CHOONG: Chinese Dumplings
drunkenchook
up in Malaysia, but the recipe makes about 30 (GASP).
Just wondering if anyone has any handy tips handed down from mums or
grannies and if anyone knows how long I can store the dumplings for. I was
told at room temperature for about a week - is this correct?
A friend told me he tosses them into the freezer and pulls them out to
defrost as and when, which I thought was a great idea, though never tried it
because they disappear like hotcakes in this household so now that I will be
making about 30, I am sure I will need to freeze some if they are not
finished in a week (or however long I can really store them for).
Many thanks in advance.
Betty Lee
+ Just wondering if anyone has any handy tips handed down from mums or
+ grannies and if anyone knows how long I can store the dumplings for. I was
+ told at room temperature for about a week - is this correct?
I'm not sure what kind of dumplings you had in mind or whether you intend
to store them cooked or raw, but the Chinese dumplings I'm familiar with
contain ground pork, and, no matter what you do to it, leaving ground pork
at room temperature for more than a few hours just seems unhealthy to me.
Basically, you should probably follow all the safety precautions that you
would normally use for ground pork.
+ A friend told me he tosses them into the freezer and pulls them out to
+ defrost as and when, which I thought was a great idea, though never tried it
+ because they disappear like hotcakes in this household so now that I will be
+ making about 30, I am sure I will need to freeze some if they are not
+ finished in a week (or however long I can really store them for).
OK, you _must_ be talking about a different type of dumplings than what I'm
thinking of then. 6 dumplings is an _appetizer_ for 1 person. 30 shouldn't
be enough to freeze.
--
Betty Lee
bett...@Stanford.EDU
alpha beta
The poster was talking about Jhong.
Traditionally made during the Autumn Moon festival.
Yes, they have pork inside, but since the pork is surrounded by rice and
bananna leaves then steamed, they will keep (undisturbed) for a week
at room temperature once cooked in a steamer.
The trick is NOT to disturb them so the seal made by the rice and
bananna leaves is not broken, once it is, air gets in abd then....ugh!!!
They can be frozen for about a month or two and then re-steamed,
but are best eaten fresh.
Peter Dy
"alpha beta" <ga...@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:3D782E81...@nyc.rr.com...
You mean jiong4. Are these considered dumplings?
>
> Traditionally made during the Autumn Moon festival.
>
> Yes, they have pork inside, but since the pork is surrounded by rice and
> bananna leaves then steamed, they will keep (undisturbed) for a week
> at room temperature once cooked in a steamer.
You mean bamboo leaves, right?
> They can be frozen for about a month or two and then re-steamed,
> but are best eaten fresh.
Yes. But 30 is a lot of jiongzi...
Peter
Betty Lee
+ "alpha beta" <ga...@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
+ > Betty Lee wrote:
+ > > drunkenchook <drunke...@yahoo.com> wrote:
+ > > + Just wondering if anyone has any handy tips handed down from
+ > > + mums or grannies and if anyone knows how long I can store the
+ > > + dumplings for. I was told at room temperature for about a week -
+ > > + is this correct?
+
+ > > OK, you _must_ be talking about a different type of dumplings than
+ > > what I'm thinking of then. 6 dumplings is an _appetizer_ for 1
+ > > person. 30 shouldn't be enough to freeze.
+
+ > The poster was talking about Jhong.
+
+ You mean jiong4. Are these considered dumplings?
Oh! That makes much more sense. I wouldn't call them dumplings.
I usually think of dumplings as swei jiao (I have no idea how to
spell that). We used to call jiong4 "Chinese tamale".
+ > Traditionally made during the Autumn Moon festival.
+ >
+ > Yes, they have pork inside, but since the pork is surrounded by rice and
+ > bananna leaves then steamed, they will keep (undisturbed) for a week
+ > at room temperature once cooked in a steamer.
+
+ You mean bamboo leaves, right?
I'm pretty sure that ours, at least, were usually made with bamboo leaves
on the outside and this brown, salty rice with tiny dried shrimp in it,
pork (chunks, not ground), and shitake mushroom in them. Mmmm!
+ > They can be frozen for about a month or two and then re-steamed,
+ > but are best eaten fresh.
+
+ Yes. But 30 is a lot of jiongzi...
One each for lunch and dinner for 4 people would last less than a week.
--
Betty Lee
bett...@Stanford.EDU
drunkenchook
"alpha beta" <ga...@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
news:3D782E81...@nyc.rr.com...
drunkenchook
news:al9k69$8bh$1...@usenet.Stanford.EDU...
> Oh! That makes much more sense. I wouldn't call them dumplings.
So what would you call them? I cannot think of how else to describe them and
basically went along with the cookbook translation.
> One each for lunch and dinner for 4 people would last less than a week.
Everyday at each meal? You must be joking!!!
Peter Dy
"Betty Lee" <bett...@Stanford.EDU> wrote in message
news:al9k69$8bh$1...@usenet.Stanford.EDU...
> + "alpha beta" <ga...@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
> + > Betty Lee wrote:
> + > > drunkenchook <drunke...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> + > > + Just wondering if anyone has any handy tips handed down from
> + > > + mums or grannies and if anyone knows how long I can store the
> + > > + dumplings for. I was told at room temperature for about a week -
> + > > + is this correct?
> +
> + > > OK, you _must_ be talking about a different type of dumplings than
> + > > what I'm thinking of then. 6 dumplings is an _appetizer_ for 1
> + > > person. 30 shouldn't be enough to freeze.
> +
> + > The poster was talking about Jhong.
> +
> + You mean jiong4. Are these considered dumplings?
>
> Oh! That makes much more sense. I wouldn't call them dumplings.
Yeah, I wouldn't call them dumplings either. Is this the dish you meant,
drunken chook?
> I usually think of dumplings as swei jiao (I have no idea how to
> spell that). We used to call jiong4 "Chinese tamale".
I think it's shui3jiao3.
That's funny, 'cause I just read a book translate jiongzi to be "Chinese
tamale" and it made me crack up! Is that what your immediate family really
called them? Or is that just what you called them with non-Chinese
Americans? It's really not a bad description. Funny though. :)
Peter
[...]
Peter Dy
"drunkenchook" <drunke...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3d785f0a$1...@news.iprimus.com.au...
> "Betty Lee" <bett...@Stanford.EDU> wrote in message
> news:al9k69$8bh$1...@usenet.Stanford.EDU...
> > Oh! That makes much more sense. I wouldn't call them dumplings.
>
> So what would you call them? I cannot think of how else to describe them
and
> basically went along with the cookbook translation.
How about "Chinese Tamales"?
>
> > One each for lunch and dinner for 4 people would last less than a week.
>
> Everyday at each meal? You must be joking!!!
I dunno, they are pretty yummy...
Peter
DC
joongs.
You'll need dried bamboo leaves about 2-3" wide & about 12"+ long for
wrapping your 'Joong' or dumplings. You can also use large pandan leaves of
the same size if you have them. Or maybe lotus leaves.. Ho Yip but in
theory... you'll be making Lor Mei Kei (Glutinous rice chicken) if you use
that. It's quite a lot of work making them as i remember from helping my
mum. As for cooking & keeping them. We either steam or boil them in hot
water, cool & eat them. Any leftover gets to go into the freezer. Take them
out, thaw & either steam or boil again. The story goes that some famous
chinese person/poet/philosopher... can't remember which one but anyway.. he
fell into a lake & the locals had to throw these dumplings into the lake to
prevent the 'dragon' from eating him. It also ties in with the story of the
dragon boat races i think. I'm sure someone with a better knowledge of
chinese history/myths/legends can verify this. Lets see if the original
poster drunkenporridge/congee posts the recipe, if he/she doesn't, i'll dig
mine up from the depths of my kitchen. There's also ones with peanut
fillings & eaten with sugar or filled with preserved salted egg/century egg.
DC.
Nona <nos...@zzzaa.com> wrote in message
news:gf9hnu48sb2eqkj8f...@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 6 Sep 2002 12:02:14 +0800, "drunkenchook"
> <drunke...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> This is a new one on me - how about a recipe please. I've bamboo
> growing in my backyard.
>
>
> Nona (another foodie and hapa)
DC
Betty Lee
+ "Betty Lee" <bett...@Stanford.EDU> wrote in message:
+ > Oh! That makes much more sense. I wouldn't call them dumplings.
+
+ So what would you call them? I cannot think of how else to describe them and
+ basically went along with the cookbook translation.
As I said in the next few lines, "Chinese tamale".
+ > One each for lunch and dinner for 4 people would last less than a week.
+
+ Everyday at each meal? You must be joking!!!
We did that when roadtripping. They keep rather well, and they're much
healthier than truck stop fast food.
--
Betty Lee
bett...@Stanford.EDU
Betty Lee
+ That's funny, 'cause I just read a book translate jiongzi to be "Chinese
+ tamale" and it made me crack up! Is that what your immediate family really
+ called them? Or is that just what you called them with non-Chinese
+ Americans? It's really not a bad description. Funny though. :)
That's what my mom called them when there were non-Asians present.
We lived in Southern California at the time, so a lot of people were
familiar with Mexican food. My mom's office staff members were mostly
Hispanic, and my mom would often trade a batch of Chinese tamale for
a batch of Mexican tamale.
--
Betty Lee
bett...@Stanford.EDU
drunkenchook
news:gf9hnu48sb2eqkj8f...@4ax.com...
> On Fri, 6 Sep 2002 12:02:14 +0800, "drunkenchook"
> <drunke...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> This is a new one on me - how about a recipe please. I've bamboo
> growing in my backyard.
I can scan the recipe from the cookbook and send it if you like (or can I
attach it here? I hear there's a way of converting scans to text on BBC once
but I never got the details so don't know how to do that).
drunkenchook
news:uk4e9.3005$FN4....@newsfep1-win.server.ntli.net...
> Lets see if the original
> poster drunkenporridge/congee posts the recipe,
chook, not as in porridge/congee, but as in (I believe Aussie slang for)
chicken (ie drunken chicken).
As for posting the recipe I have for choong, please read my reply to Nona's
post.
alpha beta
Peter Dy wrote:
> >
> > The poster was talking about Jhong.
>
> You mean jiong4. Are these considered dumplings?
No. Stuff like it (excuse the phonetic spelling of Cantonese)
Lhaw Mai Gai, Jhun Gee Gai...are not dumplings.
IMHO, dumplings have an edible wrapper.
> > Traditionally made during the Autumn Moon festival.
> >
> > Yes, they have pork inside, but since the pork is surrounded by rice and
> > bananna leaves then steamed, they will keep (undisturbed) for a week
> > at room temperature once cooked in a steamer.
>
> You mean bamboo leaves, right?
Bamboo, right. Banana, palm or any large leaf will do in a pinch.
> > They can be frozen for about a month or two and then re-steamed,
> > but are best eaten fresh.
>
> Yes. But 30 is a lot of jiongzi...
Like a lot of "comfort food" you don't make this dish "for two".
Its to be shared with family and friends.
Peace.
Steve Wertz
>
> "Betty Lee" <bett...@Stanford.EDU> wrote in message
> news:al9k69$8bh$1...@usenet.Stanford.EDU...
> > Oh! That makes much more sense. I wouldn't call them dumplings.
>
> So what would you call them? I cannot think of how else to describe them and
> basically went along with the cookbook translation.
Actually, they *are* called dumplings. Either wrapped in bamboo or lotus
leaves. Big dumplings and not what we usually think of as dumplings, but
dimplings is proper transaltion. There are tons of recipe on the net for
these 'dumplings'. I call them 'em rice pryamids, though.
-sw
Steve Wertz
Tamale specificlaly refers to masa/corn though; whereas 'dumpling' is
generic and not defined by any spefic type of wrapping.
-sw
Chris Dieckmann
> The poster was talking about Jhong.
>
> Traditionally made during the Autumn Moon festival.
I believe the more correct Mandarin Pinyin romanization for this food is
zongzi and it is more closely identified with Duanwujie, the Double Fifth
Festival in the springtime. Folk tradition on this day of the lunar
calendar revolves around the poet and patriot Qu Yuan who, leaving behind
his thoughts in stirring elegy, committed suicide in despair over the
sorry fate of the State of Qu during the Warring States period. The
people were greatly moved and devised a plan, cooking glutinous rice with
filling and wrapping it in small parcels using leaves. The idea was to
feed the fish rather than having the fish feed on Qu Yuan's body. I have
also heard the idea was to wrap zongzi in leaves to protect the filling
from hungry fish so that they would reach Qu Yuan intact and sustain him
for eternity. Less soul-stirring, but equally important in Chinese
traditional belief, enclosing meat with rice and holding it together by
means of a leaf is a classic combining of fan and cai, a principle that
governs all of Chinese food and that can also be symbolically connected
to yin yang cosmology.
During Zhongqiujie, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the true symbolic food is
actually yuebing, the mooncake. Any trip to Chinatown right now will
find stores groaning with inventory shipped in from HK or Taiwan or
sometimes the PRC. Unfortunately, these days, it's more a matter of how
beautiful the box is and how much you spent on it than what the mooncake
actually tastes like. If you plan to honor someone on Zhongqiujie, this
is probably what you'll end up having to buy. If you're actually
planning to eat one and/or share it with someone you're romancing, better
to go to a local Chinese bakery and choose a fresh, tasty mooncake (lotus
seed, taro root, or red bean...egg yolk or meat-filled if you're more
adventurous) and wrap it yourself.
Peter Dy
"Chris Dieckmann" <chen...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.17e33e69f...@news.rice.edu...
> In article <3D782E81...@nyc.rr.com>, ga...@nyc.rr.com says...
> > The poster was talking about Jhong.
> >
> > Traditionally made during the Autumn Moon festival.
>
> I believe the more correct Mandarin Pinyin romanization for this food is
> zongzi
Yes, zong4zi. McCawley got it wrong, then, in his "Eater's Guide to Chinese
Characters." Will need to make a note of it.
Peter
[...]
DC
strange, any ideas as to the origins of the slang?
BTW... i once had a batch of drunken chicken leftover & proceeded to place
them under a grill the next day, basting them with the drunken marinade...
it was really yummy. I added a little sugar to get it caramelized & it's one
of my fav. bbq recipes now.
DC.
drunkenchook <drunke...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:3d795...@news.iprimus.com.au...
DC
stories?? i was told many years ago but each version is slightly different
since then and i'm now a bit confused as to which is the 'real' if there is
an original version of story behind these.
Chris Dieckmann <chen...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.17e33e69f...@news.rice.edu...