Hokkien Bak Chang (Chinese Rice Dumplings) 福建咸肉粽

🧂 Ingredients

• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 1 tsp white pepper powder
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Chinese rice wine
• 1 kg glutinous rice
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 150 g shallots
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper powder
• 1 tsp five spice powder
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• ¾ cup mushroom water

  from soaking the mushrooms
• 600 g pork belly

  40%-50% fat
• 6 tbsp vegetable oil
• 150 g shallots
• 80 g dried shrimps
• 15 dried shiitake mushrooms

  about 100g
• 30 dried Chestnuts

  about 150g
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 0.5 tsp white pepper powder
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 cup mushroom water

  from soaking the mushrooms
• 15 salted egg yolks

  raw, not the cooked type
• 70-80 bamboo leaves
• 30-40 bamboo strings

Instructions

• 1 Wash 1 kg glutinous rice 3-5 times until the water runs clear.
  
  Soak the rice (make sure water more than covers the rice as the rice will
  expand) overnight or for at least 6 hours. (I soaked the rice for 12 hours)
  
  Darin off water the next day and set aside.
• 2 Slice 600 g pork belly into about 1cm thickness. 
  
  Marinate the pork belly with 1 tsp five spice powder, 1 tsp white pepper powder,
  1.5 tsp salt, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp Chinese rice
  wine. 
  
  Cover and chill in fridge overnight or for at least 4 hours. I marinated the
  meat for 12 hours)
  
  Before cooking the next day, remove from the fridge and bring it to room
  temperature. 
• 3 Cut 15 salted egg yolks (raw, not the cooked type) into half.
  
  Note: you can also add the entire egg yolk into the bak chang, if so, just make
  sure you have about 25-30 salted egg yolks. If you bought the entire salted egg,
  just extract the egg yolks from the egg whites.
• 4 Soak 80 g dried shrimps for about 30 minutes or until softened.
  
  Mince the dried shrimps finely.
• 5 Soak 15 dried shiitake mushrooms for about one hour or until softened. Save the
  mushroom water for cooking later. 
  
  Cut off the mushroom stems, and cut the mushrooms into half.
  
  Take note, if the mushrooms are small (like a 20 cents coin), no need to cut it.
• 6 Peel the shallots and dice the shallots finely.
• 7 Cook 30 dried Chestnuts in boiling water over high heat for 20 minutes until
  softened. Drain off the water. Remove the remaining red shells on the chestnuts.
• 8 Warm 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or heavy based pan over medium heat. 
  
  Add 150 g shallots and sauté until caramelised and aromatic. 
• 9 Add glutinous rice, 3/4 cup mushroom water, 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp five spice powder,
  1 tsp white pepper powder, 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce.
  
  Mix well and cook until rice is evenly coated with seasoning. Rice should not be
  sticky. 
  
  Remove from heat and let it cool down completely before wrapping the bak chang.
• 10 Warm 6 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok or heavy based pan over medium heat.
  
  Add the dried shrimps and 150 g shallots, and sauté until the shallots turn
  caramelised and aromatic. 
• 11 Add the marinated pork belly, 0.5 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp white pepper powder, 1 tbsp
  oyster sauce, and 1 cup mushroom water. Stir fry to mix well and let the pork
  belly cook for about 3 minutes.
• 12 Add chestnuts and mushrooms and stir fry to mix well and ensure the ingredients
  coat evenly with the seasonings.
  
  Lower the heat to simmering. Cover and cook for another 45 minutes until the
  meat is thoroughly cooked and softened. Add water if it dries out.
  
  Do a taste test and adjust seasonings accordingly. The meat should be saltier
  than normal (we will boil the bak chang later and the saltiness will dilute with
  the water).
  
  Remove from heat and let it cool down completely before wrapping the bak chang.
• 13 Soak 70-80 bamboo leaves for 2 hours.
  
  Note; use a heavy bowl to push the leaves down so that they fully submerged into
  the water.  
• 14 Then boil the leaves over high heat for 30 minutes.
• 15 Remove from the heat and wash the leaves under running water.
  
  Wipe off the water gently with a clean cloth. This will also help to remove any
  dirt that might be stuck on the leaves.
  
  Note: don’t use paper as the pulp will stick onto the leaves. Keep the leaves
  moist, otherwise dry leaves will crack while wrapping. If they dry out, simply
  rehydrate them by dipping them into water and wipe vwith a towel. 
• 16 Soak 30-40 bamboo strings in water for one hour so that they become pliable for
  wrapping.
• 17 Make sure the rice and meat filling have completely cooled down.
  
  Stack 2 leaves on top of each other. The smooth side of the leaves should face
  up and the stem side faced down.
  
  Fold into a cone shape.
  
  Note: choose the leaves that are not broken or have holes in between to avoid
  leakage.
• 18 Fill the cone up with about 1 tbsp of rice, filling up 1/3 of the cone. Make an
  indentation in the middle for the filling. (See 07:27 of the video)
  
  Then add pork belly, chestnuts, mushrooms, and salted egg yolk.
  
  Top up with 2-3 tbsp of rice. Press gently with the back of the spoon to make
  sure they are tight.
• 19 Slightly squeeze the two sides of the cone. Then fold the top over.
  
  Fold in the 2 sides to close the gap on the side of the cone.
  
  Then wrap the loose end of the bamboo leaves over.
  
  (See 08:21 of the video)
• 20 Use a long bamboo string, hold one end of the string and twirl the string around
  the bak chang 2-3 times.
  
  Tie the knot twice to secure the wrapping, but do not tie it too tight as the
  rice will expand after cooked and will explode out of the wrapping.
• 21 Bring pot of water to boil over high heat.
  
  Add the bak chang to the pot of boiling water. Make sure the water more than
  covers the bak chang. Bring it to boil, then reduce heat to simmering. Simmer
  the bak chang, covered. Add water if the water level decreases. Stir every now
  and then to ensure the bak change is cooked evenly.
  
  The whole boiling process is 1.5 hours.
  
  Note: if cooked in pressure cooker, you will only need about 45 minutes.
• 22 Remove the cooked bak chang from the pot of water. Hang it to drain water off. 
• 23 Best served warm.

Nutrition Info