Five Flavors Mini Crystal Zongzi 五味迷你水晶粽子

Just in the nick of time for Dragon Boat Festival 端午節!  Except well, this post was originally planned to go out much earlier but I've been laid up sick, one of the many sicknesses that children bring back from school.  So let's just say just barely in the nick of time shall we, lol!

We decided to go a wee bit fancy this year for Dragon Boat Festival and thus ended up with a platter of new and exciting zongzi flavors to tickle the palette and please the eyes.  We proudly present this Five Flavors Mini Crystal Zongzi 五味迷你水晶粽子, five different delicious fillings cradled in crystal skins of translucent tapioca pearls, wrapped in fragrant bamboo leaves before being steamed to perfection!

How to Wrap Mini Zong Zi Rice Dumping 迷你粽子包法

The Dragon Boats are preparing to slide speedily and fiercely through the calm summer waters and that means it's time for the yearly wrapping of the yummilicious zong zi!  In our last post we made Mini Crystal Red Bean Zong Zi 水晶紅豆粽子, a tapioca twist on the traditional zong zi, and here today we share our step by step guide of How to Wrap Mini Zong Zi Rice Dumplings  迷你粽子包法, half sized zong zis (around 3" long) that are perfect serving size for a tea time treat or a child sized eat.  

If you want to know more about the history of Duanwu Dragon Boat Festival 端午節 and how to wrap regular sized dumplings (including video), check out our posts on Savoury Pork Zong Zi 肉粽子 and Red Bean Paste Zong Zi 紅豆沙粽子.

Mini Crystal Red Bean Zong Zi 水晶紅豆粽子

It's almost that time of the year for the beating drums of the Dragon Boat races and the deliciously tantalizing aroma of zong zi 粽子 floating in the air: it's time for Duanwu Dragon Boat Festival 端午節!  

For me, this time of the year is always filled with thoughts of my dearest Grandma 奶奶, busy and bossy in her kitchen, making all kinds of special traditional treats for us that no one else bothered to learn how to make.  Except me, I guess, I finally did some learning myself on these things and always have her in my mind and heart as I bustle away in my own little kitchen.  

So it is that every Dragon Boat Festival I always try to find the time to make two kinds of zong zi just as Grandma made, one kind the savory pork and salted duck egg zong zi 肉粽子  and the other kind the sweet red bean zong zi 紅豆沙粽子.  This year I thought I would try adding a twist to this traditional combo and thus made these Mini Crystal Red Bean Zong Zi, or 水晶紅豆粽子, a light and delightfully chewy, beautifully translucent version of the traditional zong zi.