!!! 😦
I just remember.. the bah chang near the Kimberly Road, Penang.. are very nice.. they are wrapped up like pillow cases, inside whitish with lots of yellow beans.. last time i used to packet back 10s for ourselves..
Those must be the Cantonese zhang. They used to sell here at 1 or 2 places – RM5.00 each. I think if I go and buy now, it will cost a lot more…and I would have second thoughts about buying. 😦
Beethoven symphony 5 goes like this..Zhang zhang zhang..zhang zhang zhang.. ♫
♫♫♫
Thank goodness the post did not remind you of the Hokkien song – “sio bak chang”!!! LOL!!! 😀
Bananaz loves the nonya salty & sweet with nuts which Nikki’s grandma used to make in Penang. Besides diying for curry mee also a nutty person…~;). hehe.
Yup…some people call it “Pua kiam-tee chang” – half salty, half-sweet…plus the fragrance of the ketumbar. Yum! Yum!
hahhahaa… make me wanna eat the Ketupat Babi on top of the sibu central market.
Nice? I wonder which stall… I seldom go up there – so hot,so crowded and not very conducive surroundings…
The one ada tulis “Hock Hua Porridge and Ketupat Babi”. Near the level 2 car park bridge on your left handside
Ok, will look out for it if I get the chance to drop by. Good time to go tomorrow… Gawai, market not so crowded.
Yummy……I miss my mom’s bak chang so much.
You make them in Indonesia too? I guess you never bothered to learn how to make? My missus is like that too. That’s why now that my MIL is too old, no more… 😦
yeah i love these dumplings but I like the darker ones and those with salted egg yolk! It’s the time of the year for dumplings! Yeah!!
Those would be the Hokkien chang. Watch out for my post on those in a few days’ time… 😉
Wah! A friend who can make nyonya chang are for keeps,STP! Lol!…Was given abt 10 nyonya changs exactly like what my mum made last time by my almost ‘chinlang’ to be and very yummy! I had the 9 out of 10! Haha! At times like this, I love the fact that my family don’t really fancy nyonya changs, they prefer the foochow version!
Melissa too! She prefers the Hokkien chang that my MIL makes – not keen on the nyonya chang I used to buy from Kuching. Richard’s ones are HUGE – you would not be able to have 9 in one sitting. I guess you may be able to buy from the nyonya restaurants in Melbourne, if you want. Should be available there this time of year. Your almost “chin lang”? Now who would that be? Your own or one of your brothers’ or sisters’…so many. LOL!!! 😀
Had Vegetarian Bak Chang for breakfast….he he he!
Ya…I saw your update on Facebook. I’m a meat person though… 😉
Yummy!…the bak chang looks superb. Drooling!!!….love chang with fillings of meat, mushroom, “kau lak” and the ketumbar taste. Those Hakka chang with peanuts….emmm….not really keen on those.
BTW, STP, how many can you wallop in 1 sitting?…hehehe
1 or 2… Must control Limited supply, so much stretch over a few days. Can enjoy longer… Don’t like the peanuts ones too…nor the yellow kee chang – my mum likes the ones sold at a phong peah shop along Padungan but I’m not a fan. You make?
Bak chang, those oily, slimy, wet but super delicious, and yummy trinagular thingy. XD
Don’t eat too much though. 🙂
It’s only once a year… Hehehehehe!!! 😉
uiks…very weird…mana itu Cleff..biasa will come here very early..must be baham her chicken chang till pengsan already
Adoi! Hope she did not choke on it in her eagerness/greediness to eat one whole chang one go…. Quick! Rush to her house now and hit her hard on her back! LOL!!! 😀
Mabuk chang chang and paku liao… makan liao KONK out lah~ LOL!
Very strange combination…. Like 1Malaysia! Muahahahaha!!!! 😀
Tak tau… she kasi me… I DBKL lo… dun care liao la. LOL. Rezeki jangan di tolak. LOL!
Yalor… Like my friend, Richard, every year giving me… Very shy, always take things from him…but never mind! Thick skin sikit…as nyonya chang, in Sibu, cannot buy one! LOL!!! 😀
Zhang!!! Yummy!
I had mine yesterday! Own made, own wrap, not bad. hahahha.
Had been few years didn’t help my mother in law to made zhang, i learn how to make zhang from her. This year i decide to take a day off and help her.
My memory still not fail me, i can remember how to made, only first two, a bit blur. Final result, pass, non of the zhang burst. LOL!
I like to wrap my own zhang, because i don’t like to put a lot things inside like those mung beans, dried oyster. Cantonese like to put beans inside the zhang. Every year i got my own zhang, just meat, yolk, lap cheong and mushroom. Simple and nice.
Yum! Yum! Sounds so good… Good girl! Pat! Pat! *pat on the head… At least, SOME know how to tie bak chang. I was telling my missus – really malu, the Chinese themselves no longer know how to tie…when I can go to my regular kuih stall in the kampung in the morning and buy very nice changs made by the Malays – small, perfect cones…so delicately well done. Of course, theirs halal…no pork lah but still taste quite good.
Nope, I know how to eat only. My mum makes very nice “chang”, be it meat or sambal…but SOBS!…SOBS!…she is now too old to do all these and none of us is picking up her skills!…haiz!!!….
I love kee chang too!…eat with kaya or sugar…nice leh!!….Kee chang expensive hor.
Dunno. Have not bought for a long long time. Everytime I went to Kuching, never went by that way so nevergot to buy. Sigh!!! All the younger ones these days – everything, didn’t bother to learn. Only know how to eat! Tsk! Tsk! LOL!!! 😀
Tsk… not all liddat… I know how to make ketupat… but I tak tau balut… jadi like alien food!
The ones they usually give with satay? Now got factory made ones, just boil. Muahahahaha!!! Here, they sell the case at the market – just fill with rice/pulut and cook….
Hi Arthur….I have been so busy the last few days entertaining the Piggy Josh that I have no time to blog hop over to your place :p
I want to ask you about the recipe on Sarawak Laksa…what do I add to make it delicious other than adding santan to the paste. I mean do I add eggs, shrimps and veggies…what veggies do I add as garnishing for the laksa 🙂 Sorry to ask you this coz I have never tried sarawak laksa before 🙂
Thanks and yea dumpling festival is just around the corner . I suck at making dumpling so have to skip this one :p Buy them makes things easier :p
Have a nice day,
Elin
Check out this post: https://suituapui.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/do-it-on-my-own/ for the steps to cook Sarawak laksa. Note that you will have to tapis the broth before adding the santan. Good luck. Oh? Finally, something that you’re not good at – making rice dumplings. Muahahahaha!!!!
P.S. You may need to pound some sambal belacan (like the one in the photograph) to eat the laksa with. Adds to the ooomph!!!
Thanks…I shall try it out this Saturday 🙂 Thanks for the laksa paste and the link to do it.
Don’t laugh…once I mastered it…then you muahahaha la !!!
Claire is waiting to eat the sarawak laksa so have to make for her or she will whine down my ears :p * kidding la
Yes, she’s been waiting so many months now. Not difficult to cook actually and a lot easier if there is help. Good luck! Can’t wait to see your post on it.
The big kakak just sumbat-ed me some yesterday. I makan til knock out. Very nice lah….
Can’t wait for her post to see what hers are like. So good, she knows how to make. You leh? Why never go over to her place and help and learn? Another one of those – only know how to eat! Tsk! Tsk!
Nvm… I got sumbat her salted eggs 50 bijik. LOL! Me go over help kah? i better dun. Spoil her cooking oni later.
I can imagine. In Hokkien, they say, “Say kay nui si bor, pang kay sai si oo!” (Lay eggs, don’t have – pass chicken shit, got!) Muahahahahaha!!!! 😀
Wow, time sure passes quick ya Arthur. It seemed like we only had bak chang not too long ago. Next thing we know, shops will selling mooncakes and hanging lanterns for sale; and not long after that, roadside stalls sprouting offering mandarins.
+Ant+
Yes, time does seem to fly these days…and I’m glad.Can’t wait till November or so when I’ll have my girl home again…
My ever fave bak chang must have lots of shrimps fried with garlics, chuncky dark soya meat, mushrooms, abalone and duck egg yolk….m drooling now
I’m ok with all…except the abalone – have to give up on that now, no teeth so I just cannot chew…and I’ve no intention of swallowing it whole. What you’re talking about is the Hokkien bak chang – a higher class version, of course…not the same as these nyonya ones. Will feature the Hokkien ones soon…maybe on the day of the festival itself.
Kuih Chang…I like!…only nyonya ones though. Your friend Richard’s chang very cantik he bungkus. This year, I am super kiasu..I made them in April and dapat around 100bijik (made twice). I eat some and freeze some for throughout the year…if they last that long…hehehe. I can makan 5 bijik in one sitting and I can eat them the whole day…breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rosak badan, man…but yum!!
Eh, what is ketupat babi? I am super curious…go and makan and blog about it lah, Arthur. First time I know of it!!…I ni jakun sikit…stay in south pole, ma.
LOL!!! Ketupat babi = bak chang. I dunno if it’s Indonesian or what but my parents’ Indon maid also called it by that name. I was also quite “amused” when I first saw it referred to by that name. Hmmmm…if I had that many, I would eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well but unfortunately, I only had a few… 😦 According to Richard, they would last longer if you use the bamboo chang leaves – the ones with pandan may spoil faster. One year, he wrapped with bamboo leaves inside and pandan outside for the flavour but not this time around.
His family memang famous for the cooking one – some kind of nyonya like my family and his auntie’s cookies and pineapple tarts were once so famous – had to order really early before Christmas or Chinese New Year. He himself also makes nice pineapple tarts…but so far, he never gave me any. Hint, hint, Richard! Muahahahahaha!!!!
Alah..kasi suspence orang saja…ketupat babi/bak chang..hahaha. Nyonyas and Babas memang very terror when it comes to cooking and kemas rumah..except me …and maybe Cleffairy?..muahahaha
Come to my house…and you’ll be so pleased that we’re all one of a kind. Muahahahaha!!!!
LOL… I tink ur too modest, Shereen… but me… memang confirm masak fail! LOL!
She masak like Elin – all like real pro one…not like you…or me! 😦
WONDERFUL!!!
I really like the Nonya ones too!
It’s a good thing my grandmother & mother are so into it that they do it every year.
Perhaps I should bring you some?
hahaha~~
Now what’s that horse laugh at the end? Taunting me, torturing me, are you? 😦
Rarely get to eat Nyonya version and refuse to buy because they are expensive (so as any other dumplings). Hence, have to settle with Hokkien version. Haha.
Are they? Used to be quite cheap in Kuching, dunno now. Well, the Hokkien ones here are RM2.00-2.50 each…and the meat inside is so very little and you would not dare imagine how much those with salted egg cost. With that kind of money, I would much sooner go and eat kampua noodles or Foochow fried noodles.
Yippie..was blessed that Mamarazzi shared some with me…yummmmm!!!
Tsk! Tsk! *green with envy!!! 😦
din know u are a Baba! I miss those good ones my baba nyonya neighbours in Melaka used to make when i was very young. And they all comes with some “blue color” at one corner..yum!!
My mum’s half Melanau actually and the ladies in her family all wore sarong kebaya, keronsang, sanggul and all…and our cuisine is nyonya-influenced. Yup, they use some flower petals to get the blue colour. Their serimuka also – the pulut has blue stains too.
Yea, it’s time to stuff ourselves silly with those delicious rice dumplings! Homemade ones are always more generous on the fillings, and we can add whatever ingredients we like. Nah, I can’t wrap a decent triangular dumpling. It’s my sis-in-law who is good at it. So, every year, my job is to wash up the mess after making the dumplings 😦
I like those with red/yellow beans, dried oyster and not-so-fat pork. The nyonya ones are also very nice. But I don’t like the plain ones called “kan sui” dumplings. Happy Zhang Festival, to you 🙂
Not yet. Still a few days to go…and there’ll be another post on the day itself. Hehehehehe!!!!