Eating Zongzi is a must during the Dragon Boat Festival. You can buy zongzi easily in the supermarket. But Andrea and Nillah prefer to learn to make Zongzi by themselves. Let's take a look at their learning outcome.

The Dragon Boat Festival (Duan Wu Festival) is on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is in remembrance of the great poet Qu Yuan, a loyal official from the State of Chu in ancient China. He was deeply loved by everyone. Unable to save his country, Qu Yuan drowned himself on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month in 277 b.c.

The townspeople did everything they could to find him in the river. They dropped dumplings of glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves into the river hoping to prevent the fish from eating his body. Since then it has been customary on this day to eat Zong Zi (glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves) out of respect for the legendary poet.

Zong Zi is not only made for the Dragon Boat Festival. It is available throughout the year, and comes in a wide variety of styles and dumplings. The main ingredient is the glutinous rice, and then the bamboo or reed leaves, which is the wrapping that provides it with its distinct taste. The recipe includes dates, sweetened red bean paste, meat, chestnuts, lotus seeds, and egg yolk.