Zongzi is a traditional food for the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival, which is on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month.
It is also known as Double Fifth Day.
Zongzi is made of high-quality sticky rice, in pyramid, cone or cylinder shapes, with a filling, wrapped in leaves of wild rice,
palm or Bamboo. The fillings can be egg, beans, dates, fruits, sweet potato, walnuts, mushrooms, meat, or a combination of them.
They are generally steamed, with strong fragrance, good colos and flavor.
The Origin of Dragon Boat Festival
At the end of the Zhou Dynasty (1027-777 BC), the area we now know as China had fallen into a state of fragmentation and conflict.
While the Zhou dynasty had ruled for several centuries, several other states, originally feudal domains, tried to carve out their own kingdoms.
The state of Qin would eventually emerge the victor and unify all of China under one rule for the first time in history.
Qu Yuan served as minister to the Chu Kingdom. A wise and articulate man, he was loved by the common people.
He did much to fight against the rampant corruption that plagued the court -- thereby earning the envy and fear of other officials.
Therefore, when he urged the King to avoid conflict with the Qin Kingdom, the officials pressured the King to have him removed from service.
In exile, he traveled, taught and wrote for several years. Hearing that the Chu had been defeated by the Qin, he fell into despair and threw himself into the Milou River.
As he was so loved by the people, fishermen rushed out in long boats, beating drums to scare the fish away,
and throwing Zongzi into the water to feed braver fish so that they would not eat Qu Yuan's body.
Thenceforth, the custom of eating rice dumplings and holding dragon-boat races on the Double Fifth spread to more and more places
until it became a nationwide practice.
If you visit places where Chinese live, you will see such dragon boat racing.
In some places, there are boat performances on the streets.
Kansas City will have its first Dragon Boat Festival at Plaza on June 11, 2005 (See details).
KC restaurants and groceries that offer Zongzi:
888 Supermarket
9848 W. 87th St, Overland Park, KS 66212
