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Dragon Boat FestivalMonday, June 21, 2010

The Dragon Boat Festival is a big holiday celebrated all over Asia. Although different countries celebrate it in different ways.The Festival actually originated in a city called Miluo, which is part of Yueyang county. That’s cool - right? Here’s the story for your reading pleasure.. The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin. Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

And let’s just thank wikipedia for sharing all that history with us!So every year across the street from our apartment they have some sort of Dragon Boat display or races. Some years it is a bigger deal than other years. We always try to ask around to find out what is happening and when, and we never seem to get any answers. Anyway - our ‘celebration’ started with making the food famous for this holiday - zong zi. That’s the real name. But in our part of China people pronounce it zhong zi. My house helper LOVES to make them so she was quick to agree to make them with me. Just like I have memories of making chocolate chip cookies with my mom, she has memories of making zong zi with her mom!

You start with a special kind of rice... a glutenous, super sticky rice. You play with it...

And then wash it...

And then clean up all the pieces that you dropped on the floor from your play time.

Then enter the leaves...

These are bamboo leaves. They give off a great taste. If you like that kind of thing. Which I do. These also must be played with.And washed.

Then you need a pot.

And then you can start working.

There are MANY ways to make zong zi. You just make it how your mother taught you... and if for some reason your mother never made this (like mine), then you pick a precious friend and learn from her the way her mother taught her.Zong zi come in many shapes and forms and with different fillings. The typical fillings are things like meat, or bean (beans of all color) and occasionally fruit. I would say that hands down, fruit ones are my favorite. They are fantastic. So when we eat zong zi in my house, we eat fruit zong zi.We did some with raisins and some with peaches. Delicious! You can either mix the fruit right into the rice, or you can just add it in as you go. We opted for the later.

So you start by twisting the leave to create a cone shape. Then you shove the rice in. And you have to shove hard. Really pack it in good.

And once they are full and tight, you fold the top over and proceed to wrap string around the top, holding the leaf in place. This is hard stuff people, I couldn’t make it up if I tried.

When I wasn’t taking pictures, I was working to unravel the string that came unraveled, but that Elizabeth decided to play with and tangled up in a matter of seconds.

And there it is - all our hard work hanging on the back of a kitchen chair.

And then they go into the pot where you boil or steam them for a long time. For hours. Like 3 or 4 hours. But it is worth the wait. Here is a finished one - sorry about the blurry picture. I was near shaking with anticipation. (haha)... This one pictured has pieces of peach in it. I wish I had added more peach, but it was still delicious.And if you aren’t convinced - try pouring sweetened condensed milk over it. That will change your mind.

The next day was the actual day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and so we headed out to the square as a family. That is where all the action takes place... but it was HOT.

But meeting up with friends makes it all okay!!!

Nate always finds people to entertain him. He will go to anyone - as long as they are Asian. Sometimes I have to remind him I am his mother and only I can truly make him happy! haha

And here you have - 3 best friends. I have at times been concerned about their relationship! Anna is certain she is going to marry Josiah... but 2 weeks ago Josiah proposed to Elizabeth. This could get interesting.

Do you see in the 2nd picture that Elizabeth is ever so subtly removing Anna’s hand from Josiah’s shoulder?

We played for a long time... watched the boats that weren’t doing anything and had a lot of fun.But then it wasn’t long before we KNEW it was time to go. Here’s the proof...

Home for cold baths and a simple lunch... and more zong zi.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a big holiday celebrated all over Asia. Although different countries celebrate it in different ways.The Festival actually originated in a city called Miluo, which is part of Yueyang county. That’s cool - right? Here’s the story for your reading pleasure.. The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin. Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

And let’s just thank wikipedia for sharing all that history with us!So every year across the street from our apartment they have some sort of Dragon Boat display or races. Some years it is a bigger deal than other years. We always try to ask around to find out what is happening and when, and we never seem to get any answers. Anyway - our ‘celebration’ started with making the food famous for this holiday - zong zi. That’s the real name. But in our part of China people pronounce it zhong zi. My house helper LOVES to make them so she was quick to agree to make them with me. Just like I have memories of making chocolate chip cookies with my mom, she has memories of making zong zi with her mom!

You start with a special kind of rice... a glutenous, super sticky rice. You play with it...

And then wash it...

And then clean up all the pieces that you dropped on the floor from your play time.

Then enter the leaves...

These are bamboo leaves. They give off a great taste. If you like that kind of thing. Which I do. These also must be played with.And washed.

Then you need a pot.

And then you can start working.

There are MANY ways to make zong zi. You just make it how your mother taught you... and if for some reason your mother never made this (like mine), then you pick a precious friend and learn from her the way her mother taught her.Zong zi come in many shapes and forms and with different fillings. The typical fillings are things like meat, or bean (beans of all color) and occasionally fruit. I would say that hands down, fruit ones are my favorite. They are fantastic. So when we eat zong zi in my house, we eat fruit zong zi.We did some with raisins and some with peaches. Delicious! You can either mix the fruit right into the rice, or you can just add it in as you go. We opted for the later.

So you start by twisting the leave to create a cone shape. Then you shove the rice in. And you have to shove hard. Really pack it in good.

And once they are full and tight, you fold the top over and proceed to wrap string around the top, holding the leaf in place. This is hard stuff people, I couldn’t make it up if I tried.

When I wasn’t taking pictures, I was working to unravel the string that came unraveled, but that Elizabeth decided to play with and tangled up in a matter of seconds.

And there it is - all our hard work hanging on the back of a kitchen chair.

And then they go into the pot where you boil or steam them for a long time. For hours. Like 3 or 4 hours. But it is worth the wait. Here is a finished one - sorry about the blurry picture. I was near shaking with anticipation. (haha)... This one pictured has pieces of peach in it. I wish I had added more peach, but it was still delicious.And if you aren’t convinced - try pouring sweetened condensed milk over it. That will change your mind.

The next day was the actual day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and so we headed out to the square as a family. That is where all the action takes place... but it was HOT.

But meeting up with friends makes it all okay!!!

Nate always finds people to entertain him. He will go to anyone - as long as they are Asian. Sometimes I have to remind him I am his mother and only I can truly make him happy! haha

And here you have - 3 best friends. I have at times been concerned about their relationship! Anna is certain she is going to marry Josiah... but 2 weeks ago Josiah proposed to Elizabeth. This could get interesting.

Do you see in the 2nd picture that Elizabeth is ever so subtly removing Anna’s hand from Josiah’s shoulder?

We played for a long time... watched the boats that weren’t doing anything and had a lot of fun.But then it wasn’t long before we KNEW it was time to go. Here’s the proof...

Home for cold baths and a simple lunch... and more zong zi.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a big holiday celebrated all over Asia. Although different countries celebrate it in different ways.The Festival actually originated in a city called Miluo, which is part of Yueyang county. That’s cool - right? Here’s the story for your reading pleasure.. The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin. Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

And let’s just thank wikipedia for sharing all that history with us!So every year across the street from our apartment they have some sort of Dragon Boat display or races. Some years it is a bigger deal than other years. We always try to ask around to find out what is happening and when, and we never seem to get any answers. Anyway - our ‘celebration’ started with making the food famous for this holiday - zong zi. That’s the real name. But in our part of China people pronounce it zhong zi. My house helper LOVES to make them so she was quick to agree to make them with me. Just like I have memories of making chocolate chip cookies with my mom, she has memories of making zong zi with her mom!

You start with a special kind of rice... a glutenous, super sticky rice. You play with it...

And then wash it...

And then clean up all the pieces that you dropped on the floor from your play time.

Then enter the leaves...

These are bamboo leaves. They give off a great taste. If you like that kind of thing. Which I do. These also must be played with.And washed.

Then you need a pot.

And then you can start working.

There are MANY ways to make zong zi. You just make it how your mother taught you... and if for some reason your mother never made this (like mine), then you pick a precious friend and learn from her the way her mother taught her.Zong zi come in many shapes and forms and with different fillings. The typical fillings are things like meat, or bean (beans of all color) and occasionally fruit. I would say that hands down, fruit ones are my favorite. They are fantastic. So when we eat zong zi in my house, we eat fruit zong zi.We did some with raisins and some with peaches. Delicious! You can either mix the fruit right into the rice, or you can just add it in as you go. We opted for the later.

So you start by twisting the leave to create a cone shape. Then you shove the rice in. And you have to shove hard. Really pack it in good.

And once they are full and tight, you fold the top over and proceed to wrap string around the top, holding the leaf in place. This is hard stuff people, I couldn’t make it up if I tried.

When I wasn’t taking pictures, I was working to unravel the string that came unraveled, but that Elizabeth decided to play with and tangled up in a matter of seconds.

And there it is - all our hard work hanging on the back of a kitchen chair.

And then they go into the pot where you boil or steam them for a long time. For hours. Like 3 or 4 hours. But it is worth the wait. Here is a finished one - sorry about the blurry picture. I was near shaking with anticipation. (haha)... This one pictured has pieces of peach in it. I wish I had added more peach, but it was still delicious.And if you aren’t convinced - try pouring sweetened condensed milk over it. That will change your mind.

The next day was the actual day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and so we headed out to the square as a family. That is where all the action takes place... but it was HOT.

But meeting up with friends makes it all okay!!!

Nate always finds people to entertain him. He will go to anyone - as long as they are Asian. Sometimes I have to remind him I am his mother and only I can truly make him happy! haha

And here you have - 3 best friends. I have at times been concerned about their relationship! Anna is certain she is going to marry Josiah... but 2 weeks ago Josiah proposed to Elizabeth. This could get interesting.

Do you see in the 2nd picture that Elizabeth is ever so subtly removing Anna’s hand from Josiah’s shoulder?

We played for a long time... watched the boats that weren’t doing anything and had a lot of fun.But then it wasn’t long before we KNEW it was time to go. Here’s the proof...

Home for cold baths and a simple lunch... and more zong zi.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a big holiday celebrated all over Asia. Although different countries celebrate it in different ways.The Festival actually originated in a city called Miluo, which is part of Yueyang county. That’s cool - right? Here’s the story for your reading pleasure.. The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin. Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

And let’s just thank wikipedia for sharing all that history with us!So every year across the street from our apartment they have some sort of Dragon Boat display or races. Some years it is a bigger deal than other years. We always try to ask around to find out what is happening and when, and we never seem to get any answers. Anyway - our ‘celebration’ started with making the food famous for this holiday - zong zi. That’s the real name. But in our part of China people pronounce it zhong zi. My house helper LOVES to make them so she was quick to agree to make them with me. Just like I have memories of making chocolate chip cookies with my mom, she has memories of making zong zi with her mom!

You start with a special kind of rice... a glutenous, super sticky rice. You play with it...

And then wash it...

And then clean up all the pieces that you dropped on the floor from your play time.

Then enter the leaves...

These are bamboo leaves. They give off a great taste. If you like that kind of thing. Which I do. These also must be played with.And washed.

Then you need a pot.

And then you can start working.

There are MANY ways to make zong zi. You just make it how your mother taught you... and if for some reason your mother never made this (like mine), then you pick a precious friend and learn from her the way her mother taught her.Zong zi come in many shapes and forms and with different fillings. The typical fillings are things like meat, or bean (beans of all color) and occasionally fruit. I would say that hands down, fruit ones are my favorite. They are fantastic. So when we eat zong zi in my house, we eat fruit zong zi.We did some with raisins and some with peaches. Delicious! You can either mix the fruit right into the rice, or you can just add it in as you go. We opted for the later.

So you start by twisting the leave to create a cone shape. Then you shove the rice in. And you have to shove hard. Really pack it in good.

And once they are full and tight, you fold the top over and proceed to wrap string around the top, holding the leaf in place. This is hard stuff people, I couldn’t make it up if I tried.

When I wasn’t taking pictures, I was working to unravel the string that came unraveled, but that Elizabeth decided to play with and tangled up in a matter of seconds.

And there it is - all our hard work hanging on the back of a kitchen chair.

And then they go into the pot where you boil or steam them for a long time. For hours. Like 3 or 4 hours. But it is worth the wait. Here is a finished one - sorry about the blurry picture. I was near shaking with anticipation. (haha)... This one pictured has pieces of peach in it. I wish I had added more peach, but it was still delicious.And if you aren’t convinced - try pouring sweetened condensed milk over it. That will change your mind.

The next day was the actual day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and so we headed out to the square as a family. That is where all the action takes place... but it was HOT.

But meeting up with friends makes it all okay!!!

Nate always finds people to entertain him. He will go to anyone - as long as they are Asian. Sometimes I have to remind him I am his mother and only I can truly make him happy! haha

And here you have - 3 best friends. I have at times been concerned about their relationship! Anna is certain she is going to marry Josiah... but 2 weeks ago Josiah proposed to Elizabeth. This could get interesting.

Do you see in the 2nd picture that Elizabeth is ever so subtly removing Anna’s hand from Josiah’s shoulder?

We played for a long time... watched the boats that weren’t doing anything and had a lot of fun.But then it wasn’t long before we KNEW it was time to go. Here’s the proof...

Home for cold baths and a simple lunch... and more zong zi.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a big holiday celebrated all over Asia. Although different countries celebrate it in different ways.The Festival actually originated in a city called Miluo, which is part of Yueyang county. That’s cool - right? Here’s the story for your reading pleasure.. The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin. Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

And let’s just thank wikipedia for sharing all that history with us!So every year across the street from our apartment they have some sort of Dragon Boat display or races. Some years it is a bigger deal than other years. We always try to ask around to find out what is happening and when, and we never seem to get any answers. Anyway - our ‘celebration’ started with making the food famous for this holiday - zong zi. That’s the real name. But in our part of China people pronounce it zhong zi. My house helper LOVES to make them so she was quick to agree to make them with me. Just like I have memories of making chocolate chip cookies with my mom, she has memories of making zong zi with her mom!

You start with a special kind of rice... a glutenous, super sticky rice. You play with it...

And then wash it...

And then clean up all the pieces that you dropped on the floor from your play time.

Then enter the leaves...

These are bamboo leaves. They give off a great taste. If you like that kind of thing. Which I do. These also must be played with.And washed.

Then you need a pot.

And then you can start working.

There are MANY ways to make zong zi. You just make it how your mother taught you... and if for some reason your mother never made this (like mine), then you pick a precious friend and learn from her the way her mother taught her.Zong zi come in many shapes and forms and with different fillings. The typical fillings are things like meat, or bean (beans of all color) and occasionally fruit. I would say that hands down, fruit ones are my favorite. They are fantastic. So when we eat zong zi in my house, we eat fruit zong zi.We did some with raisins and some with peaches. Delicious! You can either mix the fruit right into the rice, or you can just add it in as you go. We opted for the later.

So you start by twisting the leave to create a cone shape. Then you shove the rice in. And you have to shove hard. Really pack it in good.

And once they are full and tight, you fold the top over and proceed to wrap string around the top, holding the leaf in place. This is hard stuff people, I couldn’t make it up if I tried.

When I wasn’t taking pictures, I was working to unravel the string that came unraveled, but that Elizabeth decided to play with and tangled up in a matter of seconds.

And there it is - all our hard work hanging on the back of a kitchen chair.

And then they go into the pot where you boil or steam them for a long time. For hours. Like 3 or 4 hours. But it is worth the wait. Here is a finished one - sorry about the blurry picture. I was near shaking with anticipation. (haha)... This one pictured has pieces of peach in it. I wish I had added more peach, but it was still delicious.And if you aren’t convinced - try pouring sweetened condensed milk over it. That will change your mind.

The next day was the actual day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and so we headed out to the square as a family. That is where all the action takes place... but it was HOT.

But meeting up with friends makes it all okay!!!

Nate always finds people to entertain him. He will go to anyone - as long as they are Asian. Sometimes I have to remind him I am his mother and only I can truly make him happy! haha

And here you have - 3 best friends. I have at times been concerned about their relationship! Anna is certain she is going to marry Josiah... but 2 weeks ago Josiah proposed to Elizabeth. This could get interesting.

Do you see in the 2nd picture that Elizabeth is ever so subtly removing Anna’s hand from Josiah’s shoulder?

We played for a long time... watched the boats that weren’t doing anything and had a lot of fun.But then it wasn’t long before we KNEW it was time to go. Here’s the proof...

Home for cold baths and a simple lunch... and more zong zi.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a big holiday celebrated all over Asia. Although different countries celebrate it in different ways.The Festival actually originated in a city called Miluo, which is part of Yueyang county. That’s cool - right? Here’s the story for your reading pleasure.. The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin. Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

And let’s just thank wikipedia for sharing all that history with us!So every year across the street from our apartment they have some sort of Dragon Boat display or races. Some years it is a bigger deal than other years. We always try to ask around to find out what is happening and when, and we never seem to get any answers. Anyway - our ‘celebration’ started with making the food famous for this holiday - zong zi. That’s the real name. But in our part of China people pronounce it zhong zi. My house helper LOVES to make them so she was quick to agree to make them with me. Just like I have memories of making chocolate chip cookies with my mom, she has memories of making zong zi with her mom!

You start with a special kind of rice... a glutenous, super sticky rice. You play with it...

And then wash it...

And then clean up all the pieces that you dropped on the floor from your play time.

Then enter the leaves...

These are bamboo leaves. They give off a great taste. If you like that kind of thing. Which I do. These also must be played with.And washed.

Then you need a pot.

And then you can start working.

There are MANY ways to make zong zi. You just make it how your mother taught you... and if for some reason your mother never made this (like mine), then you pick a precious friend and learn from her the way her mother taught her.Zong zi come in many shapes and forms and with different fillings. The typical fillings are things like meat, or bean (beans of all color) and occasionally fruit. I would say that hands down, fruit ones are my favorite. They are fantastic. So when we eat zong zi in my house, we eat fruit zong zi.We did some with raisins and some with peaches. Delicious! You can either mix the fruit right into the rice, or you can just add it in as you go. We opted for the later.

So you start by twisting the leave to create a cone shape. Then you shove the rice in. And you have to shove hard. Really pack it in good.

And once they are full and tight, you fold the top over and proceed to wrap string around the top, holding the leaf in place. This is hard stuff people, I couldn’t make it up if I tried.

When I wasn’t taking pictures, I was working to unravel the string that came unraveled, but that Elizabeth decided to play with and tangled up in a matter of seconds.

And there it is - all our hard work hanging on the back of a kitchen chair.

And then they go into the pot where you boil or steam them for a long time. For hours. Like 3 or 4 hours. But it is worth the wait. Here is a finished one - sorry about the blurry picture. I was near shaking with anticipation. (haha)... This one pictured has pieces of peach in it. I wish I had added more peach, but it was still delicious.And if you aren’t convinced - try pouring sweetened condensed milk over it. That will change your mind.

The next day was the actual day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and so we headed out to the square as a family. That is where all the action takes place... but it was HOT.

But meeting up with friends makes it all okay!!!

Nate always finds people to entertain him. He will go to anyone - as long as they are Asian. Sometimes I have to remind him I am his mother and only I can truly make him happy! haha

And here you have - 3 best friends. I have at times been concerned about their relationship! Anna is certain she is going to marry Josiah... but 2 weeks ago Josiah proposed to Elizabeth. This could get interesting.

Do you see in the 2nd picture that Elizabeth is ever so subtly removing Anna’s hand from Josiah’s shoulder?

We played for a long time... watched the boats that weren’t doing anything and had a lot of fun.But then it wasn’t long before we KNEW it was time to go. Here’s the proof...

Home for cold baths and a simple lunch... and more zong zi.

The Dragon Boat Festival is a big holiday celebrated all over Asia. Although different countries celebrate it in different ways.The Festival actually originated in a city called Miluo, which is part of Yueyang county. That’s cool - right? Here’s the story for your reading pleasure.. The best-known traditional story holds that the festival commemorates the death of poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BCE – 278 BCE) of the ancient state of Chu, in the Warring States Period of the Zhou Dynasty. A descendant of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin. Qu was banished for opposing the alliance. Qu Yuan was accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry, for which he is now remembered. Twenty-eight years later, Qin conquered the capital of Chu. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.It is said that the local people, who admired him, threw food into the river to feed the fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zongzi. The local people were also said to have paddled out on boats, either to scare the fish away or to retrieve his body. This is said to be the origin of dragon boat racing.

And let’s just thank wikipedia for sharing all that history with us!So every year across the street from our apartment they have some sort of Dragon Boat display or races. Some years it is a bigger deal than other years. We always try to ask around to find out what is happening and when, and we never seem to get any answers. Anyway - our ‘celebration’ started with making the food famous for this holiday - zong zi. That’s the real name. But in our part of China people pronounce it zhong zi. My house helper LOVES to make them so she was quick to agree to make them with me. Just like I have memories of making chocolate chip cookies with my mom, she has memories of making zong zi with her mom!

You start with a special kind of rice... a glutenous, super sticky rice. You play with it...

And then wash it...

And then clean up all the pieces that you dropped on the floor from your play time.

Then enter the leaves...

These are bamboo leaves. They give off a great taste. If you like that kind of thing. Which I do. These also must be played with.And washed.

Then you need a pot.

And then you can start working.

There are MANY ways to make zong zi. You just make it how your mother taught you... and if for some reason your mother never made this (like mine), then you pick a precious friend and learn from her the way her mother taught her.Zong zi come in many shapes and forms and with different fillings. The typical fillings are things like meat, or bean (beans of all color) and occasionally fruit. I would say that hands down, fruit ones are my favorite. They are fantastic. So when we eat zong zi in my house, we eat fruit zong zi.We did some with raisins and some with peaches. Delicious! You can either mix the fruit right into the rice, or you can just add it in as you go. We opted for the later.

So you start by twisting the leave to create a cone shape. Then you shove the rice in. And you have to shove hard. Really pack it in good.

And once they are full and tight, you fold the top over and proceed to wrap string around the top, holding the leaf in place. This is hard stuff people, I couldn’t make it up if I tried.

When I wasn’t taking pictures, I was working to unravel the string that came unraveled, but that Elizabeth decided to play with and tangled up in a matter of seconds.

And there it is - all our hard work hanging on the back of a kitchen chair.

And then they go into the pot where you boil or steam them for a long time. For hours. Like 3 or 4 hours. But it is worth the wait. Here is a finished one - sorry about the blurry picture. I was near shaking with anticipation. (haha)... This one pictured has pieces of peach in it. I wish I had added more peach, but it was still delicious.And if you aren’t convinced - try pouring sweetened condensed milk over it. That will change your mind.

The next day was the actual day of the Dragon Boat Festival, and so we headed out to the square as a family. That is where all the action takes place... but it was HOT.

But meeting up with friends makes it all okay!!!

Nate always finds people to entertain him. He will go to anyone - as long as they are Asian. Sometimes I have to remind him I am his mother and only I can truly make him happy! haha

And here you have - 3 best friends. I have at times been concerned about their relationship! Anna is certain she is going to marry Josiah... but 2 weeks ago Josiah proposed to Elizabeth. This could get interesting.

Do you see in the 2nd picture that Elizabeth is ever so subtly removing Anna’s hand from Josiah’s shoulder?

We played for a long time... watched the boats that weren’t doing anything and had a lot of fun.But then it wasn’t long before we KNEW it was time to go. Here’s the proof...

Home for cold baths and a simple lunch... and more zong zi.

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sarah.affleck

Love the pictures of the friends! Cute! Also love your pictures on how to make zong zi. I thinknext year i will have our helper teach us!! I especially laughed at the pictures of the girls....whenyou knew it was time to go home! Capturing pictures like that are sometimes hard to come by. Ihad a good laugh! You are keeping it real!! Blessings! Sarah A

Tuesday, June 29, 2010 - 08:16 AM

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