Joong Party 2023
Have you eaten joong?
Last Saturday, the Asian Heritage Association had it’s first Joong / Zongzi making party! In Chinese culture, joong (or sticky rice dumplings) are the traditional food to eat this time of year for the Dragon Boat Festival.
Here are some photos from the event, held at Jean Thompson’s house in McMinnville.
Two Day Event
While 24 people got together on a Saturday to wrap the sticky rice dumplings, all the ingredients had to be prepared a day in advance. That included soaking, boiling and scrubbing each bamboo leaf, marinating the pork belly, and soaking the dry ingredients (sweet rice, shelled mung beans, black eyed peas) over night. The lap chong (Chinese sausage) and salted duck egg yolk were also cut into bite sized portions.
With all the ingredients prepared, everyone got together to begin the assembly process! It takes three bamboo leaves to fold a Cantonese style joong and quite a bit of kitchen twine. Each parcel is then loaded into a large pot to boil for three hours (or 45 minutes in an instant pot).
Folding in Memories
Most of our participants had never made joong before. However, quite a few shared how joong reminded them of their mothers or grandmothers. They shared about the different ingredients their family liked most and marveled at the skill required to fold them into a pleasing shape.
While sticky rice dumplings can be purchased premade from some Asian markets or bakeries, many expressed regret they had not learned their family’s bamboo-wrapped recipe from their parents or grandparents before they passed.
In the end, multiple generations got hands-on-learning and each person was able to take home a gallon freezer bag full of wrapped and ready sticky rice dumplings.
AHA plans on making this a yearly event. Sign-up for our email list to get notified of our next community event!
