Bah-Tzangs

Bah-tzangs are complicated to make, and benefit greatly from a photo tutorial, which is why I finally decided to use this special opportunity to share my grandmother’s family recipe.

Each family and region has its own interpretation of bah-tzangs. The basics are the same: glutinous rice, bamboo leaves, and a filling that typically consists of pork, mushrooms, and dried shrimp. Beyond that, variations abound. For example, people from southern Taiwan sometimes like to add peanuts to the rice mixture. People from Nantou, Taiwan like to add black-eyed peas. My family? We like to add chestnuts.

So this weekend, I finally mustered up the courage and determination to attempt this recipe all by myself. I confess, I talked to my mom several times over the phone this weekend, but I did it! I made bah-tzangs! And I would love to share with you how to make them.

Voila – the “Liu” family (grandmother’s maiden name) bah-tzang recipe.

Taiwanese Sticky Rice Dumplings (Bah-tzang, Zhong Zi)

Rice Mixture

Sticky/glutinous rice 5 cups

Raw peanuts (with skin) 8 oz

Meat Mixture

pork butt/shoulder 2 lbs

Dried shitake mushroom 9 oz

Dried shrimp 1 oz

Dried pickled radish (optional) 4 oz

Scallions 3 stalks

Water ½ cup

Sugar 4 T

Soy sauce 2 T

Hot sauce to taste (optional)

Fried dry shallots 1 T

Salt about 1 t (to taste)

Covering

Bamboo leaves 8 oz

Prep Work (Preferably Night Before)

2-Soaking

Mushrooms, Shrimp

Soak mushrooms and shrimp in hot water. After mushrooms are softened (around 10-15 minutes), cut off the mushroom stems. Slice the mushroom caps into quarters. Drain shrimp and set aside.

Peanuts

Soak peanuts in warm water for 1 hr. Bring peanuts to a boil in a pot of water and simmer for about 20 minutes. Then, soak peanuts in water overnight.

Rice

Soak rice in water overnight.

Pickled radish (optional)

Dice into 1 cm cubes

Bamboo Leaves

Bring bamboo leaves to a boil and then reduce to medium heat and cook until the leaves are completely soaked and the water has turned a little brown (about 25 minutes). Rinse the leaves and drain the water. You can optionally wash each leaf individually with a scrub if they still seem to be dirty.

7-ricepeanuts

Next Day

Drain the rice and the peanuts, which have been soaking overnight. Mix the two together in a big bowl.

Stir Fry

Put the meat in a pot of cold water and bring the water to a boil. The pork will release bit of blood and other scum. Discard the dirty water. Fill the pot again with cold water and bring the meat to a boil again. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes, or until the meat is soft. Drain the water and salt the meat on each side. After the meat is cool enough to touch, cut off the fat and cut the meat into small 1 1/2 cm cubes.

Saute1

Saute the fatty bits of pork (medium high heat) to render the fat out.

Saute2

Absorb the rendered fat with a paper towel. Add about 2 T of vegetable oil. (Note - if you don't mind "fatty pork," you can omit this step and just use the pork fat for the stir fry. My family is very health-conscious).

Saute3

Add the lean pork and stir fry. After about 5 minutes, add scallions (white part), and dried shrimp. Stir fry for another 2 minutes. Then add the green part of the scallions and also the mushrooms. Optional: add hot pepper flakes and pickled radish cubes. Add water, sugar, and soy sauce. Let the liquid evaporate. Finally, add fried shallots and salt to taste (about 1 tsp).

Check saltiness by trying a mushroom. It should taste relatively salty (keep in mind it will be combined with lots of sticky rice!). If it's not that salty, add more soy sauce and reduce the liquid. Add some black pepper to taste.

Lay everything out in preparation for wrapping! Get some twine and tie together 10-12 strands, each strand being about 1.5 ft long.

Hang the twine somewhere at a comfortable height for tying! (I used my kitchen cabinet handle)

How to Wrap a Bah-Tzang

step by step photo instructional

WrappingBatsang1

1. Grab about two leaves and place together on top of each other.

WrappingBatsang2

2. Fold in half and crease the tip about 1 cm over.

WrappingBatsang3

3. Turn the leaves around to form a funnel/cone.

WrappingBatsang4.5

4. Hold leaves like an ice cream cone.

5. Scoop in enough rice/peanut mixture to fill the cone up about 3/4 full, leaving a small well for the meat and vegetables.

8-batsang6.7

6. Add the meat and vegetable mixture (about a tablespoon).

7. Add a little more rice to cover. Add a chestnut (optional).

WrappingBatsang8.9

8. Fold the top edge over to close the gap.

9. Pull tightly, and wrap both sides of the cover around the rest of the bottom portion.

WrappingBatsang10

10. Pinch shut the last fold.

WrappingBatsang11.12

11. Fold over the flap.

12. Tie together the entire thing with twine.

BatsangPrep2

Boil bah-tzangs for about 45 minutes or until soft.

Serve!

Yum yum yum . . .

Unwrap. Don't eat the bamboo leaves!

Best when enjoyed fresh. If reheating, try to steam if possible. If not possible, wrap in a wet paper towel and microwave for about 1 minute.

Epilogue

Thanks so much to my mom for all her help (over the phone) this weekend! As I said earlier, this is the first time in my life that I have singlehandedly made bah-tzangs from scratch all the way from the beginning.

Gramma passed away over a decade ago, so I'll never be able to share with her the joy I got from finally being able to make this family recipe. I'd like to dedicate this post to her. I'm so grateful to be able to experience just a tiny bit of what she had to share through recreating this recipe.

#taiwan