Chung/Rice Dumpling Special

This year the chung/rice dumpling festival falls on June 12th and this recipe has to be shared before it is too late.  I am noted to be late as the chinese saying goes 'Kor How Chui Peng'.  If this recipe is not shared now, we will be chasing the solders after the war(Rice Dumpling Festival).  So, as i promised to continue with the Square Ball Soup recipe  i guess i would have to put that on hold until the next posting.

This chung/rice dumpling is special as this is how my mother in law made them and we have not tasted this kind since she passed away in 1991.  This kind of filling is not available for sale and the family has been dying to taste it again.  Asking around the older relatives for recipe is no good, most of them are gone and those who are alive do not have a clue as to what i am looking for.  So, have to close my eyes and try to imagine how this filling tasted and when i opened my eyes, went into action and came up with this recipe.   My daughter, Sandra commented that it is not the Mccoy but she liked it and it tasted good.


Ingredients:

Filling:
1 lb ground pork
1 lb peeled and deveined raw shrimp - chop fine
2 lbs fried shallots - how to is HERE
1/2 cup shallot oil - from frying of shallots
2 bulbs garlic - chop fine
1 tsp white ground pepper
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
Salt and Sugar to taste

Rice Dumping:
3 lbs glutinous rice - wash and soak rice overnight, then drain
2 tbsp salt
1 1/2 cups water
1  tsp white pepper
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp 5 spice powder
1 cup shallot oil(from frying the shallots required above)
30 - 35 bamboo leaves - washed and wiped clean

To prepare :
Heat 1/2 cup shallot oil, add in chopped garlic, fry until golden brown, then add in  ground pork.  Saute until pork is no more pink, add in chopped shrimp.  Cook until shrimp is cooked, then add in dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, pepper and fried shallots.  Adjust taste with salt and sugar.  Remove with a sieve and let the liquid drain back onto the wok.  Remove drained filling to cool.
Dissolve salt in 1 1/2 cups water, add , dark soya sauce, white pepper and 5 spice powder, leave aside. 

Add drained soaked glutinous rice into the liquid in the wok, add in more oil and saute until rice is coated with oil.  Add in the dissolved salt and spices solution and mix well.  Cover the wok to steam the rice for 1 minutes, remove cover and stir to prevent burning.  Keep on stirring until all the liquid has been absorbed.  Rice is ready for wrapping into dumplings.

Follow HERE on how to wrap and tie the rice dumpling.

When all dumplings are wrapped,  boil rice dumplings in a pressure cooker with enough water to cover the rice dumplings for 3/4 - 1 hour.  Release pressure before removing lid of pressure cooker.  Remove rice dumpling to hang dry.
(amount of rice dumplings to be cooked depends on the size of your pressure cooker and the size of your dumplings)

Enjoy and Happy Chung/Rice Dumpling Festival