Introduction
Zongzi (粽子), or more commonly referred to by the Straits Chinese in Singapore and Malaysia as Bak Zhang, is a sticky rice dumpling wrapped in bamboo leaves which originated in China, whose main ingredients are usually pork stuffing, mung beans, jujubes and of course, glutinous rice. While the Zongzis we are familiar with today are usually triangular in shape and filled with the aforementioned ingredients, this was not always the case in the longue-durée of Imperial China. For example, during the Tang to Ming dynasties, several versions of “localized” Zongzi sprung up in different regions of China in diamond and cone shapes with the addition of native fruits and nuts.[1] More recently, as the Chinese diaspora assimilated into Asia, the Zongzi has also adapted to various local cultures with the supplement of indigenous ingredients and spices as well as diverse shapes and sizes, giving it a much more nuanced heritage. In particular, Zongzis in Thailand and Philippines are often packed in long rectangular shapes while the Koreans prefer circular spheres.[2] According to Tan Chee-Beng, as the Chinese diaspora intermixed with the Malay communities in the Malayan peninsula, the resultant Peranakan culture introduced local ingredients such as Kencur, a ginger-like root predominantly used in Southeast Asian Malayan cooking, into their own special Zongzi.[3] As such, the legacy of the Zongzi highlights how Chinese identity is manifested in different culinary cultures vis-à-vis the migration of the Chinese populace both within and out of China.
Origins and associated Folklore
The most popular myth concerning the origins of this sticky rice dumpling is the tragic tale of the elder statesman and poet, Qu Yuan, who lived almost 2300 years ago in the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (340 – 278 BCE). While Qu Yuan was a highly esteemed statesman in the royal court, he fell victim to betrayal and blackmail by corrupt and jealous officials, eventually being exiled by the kingdom to the rural countryside. Stricken with grieve, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River (汨罗江). Upon hearing of his death, the common people of Chu threw rice dumplings into the river to distract sea creatures from eating Qu Yuan’s body, but as the plain dumplings were too light, they floated on the surface before being washed away. As such, fillings of meat, vegetables and fruits were added, making the rice dumplings heavier, thereby allowing it to sink.[4] This was a success as Qu Yuan appeared in a fisherman’s dream, saying that a flood dragon was in the river and ate most of the rice dumplings. Hence, the creation of the Zongzi, which is eaten during the 5th day of the Dragon Boat (Duan Wu) Festival, in remembrance of the patriotic spirit of Qu Yuan.[5]
(Portrait of Qu Yuan and the Dragonboat Festival)
Be that as it may, the culinary lineage of the Zongzi can actually be traced to the Spring and Autumn period (771 – 476 BC) where horn millet was reportedly stuffed into rice before being wrapped in wild rice leaves. During the Jin Dynasty (265 – 420 BCE), meat, chestnuts and red beans were then incorporated as fillings.[6] It should also be noted that the practice of encasing various fillings into rice, dough or leaves has been a ubiquitous tradition throughout the history of Imperial China. In Ni Zan’s Cloud Forest Recipe Book, red starch, honey and musk were stuffed into Lotus leaves which were then boiled to make “Cooked Stuffed Lotus Rhizomes,” while in the recipe for “Water Dragonlets,” dough was filled with meat, spring onions, peppers and apricot paste, and then boiled in soup.[7] As such, it does not come as a surprise that Rice, being one of the 5 main grains in Chinese culinary customs, was also used as a starch for producing dumplings. In its most fundamental structure, the epistemology of the Zongzi parallels the development of dumplings in general and traces the ingenuity of the Chinese in stuffing various fillings into rice and dough over the course of history.
Examining the ingredients
Recipes of Zongzis vary according to regions. Zongzis with Chinese Dates (Jujubes) and Mung Beans are popular in the Northern provinces as they prefer their rice dumplings sweet and simple. According to Hu Sihui’s Yinshan Zhengyao, Jujubes were a popular fruit found in Northern China that was a cheap source of nutrients for the commoners during harsh winters.[8] Mung Beans which were usually grounded into a paste for the dumpling, are described as sweetish in flavour, cooling and lacking in poison.[9] As Zongzis were a delicacy sought after by the commoners, it made sense that inexpensive fruits and legumes such as Jujubes and Mung Beans were used as fillings for the rice dumpling.
(Sweet Northern Zongzi with fruit and bean paste)
In comparison, Zongzis found in Southern China are usually stuffed with savoury delights such as ham, fried pork and salted egg, with some varieties even known to include exotic mushrooms and chestnuts.[10] The Terroir of Southern Chinese Zongzis is very much reflected in the region’s eclectic usage of land and sea ingredients in its culinary practices. This could be due to the close proximity to the sea and subtropical climate of Southern provinces such as Guangdong and Fujian, gifting the populace with the convenient access to abundant crop cultivation, animal produce and seafood.[11] One scholar eloquently describes Guangdong’s gastronomy culture as follows:[12]
“The exotic quality of Guangdong cooking comes not from the taste but from the choice of material… Mushrooms grow in the mountainous terrain (while) huge oysters were picked out of the sea, frogs, turtles and winkles from the watery rice fields, by the side of which grew quantities of green and leafy vegetables.”
(Savory Southern Zongzi)
As such, it can be inferred that geographical conditions and the availability of ingredients shaped the way Zongzis were perceived and produced in different parts of China, highlighting the intricate discourse between food, migration and the natural environment.
Southeast Asian Varieties
The predominant type of Zongzis found in the Straits of Malaya are usually Southern varieties, in particular, those from port cities such as Fujian and Guangdong, as these were the primary provinces from which sailors and merchants migrated to South East Asia, bringing along with them their gastronomic traditions. According to several Singaporean historical annals, the Hokkiens were the first to arrive from Fujian during the 15th century,[13] followed by the Teochew and Cantonese from Chaozhou and Guangdong respectively during the early 19th century.[14] The latest census reveals that these 3 communities form the largest percentage of Singapore’s resident Chinese population.[15] As such, Chinese foodways in Singapore has been deeply influenced by the taste, tradition and habitus of the Hokkien, Teochew and Cantonese migrant community. When I visited several Zongzi stalls here, most of the varieties sold were indeed Southern types. As per Southern tradition, these Zongzis were filled with numerous savoury delights and had a rich umami flavour. They were delicious!
(Singaporean Chinese Elder preparing Zongzi, 1982, National Archives)
(Singapore Zongzi Festival, 1974, National Archives)
Nonetheless, the interaction between the Chinese diaspora and local Southeast Asian communities, has also created unique, albeit not as popular, Zongzi variations. For example, the Peranakans have a special dessert Zongzi called Kee Chang, which is smaller and made with the addition of an alkaline solution (made from Durian husks), that renders it chewy and slightly brown in colour. This “localized” Zongzi is usually eaten with Gula Melaka (palm sugar) syrup.[16] The example of the Kee Chang highlights the ingenuity of the Chinese diaspora to imbue local ingredients into their traditional recipes to create a sui generis Southeast Asian Chinese food identity that was distinctly different from its traditional origins. It explicates the complex relationship between the Zongzi and patterns of human migration, identity and the local environment.
Conclusion
The history of the Zongzi has revealed several complexities and nuances about the relationship shared between food, migration and identity. The Zongzi has taken on multiple forms as migration occurred within and out of China due to cross-cultural influences and environmental factors. New ingredients have also been added into the Zongzi as the Chinese diaspora assimilated into Southeast Asia, adapting to a new environment and “reinscribing” their culinary culture. This reaffirms Tan Chee-Beng’s view that as migrants have access to new ingredients, culinary knowledge as well as historical and global influences, they “not only reproduce their traditional foods but also re-invent and in fact invent new foods.”[17]
[1] Liming Wei, Chinese Festivals (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 38-40. Retrieved: https://ntu-sp.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991015992889705146&context=L&vid=65NTU_INST:65NTU_INST&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&isFrbr=true&tab=Everything&lang=en
[2] Zheng Nan, “Rice Dumplings, Dragon-boat Races, and Qu Yuan,” Flavour and Fortune, a journal of the Institute of the advancement of the Science and Art of Chinese Cuisine, Winter Vol (2013): 10-13. Retrieved: http://www.flavorandfortune.com/dataaccess/article.php?ID=933
[3] Chee-Beng, Tan, “Cultural Reproduction, Local Invention and Globalization of Southeast Asian
Chinese Food,” in C-B. Tan (ed.) Chinese Food and Foodways in Southeast Asia and Beyond (Singapore: NUS Press, 2012), 32-33.
[4] Jacqueline M. Newman, Food Culture in China (Connecticut: Greenwood Publishing, 2004), 167 – 168. Retrieved: https://ntu-sp.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991011413739705146&context=L&vid=65NTU_INST:65NTU_INST&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en
[5] Zhao, Rongguang., “Traditional food for celebrations and festivals,” in A History of Food Culture in China, Translated by Gangliu Wang and Aimee Wang (Shanghai: SCPG Publishing Publication, 2015) 36–40. https://doi.org/10.1142/z008
[6] Liming Wei, Chinese Festivals, 38 – 40.
[7] “Ni Zan, Cloud Forest Hall Collection of Rules for Drinking and Eating,” in Traditional Chinese Culture, Eds. Mair, Victor H., Nancy Shatzman Steinhardt and Paul Rakita Goldin (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2005), 450 – 451.
[8] “Hu Sihui, Yinshan Zhengyao,” in A Soup for the Qan by Paul D. Buell and Eugene N. Anderson (Leiden: Brill Publishing Group, 2010), 368.
[9] “Ibid., 489 – 490”
[10] Jenru Liu and Liu Junru, Chinese Food (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011), 50.
[11] Frederick J. Simoons, Food in China: A Cultural and Historical Inquiry (London: Taylor and Francis, 2014), 54 – 56. Retrieved: http://doi.org.remotexs.ntu.edu.sg/10.1201/9781482259322
[12] Lin, Hsiang Ju, and Tsui Feng Lin, Chinese Gastronomy (New York: Hastings House, 1969), 137. Retrieved: https://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/WPAC/BIBENQ/12502841/3020133,1
[13] Guardian of the South Seas: Thian Hock Keng and Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan (Singapore: Singapore Hokkien Huay Kuan, 2006), 9. Retrieved: https://catalogue.nlb.gov.sg/cgi-bin/spydus.exe/FULL/WPAC/BIBENQ/12503271/5076903,1
[14] Thomas T.W. Tan, Chinese dialect groups: Traits and trades (Singapore: Opinion Books, 1990), 1 – 20. Retrieved: https://ntu-sp.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991011510669705146&context=L&vid=65NTU_INST:65NTU_INST&search_scope=MyInst_and_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en
[15] “Singapore census of population 2010 statistical release,” Department of Statistics Singapore, 2011. Retrieved from: https://www.singstat.gov.sg/publications/cop2010/census10_stat_release3
[16] Jean Debernardi, “On Women and Chinese Festival Foods in Penang, Malaysia and Singapore.” Journal of Chinese Ritual, Theatre and Folklore (2010): 179-223.
[17] Chee-Beng, Tan, “Cultural Reproduction, Local Invention and Globalization of Southeast Asian
Chinese Food,” in C-B. Tan (ed.) Chinese Food and Foodways in Southeast Asia and Beyond (Singapore: NUS Press, 2012), 23 – 24.