4 Vegan Snacks to Try During Dragon Boat Festival!
This coming Friday in China everyone will be celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival (端午节 Duānwǔ jié). This traditional Chinese festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, and means a three-day holiday! Spoiler: in China they will include weekends as holiday days, so in 2022 this really just means a long weekend, but at least there are no terrible make-up working days this time!
One thing you can always count on in China is that food will be at the center of the festivities (to be honest, I’ve never seen an actual Dragon Boat Race during the festival while living in China). Here are four vegan-friendly dishes you should definitely try!
粽子 Zòngzi (Sticky Rice Dumplings)
Zongzi are sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and shaped into triangles. These are by far the most traditional Dragon Boat Festival food and are enjoyed nationwide. They come in different flavours - Northerners tend to prefer sweet fillings such as sugary red bean paste or Chinese dates, while Southerners go for savoury fillings like meat and salted egg yolk. However, there are vegan savoury options too, such as wild mushrooms and truffles, and if you’re making them at home, well you can stuff them with whatever you’d like! If you are buying them premade, note that they are meant to be served hot, so boil them on the stove for about 10-15 minutes or steam them for 30 minutes.
2. 煎堆 Jiānduī （Fried Sesame Balls)
Fujian Province is the home of this Dragon Boat Festival snack. These fried spheres are made with a combination of rice and wheat flour and coated with sesame seeds. The inside is hollow and often filled with sweet bean or lotus paste. The texture is crispy, chewy and satisfying.
3. 打糕 Dǎgāo (Glutinous Rice Cake)
Photo by Ms镯子 on Xia Chufang
Dagao is a rice cake with a mochi-like texture achieved by pounding cooked glutinous rice and mugwort into a paste. It’s then rolled out into a thick sheet of mochi dough and cut into squares or hand-rolled into flat spheres and dipped in brown sugar. This snack is mainly enjoyed in Jilin province in Northeastern China.
4. 温州薄饼 Wēnzhōu báobǐng (Wenzhou Pancake Rolls)
Photo by 挽起秀发下厨房 on Xia Chufang
In the Wenzhou region of Eastern China, people often enjoy pancakes stuffed with all sorts of yummy nibbles. A very precise ratio of flour to water is needed to make these thin, almost translucent pancakes which are as delicate as silk. For this reason, it’s best to buy them at a local market (like most locals do anyway). Lay the pancake flat on a plate, fill it with your choice of shredded vegetables, vermicelli noodles, tofu, or whatever your heart desires, roll it up, and gobble it up! These are very addictive!
