One Thursday evening, my better half came home with what Wikipedia calls an "angular shaped ball of rice, wrapped in reed or bamboo leaves." Phonetically, it is referred to as joong in Cantonese and jongzi in Mandarin. Confused, she told me her mom specifically defrosted the serving for me and she had already eaten hers. Then, she proceeded to steam it warm. Since I rather adore yellow bean joong with its sticky rice, piece of fatty pork, and salted duck or chicken egg yolk, I didn't protest and ate my dinner.

Joong, not to be confused with the square packages of sticky rice that are wrapped in lotus leaves, is sometimes served at Dim Sum, a brunch-style meal, consisting of small plates, mostly dumpling. The square packages, called lo mai gai in Cantonese (or nuo mi ji Mandarin), are classic Dim Sum and much more common. They are typically made with short grain (glutinous) rice, small pieces of boneless chicken, sliced Chinese sausage, green onions (scallions), and dried shrimp. Joong, however, are traditionally wrapped in a triangular shape because bamboo leaves are smaller, narrower, and generally more difficult to work with than lotus leaves. When I take friends for Dim Sum, I usually introduce Joong as a Chinese Tamale, which substitutes rice and bamboo leaves for corn masa and corn husks. If I still get a confused look, I ask them to unwrap one and try it. "It's good."

Making joong is labour intensive, so many people, myself included, purchase theirs from vendors and store them frozen. They freeze well, able to withstand the freezer for several months. I usually purchase mine in Toronto, in large quantities, and rush them home in a cooler before they spoil. I've yet to cajole someone to teach me how to wrap essentially fist-sized masses of rice and fillings with three bamboo leaves into the neat little packages and tie them so they don't come apart in a pot. E-gullet has a wonderful step by step guide of one technique with lots of pictures. Personally, I have never attempted it.

Here's a purchased joong I heated up for myself one evening for dinner. Steamed from frozen, I had but to cut the string, unwrap and enjoy, extremely convenient.

De-String

Unwrapped and served with five spice beef an onions

Filling
This is a yellow bean joong. The more common variety of joong substitutes yellow bean for peanuts, so if you have an allergy and you want to purchase joong, do ask the vendor which you are purchasing.

I find joong quite filling and satisfying. It is essentially meat and potatoes. Though, all the ingredients are cooked together so flavours meld somewhat.

I should note two things. Firstly, the reason I ate a joong that day (May 28, 2009) was to celebrate the Dragon Boat Festival, for which joong is traditionally served. Secondly, the joong described are savory. There is also a sweet variety that is filled with red bean paste. I prefer the savory version.



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