Foods and Festivals

Hi, everyone!  My name's Liana - this is my first blog entry for the CBA.  I've been keeping another blog during the semester for my family and friends.  So far, this semester has been an incredible experience for me.  It's been fun and new, confusing and exciting, and I wouldn't trade my time here for anything!

Some of the other students have written posts about many of the activities I've done, too.  So, instead, I would love to share some experiences I've had with my roommate, Sophie.  Sophie's not a local Hong Kong student.  She's actually from Beijing.  She's not an exchange student - she'll be at HKBU until she finishes her studies.  I'd like to tell you about a couple of different foods she's introduced me to since I've been here.

Back in February, the Chinese students celebrated Yuanxiao Jie, also known as the Lantern Festival.  This day falls on the 15th day of the lunar year, and it marks the end of the Lunar New Year holiday.  The festival began during the Han dynasty (206 BC - 221 AD), and from what I’ve read about it, it’s really just a holiday to celebrate family and friends, and have fun.  Paper lanterns are displayed everywhere, children carry lanterns through the towns, and friends gather to watch lion and dragon dances, solve riddles, and eat good food.

Some of the most important foods eaten on this holiday are sweet dumplings, called Yuanxiao.  These dumplings are made out of glutinous rice flour and stuffed with traditional fillings.  These fillings are considered to be sweet, when compared to more savory fillings such as meat and vegetables.  Traditionally, the fillings are either peanut or black sesame seed.  I had the chance to sample these dumplings at a gathering for the Mainland students that Sophie invited me to.  They were okay - the texture was a little difficult to get past.  The dumplings are boiled and served with the water they’re boiled in.  The glutinous rice flour was really, really slimy, and that alone didn’t do much for my palate.

Funny enough, a couple of days later, my RA called a floor meeting, and these dumplings were served again.  I’m not sure what the difference was, but those dumplings were very good!  They didn’t seem quite as slimy, or I was prepared for it this time, but the fillings were incredibly tasty, both the peanut and the black sesame.

Here’s a photo of the sweet dumplings - I didn’t take this one, I found it online at http://www.chinapictures.org/photo/chinese-festivals/lantern-festival/40205174332037/

I’ve also had another variation of these dumplings a couple of times.  At a barbecue with Sophie, I had these dumplings with a peanut filling.  However, these dumplings were dry and coated with shredded coconut.  Those dumplings were great - I ate a ton that day.  Just a few days ago, I lent Sophie some clothing for her to wear to an athletic thing she was doing.  As a thank you, she stopped at a bakery and bought those dry dumplings again.  I was so excited, until she told me the filling: red bean paste.

Now, red beans are a traditional dessert food here in China.  They’re considered to be “sweet,” although I still think most of the foods that feature red beans could use a lot more sugar before I would ever call them sweet.  I haven’t really cared for any of the foods I’ve had made out of red beans.  Needless to say, I was a little wary about these cute little dumplings she gave me.  But, I tried one, and, lo and behold, they were delicious.  Just goes to show that the preparation is everything!  They were perfectly sweet - maybe I’m finally just getting used to “sweet” foods here.

Here’s a photo of a dry sweet dumpling - my last one!

This one shows the red bean filling.

Yea, I know, it may not look that appetizing, but I promise, it was tasty!  I even found a couple of recipes for these dumplings online, so I’ll be sure to make them when I get home!

A couple of days ago, Sophie shared another traditional food with me.  These snacks, called zongzi, are traditionally eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, or Duanwu Festival, which takes place in May or June, on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar year.  The modern festival is celebrated with Dragon Boat races, a special wine, and zongzi.  The festival is said to have originated in ancient China with a man named Qu Yuan.  He lived during the Warring States Period, before China was unified.  He was an advisor for the state of Chu.  He warned the king that the state in Qin could attack and defeat Chu, but the king did not listen to him.  In 278 BC, Qin did in fact invade Chu, and Yuan was so distraught that he threw himself into the Miluo River and drowned.  The townspeople admired him and took to boats on the river, throwing food in the water (thought to be zongzi) to keep the fish from eating his body.  Morbid, I know.  Anyway, this gave rise to the Dragon Boat races of today, and the eating of zongzi.

Zongzi is a bundle of sticky rice (again, considered to be “sweet,” according to my roommate) filled with a variety of different ingredients.  Some fillings are savory, like meat and vegetables, and others are “sweet.”  Yep, peanut and red bean again.  Anyway, these bundles of rice are wrapped in leaves to hold them together and steamed or boiled.  Bamboo leaves are often used, but other plants are used as well.  Each type of plant has its own scent and flavor, and the rice absorbs these flavors while it cooks.

Here are some photos of zongzi.  The first is from http://www.china.org.cn/english/LivinginChina/214280.htm

The second, showing the red bean filling, is from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zongzi.jpg

Sophie had a pack of two pieces, and she offered me one.  She had to show me how to eat it.  I had no clue whether the leaves were supposed to be eaten or not!  I almost fell out of my chair when she told me that they usually sprinkle sugar on the rice before eating it.  Real sugar!  The rice and bean filling were both pretty good - helped out by the sugar, of course.

I asked Sophie if she had bought the zongzi from a store here in Hong Kong, and she made me laugh with her response.  “Of course not!  You can’t find such tasty food here in Hong Kong,” she said.  Her mom had included the snacks with a package of food she had sent earlier this semester, direct from Beijing!  I’m glad Sophie’s able to have a taste of home, too.  Goodness knows I’m able to find a ton of foods I’m familiar with from the States.  Actually, Sophie made another interesting comment a few weeks ago.  She said she thinks it’s easier to find foods from the U.S. in Hong Kong than it is to find foods from the Mainland.  I wouldn’t know, of course, as I don’t know what’s usually eaten in the Mainland, but that stinks if it’s true.

I’m happy that I don’t have to write red beans off completely.  It’s great to try some traditional foods from the region.  The food served in the dining hall isn’t really “traditional,” so to speak, and I try to avoid it whenever possible anyway!