Easy way to make Zongzi: Chinese sticky rice dumplings

Have you had “Zongzi” before? It is rice dumpling combined with marinated rib or pork wrapped in bamboo leaves.

The ribs with sweet rice came out so tender, and falling out of bones. The fat was melted in the rice, you don’t taste fatty at all! The rice became aromatic fragrant infused by bamboo leaves.

Clay transfers subtle earthy tones and gives the rice another layer of flavor and distinct texture that you just can’t get it from other cooking methods. You would taste the difference especially when you cook light dishes or soups like rice, bone broth or yogurt.

This recipe is best made with our premium Smart Organic Multi-cooker -

      

Ingredients: 

• 36 to 40 dried bamboo or reed leaves (2 to 3 leaves per zongzi)
• 5 cups uncooked short grain sticky rice (also called glutinous rice, or “sweet rice”)
• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, plus 2 teaspoons
• Salt pepper to taste
• 1 pound pork belly, cut into 12 equal pieces ( I used a full slab of ribs cut in Singles)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons white wine
• 1 teaspoon oil
• ½ cup water
• cotton cooking twine

Directions:

1. Soak the leaves overnight. The next day, wash and rinse each leaf front and back, keeping them in a large bowl or tub of water until wrapping time so they don’t dry out.
2. Soak the sweet rice overnight. The next day, drain completely.
3. In a bowl, toss the pork belly with 2 teaspoons light soy sauce, 1/2 teaspoons sugar, 2 teaspoons shaoxing wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and white pepper. Marinate overnight.
4. Overlap 2-3 leaves in parallel on a cutting board
5. Spread a thin layer of sticky rice on top
6. Add meat or rib on top of rice
7. Add another layer of rice
8. Wrap rice and meat inside with the leaves and tie each rice dumpling with cotton cooking twine
9. In your vitaclay pot, add 4 cups water. Add rice dumplings to the top.
10. Set on stew or fast to cook for 1 hour.