Chinese dumplings
Hometown sweet and savory rice dumplings (家乡咸水角) – memories of my grandfather’s village at ZhongShan (中山)
These dumplings are distinctively Cantonese- sweet & savory, gentle and tasty. Someone told me that it was originated from the Zhongshan region (中山) where my grandfather was born.
My grandfather’s family lived in a village called Yunhan (云汉村) in a town called Shaxi (沙溪镇). The town was well known for its connection to overseas Chinese – nearly every family had some relatives overseas.
My childhood memory of the village where our relatives lived was picturesque – peaceful lychee trees growing alongside a small river, laden with juicy purple-red fruits. The houses in the village were the traditional terrace houses with beautiful classic wooden furniture called red Suanzhi, translated as the red sour-wood (酸枝), one of the most expensive furniture hardwood in southern China. At the back of each house, there was a courtyard with a sand filter. Water was carried home from a nearby well, commonly in two wooden buckets on a pole, then filtered to drinking water in a sand filter. Most courtyards were lined with stones. The stoves were also made of stones where straws and sticks were burned to cook food. A well-off region with fertile farm land and money from offshore relations, hospitality at the village was always warm and welcoming.
These savory dumplings are wonderfully interesting – glutinous rice skin that tastes a little like a doughnut, with extremely tasty fillings. They are time-consuming to make, but very worthwhile.
Recipe is as follows: Read the rest of this entry »
