once again, bak chang (zongzi) season is here. this is my recipe below - my own version - fusion chang - nonya and hokkien kiam chang... first attempt was during my tour in the states in 2004. been repeating it every year except last year where i was told not to do it as a mark of respect for my late dad. this recipe reflected is similar to that posted sometime back except that i have also included the preparation & cooking process. and this year, i had my mum and the domestic help helping out. and it was quite a breeze cos there was a lot of concurrent activities. most thankfully, my domestic help did all the washing as we were still packing the chang. and so when we finally finished the packing, most of the washing had already been done! and she even went about helping to mop the floor, clean the kitchen etc. so glad she was here!
:-)
meat
4kg of meat (wu hua rou) cut into small strips
300g of heh bee (dried shrimps soaked for 3 hours
and chopped finely)
1 large packet (300g) dried shiitake mushroom (soaked overnight & sliced)
15 large onions (diced)
10 garlics (chopped)
300g of sweetened preserved winter melon (
diced 10mm)
seasonings for meat
2 packets of coriander powder
white pepper powder (to taste)
250g of white sugar
light soya sauce (to taste)
dark soya (to taste and to colour)
50 mil of sesame oil
50 mil of oil (vegetable)
50 mil of lard (optional)
1 tablespoon msg (optional)
rice
4kg of glutinous rice (soaked for 3 hours)
1 tablespoon of sky blue colouring dissolved in quarter cup of water.
seasonings for rice
white pepper powder (to taste)
10 mil of sesame oil
20 mil of oil (vegetable)
10 garlics (chopped)
1.5 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
half cup gravy from the cooking of the meat
1 tablespoon msg (optional)
pandan leaves (about 7, cut 5cm long and sliced vertically)
others
120 bamboo leaves (wash in hot water and soaked overnight)
rafia strings (tied into 10s of 50cm long) (1 roll makes about 12 bundles of 10s)
pandan leaves (2 stalks) cut to 2cm strips (for inserting into the dumplings)
preparation
as per what was written up there. also, much of the preparation is similar to that i wrote for cooking yam rice esp the parts about soaking the dried shrimps and mushrooms and using the stock for cooking the meat.
cooking the filling
heat the oil in the wok in high heat. if you use pork fat, get the lard out, then throw away the dried pieces (well, if you enjoy deep fried fat, it makes good snacks)... heh heh... ok, with the heated oil, throw in the diced onions and chopped garlic and fry till the onion is translucent (it should take about 2min of frying). put in the soaked dried shrimp and continue to fry for about 2min (this is to allow the ingredients to mix well). pour in the rest of the meat. add seasoning, pepper, soya sauce to taste. add some stock to aid in the cooking process (just enough to wet the meat). once the meat is about half cooked, pour in half the coriander seed powder and continue to fry under low heat. let the mixture simmer for about half hour. continue stirring regularly to prevent the meat from burning. add the dark sauce. add more stock (if you still have, if not, use water) and continue simmering and stirring until you get the meat soft (like stewed meat) (it should take about 2-3hrs). add the remaining coriander seed powder, sugar and continue to cook the meat till it is tender.
when the meat about to dry, add the preserved winter melon. allow the winter melon to soak in the juice of the meat just before the meat dries. this whole process would take quite a while depending on how `stewed' you want the filling to be. personally, i prefer it cooked to the point where i can still bite bits of the meat. to reach this stage, it should take about 3-4hrs of cooking over low heat. through the whole process, it is important to keep stirring to prevent the meat from getting burned. do it as a routine rather cos it is not easy to determine whether it is burned or not as the colour of the meat is very dark due to the dark sauce and sugar (which would have caramelized over time). also, burned coriander powder will give the filling a bitter taste and you want to avoid that. you may also want to use a little more stock so that you extract some of the `juice' before the filling dries so that you can use it to cook the rice later.
also, you can also consider using part of this `juice' to cook the winter melon separately. this will allow you make sure all chang has winter melons. stop the fire when your meat has dried up to the point when you hear the clackle of the oil. continue turning the filling for another few minutes to prevent the base layer from burning. (tip: i would do this step the night before and leave the meat in the fridge once it has cooled down. it is easier to do the filling when it is chilled).
cooking the rice
a typical nonya chang has parts of the rice dyed blue. to do so, you need to prepare the rice in two different portion. separate your rice and all the ingredients needed to prepare the rice into 2 portions - 4/5 and 1/5 of the total amount. the 4/5 portion will be used to cook the white portion of the nonya chang while the remaining 1/5 will be dyed blue. first cook the 4/5 portion. heat the oil in the wok in high heat. throw in the garlic to get the smell out. quickly, pour in the rice and fry it together with the garlic. add pandan leaves, add the seasonings, the extracted juice and just sufficient water (about a cup) to allow you to scald the rice (to a sticky but dry consistency). this should take no more than 3-4 minutes. this time would be just enough for the pandan leaves smell and the seasoning to sweeten the rice.
a clear indication that your rice is ready is when it turns translucent and sticks together. once done, put the rice into a container. repeat the same process with the remaining 1/5 portion of the rice. this time, replace the clear water with the quarter cup of sky blue colouring. once done, you can proceed to wrap your chang.
wrapping the chang
cooking the chang
place the wrapped chang in boiling water to cook. the cooking time will vary depending on the size of you chang. if it is the small version, it should take about half hour. it is recommended that you cut out one and try in your first batch of chang to determine the cooking time for subsequent batches. you need to boil it the first time round. the chang can easily keep for a week. steam it or microwave it subsequently to warm it up before serving.
:-)
ps: portions highlighted in bold are the updates done after feedback from sam.
