Glutinous rice dumpling is made by glutinous rice wrapped in bamboo leaves, which is one of the traditional celebratory foods of Chinese nation. Glutinous rice dumpling appeared earliest in the Spring and Autumn Period, which was initially used to worship the ancestors and gods. It became a celebratory food for the Dragon Boat Festival till the Jin Dynasty. For thousands of years, the custom of eating glutinous rice dumpling in Dragon Boat Festival has been popular in China, which spread to Korea, Japan and other Southeast Asian countries.
The main ingredients include glutinous rice, stuffing and indicalamus leaf (or phrynium capitatum), etc. There are northern and southern flavors due to different diet habits in different places. In short, there are salty and sweet glutinous rice dumplings. In every May 5th the lunar calendar, Chinese families will soak glutinous rice, wash bamboo leaves, and make glutinous rice dumplings in thousands of years. As one of the traditional foods with the most profound accumulation of history and culture in China, glutinous rice dumpling has been spread far away.
It’s said that people ate glutinous rice dumpling in memory of Qu Yuan. This food is passed down to pay homage to Qu Yuan who committed suicide in a river. There are rich varieties, including date glutinous rice dumpling in Beijing, mung bean, streaky pork, bean paste, eight treasures, ham, mushroom, egg yolk and other stuffing in the south. Salty meat glutinous rice dumpling in Guangdong and Jiaxing glutinous rice dumpling in Zhejiang are the representatives.