Sweet Zongzi
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5
12 reviews
Excellent
Sweet Zongzi
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Sweet Zongzi is a traditional Asian sticky rice dumpling made with glutinous rice soaked briefly and mixed with kansui for characteristic texture and color, wrapped tightly in bamboo leaves, and boiled or steamed until cooked. Its preparation includes soaking bamboo leaves and red-dyed su mu wood for aroma and color, followed by careful wrapping and cooking, resulting in chewy, sticky rice parcels with a subtle sweet flavor from brown sugar syrup used in pairing or serving.
Description
This recipe starts with glutinous rice washed and soaked to retain shape during cooking. Kansui, an alkaline solution, is added to give the rice a soft but elastic texture and the traditionally amber color, enhanced by the inclusion of su mu or sappan wood soaked to impart a reddish hue. Bamboo leaves are soaked to become pliable for wrapping the rice mixture securely yet loosely enough to allow expansion during cooking. The wrapped parcels are tied with long strings then cooked by boiling for 1.5 to 2 hours or pressure cooked in an Instant Pot for 45 minutes, ensuring the sticky rice inside is fully cooked.
The final zongzi offers a chewy, sticky texture with a delicate balance of subtle sweetness and aromatic flavors from the bamboo leaves and the su mu dye. The accompanying syrup made from brown sugar provides extra sweetness if served alongside or drizzled on top. Leftovers keep well refrigerated or can be frozen and reheated by boiling to regain texture.
Serving zongzi at room temperature allows tastings of its full textures and flavors. However, reheating by boiling helps restore moisture and softness. Wrapping loosely is important to accommodate rice expansion and prevent bursting during cooking.
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Ingredients
- 3 cups glutinous rice
- 14 pieces su mu 蘇木 or sappan wood, red dyed yam (caponata) ingredient
- 1 tablespoon kansui (potassium carbonate & sodium bicarbonate solution) or lye water
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 30 pieces bamboo leaves dried
- 14 pieces Strings
Syrup:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Put 3 cups of glutinous rice into a glass container. (I try to use a glass container because the rice will mix with kansui later.)
- Wash the glutinous rice a few times (3 times). Then, pour 4 cups of water to soak the glutinous rice for 1-2 hours. (Don’t over soak the rice because it will break easily.)
- Next, wash and soak 30 pieces of dried bamboo leaves in hot water for 45 minutes to an hour. (In this sweet zongzi recipe, I can make around 14 small ones, it requires 28 bamboo leaves. But, I normally soak a couple extra in case some leaves are broken.)
- After that, rinse and soak 14 pieces of su mu (蘇木) or sappan wood for 10 minutes. ( I used 14 pieces because in this recipe I can make around 14 small zhong.)
- Cut 14 strings, each string is around 70 inches long.
- After soaking the glutinous rice for 1-2 hour, drain the rice well.
- Put the drained glutinous rice into the glass container. Then, add 1 tablespoon of kansui (potassium carbonate & sodium bicarbonate solution) or lye water. Mix it very well and make sure every rice is mixed with kansui. You will see the rice immediately change to slightly yellow when you add kansui.
- Pour 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil and mix well with the kansui glutinous rice.
- Take 2 soaked bamboo leaves folded down to make a shell like, so it can hold the rice. See the details in the video below the recipe card.
- Scoop 1.5-2 tablespoons of kansui glutinous rice from step 8 into the bamboo leaves.
- The following, put 1 piece of soaked su mu (蘇木) or sappan wood in the middle of the rice.
- After, scoop another 1.5-2 tablespoons of kansui glutinous rice on top and cover up the su mu (蘇木).
- Later on, fold the side down and close the end. Cut extra hard and long parts. Take a string, wrap and tie the zhong. (Don’t tie the zhong too tightly because the rice will expand when cooking. Just tight enough to secure the bamboo leaves and rice inside, to leave some room for the rice to expand.)After wrapping the zhong, shake the zhong and make sure the rice is level off or even and not only go to one side. See details in the video.
- Or, you can wrap the zhong in triangle shape and don't put any su mu (蘇木) or sappan wood inside. See details in the video.
- After wrapping the zhong, put them into the instant pot pressure cook. (You can boil them over the top stove by filling enough water into a pot and making sure water covers the zhong. Turn on high fire until water is boiling, then turn the fire to medium small and boil for 1.5- 2 hours. Keep track of the water evaporating and add water while boiling.)
- Pour 8 cups of water into the instant pot pressure cooker. (Or, enough water to cover the zhong.) Then, close the lid and vent. Push the manual button to adjust the time for 45 minutes at high pressure and natural release pressure.
- Meanwhile, put 1 cup of brown sugar into a pot.
- Then, pour ½ cup of water into the pot. Turn the fire to small. Keep stirring it and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes depending how thick you want the syrup to be. (I did around 20 minutes.)
- When the syrup cools off, it will become thicker.
- When the zhong is done, open the lid and take out the zhong. (Be careful it is hot.)
- Put the jianshui zong on the plate and let it cool off a little bit.
- Untied and unwrap the kansui zong. You can see this beautiful amber color.
- Cut the gan sui zhong or alkaline rice dumpling into half.
- Remove and discard the su mu (蘇木) or sappan wood because we don't eat it. (Su mu changes to dark red purplish because it is mixed with the alkaline rice.)
- Drizzling some syrup from step 19 on the gan sui zhong. Or, dip it into sugar before eating.
Notes
- Soak bamboo leaves in hot water for 45 minutes to an hour before wrapping to soften them.
- Soak glutinous rice for 1 to 2 hours but avoid over-soaking to prevent rice from breaking.
- Soak su mu (sappan wood) slices briefly to add red-purple color to the rice.
- Add vegetable oil to rice mixture to prevent sticking to bamboo leaves.
- Wrap zongzi snugly but not too tight to allow rice expansion during cooking.
- Cook by boiling for 1.5 to 2 hours, topping water as it evaporates, or use a pressure cooker for faster preparation.
- Store leftovers refrigerated 3-5 days or freeze; reheat by boiling for best texture.
- Remove su mu pieces before eating the cooked zongzi.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
210kcal
(11%)
Carbohydrates
49g
(16%)
Protein
3g
(6%)
Fat
1g
(2%)
Saturated Fat
1g
(5%)
Polyunsaturated Fat
1g
(6%)
Monounsaturated Fat
1g
(5%)
Sodium
8mg
(0%)
Potassium
53mg
(1%)
Fiber
1g
(4%)
Sugar
16g
(32%)
Calcium
18mg
(2%)
Iron
1mg
(6%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 14Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 210 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 210kcal | 11% |
| Carbohydrates | 49g | 16% |
| Protein | 3g | 6% |
| Fat | 1g | 2% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Sodium | 8mg | 0% |
| Potassium | 53mg | 1% |
| Fiber | 1g | 4% |
| Sugar | 16g | 32% |
| Calcium | 18mg | 2% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
12 reviews
Excellent
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