Countless flavors of Zongzi from ancient to modern times, from north to south, have delighted Chinese people, as they celebrated the Dragon Boat Festival which falls on June 10 this year.
Zongzi, a glutinous rice dumpling usually wrapped in bamboo leaves, is a time-honored delicacy that Chinese people eat during the Dragon Boat Festival, also known as Duanwu Festival.
Whether the delicacy is tasting sweet, salty or spicy, smelling good or stinky, it always stirs people's taste buds.
In Xi'an City, north China's Shaanxi Province, Zongzi is made from glutinous rice without any other fillings, a reproduction of the popular flavor in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
After boiling and cooling it down, people usually use a silk thread or bamboo knife to slice Zongzi into small pieces and pour over it with honey or osmanthus syrup, which will be tasting soft, glutinous and smelling fragrant.
"There were also many types of Zongzi in the Tang Dynasty. The Zongzi we just made was also called 'Jiaoshu' in Chinese in the Tang Dynasty. There is also Zongzi packed in bamboo tubes, called 'Tongzong' in Chinese," said Liu Xuanchen, person in charge of a scenic area in Xi'an.
In Linxian County of north China's Shanxi Province, the ingredients for making Zongzi are selected locally.
Recently, innovative varieties have also been appearing with richer fillings and changing people's perception of traditional delicacies.
In Huangshan City of east China's Anhui Province, a Zongzi processing factory creatively added fermented mandarin fish into the traditional food.
The fermented mandarin fish is a signature dish of Anhui cuisine, one of the eight traditional Chinese cuisines, so many young people itched for a try on the unique flavor.
"I feel that it is quite unique and the taste is so fresh. I want to buy some and send them to my family and friends who are working outside, so that they can have a chance to taste the flavor of food in our hometown," said a consumer.
To those who are long living in Quzhou City of east China's Zhejiang Province, spicy Zongzi is a necessity during the festival, which generally contains taro, meat, jujubes and chili flakes.
"People in Kaihua like to eat spicy food. We will add chili flakes to both glutinous rice and meat," said Yu Yinghua, a local villager.
"Nowadays, the Zongzi we usually make is about 40 centimeters in length, and the longest ones can be more than one meter," said Fang Shanfei, a local villager.
In addition to indispensable glutinous rice and meat, Zongzi in Tong'an District of east China's Fujian Province seems to include into diversified fillings, like chestnuts, mushrooms, peanuts, scallops, shrimps, dried oysters and squid, according to preferences.
As a famous hometown of overseas Chinese, Tong'an also has a kind of Zongzi, shaped like a boat and taking in ingredients and flavors from Southeast Asian countries.
"Our Zongzi, generally called 'Chuanzong' in Chinese, is wrapped in banana leaves and the minced meat is fried with Indonesian spices, such as galangal, sand ginger, shallots, and turmeric. Every Duanwu Festival, we make Chuanzong at home. We do the same in Indonesia where we made Chuanzong to express our longing for our hometown," said Liu Ruijin, a returned Indonesian Chinese.
Diversified "Zongzi" flavors tempt Chinese people's taste buds
Diversified "Zongzi" flavors tempt Chinese people's taste buds
