Or, better late than never.
According to legend, an esteemed Chinese poet committed suicide by drowning in a lake. The villagers, to prevent the fishes from eating his body, threw zongzi into the water.
From Wikipedia:
A popular belief amongst the Chinese of eating zongzi involved commemorating the death of Qu Yuan, a famous Chinese poet from the kingdom of Chu who lived during the Warring States period. Known for his patriotism, Qu Yuan tried unsuccessfully to warn his king and countrymen against the expansionism of their Qin neighbors. When the Qin general Bai Qi took Yingdu, the Chu capital, in 278 BC, Qu Yuan’s grief was so intense that he drowned himself in the Miluo river after penning the Lament for Ying. According to legend, packets of rice were thrown into the river to prevent the fish from eating the poet’s body.
Last week sometime, was the day to eat zongzi but we missed it (The Cat finished work too late to pick up a few from her mother). So, today, we finally got to eat the zongzi. We want to eat it earlier to give the stomach enough time to digest.
Wrapped Zongzi
Steamed and Naked Zongzi
The top one is savory, and the bottom one is sweet, stuffed with red bean paste.
Sam, over at http://thebondingtool.com/ does a better job explaining the nuances of “sticky rice dumplings“.
Enjoy. Eat well.
Oh yeah, and Happy Father’s Day to all. 🙂
The Mouse
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