By Yixuan Zhu, Fanshawe College, Early Childhood Leadership. Yixuan wrote this during her Parents2Partners internship, where she worked to help children and families from every cultural background feel a sense of belonging.
Read this in another language
Zongzi is a traditional Chinese dish of sticky rice with fillings, wrapped in bamboo leaves and steamed. Making it together is a fun way for parents and children to explore Chinese culture, practice teamwork, and enjoy cooking.
Materials
- Sticky (glutinous) rice
- Bamboo leaves, soaked and cleaned
- Fillings such as sweet red bean paste, diced pork, salted egg yolk, chestnuts, or mushrooms
- Kitchen twine
- A steamer or large pot with a steaming rack
- Optional seasonings such as soy sauce or sesame oil
Steps
- Learn the story. Talk about why zongzi is eaten during the Dragon Boat Festival, its regional variations, and the stories behind it. Invite your child’s questions.
- Shop together. Take your child to the market to pick out rice, leaves, and fillings.
- Soak the rice and leaves. Soak the rice for a few hours or overnight. Children can help rinse the bamboo leaves until they are soft and flexible.
- Prepare the fillings. Give children safe, age appropriate jobs, like measuring or cracking egg yolks, while an adult handles knives.
- Wrap the zongzi. Fold a leaf into a cone, add rice and a spoonful of filling, fold the leaf over into a triangle, and tie it tightly with twine. Let children try different fillings.
- Steam. An adult arranges the zongzi in the steamer, leaving space between them, and steams for about 2 to 3 hours, until the rice is tender.
- Enjoy. Let them cool a little, unwrap, and taste together.
- Reflect and clean up. Talk about the favorite part, what was hard, and what you learned about Chinese food and culture. Clean up as a team.
Making zongzi is a wonderful bonding activity that builds cooking skills, fine motor skills, and curiosity about other cultures.