The Chinese tamale

There's this thing my mom, and probably every other Chinese mom, makes that I like to refer to as the Chinese tamale. It's quite similar to a regular tamale, hence the name. Rice, beans, and some meat is wrapped inside a banana leaf, and they come in triangular and cylindrical shapes. It's called zhong zhi in Mandarin.

I had two of them today. They've been chilling in my freezer for the past couple of weeks and, as I was getting tired of them dropping out of their torn bag each time I pulled on the freezer door, I decided it was time to eat them. The ones my mom sent up with Justin and Jeanne on their trip from LA this time had yellow bean, rice, pork, Chinese sausage, dried scallops, and peanuts in them. They're my mom's version of the banana leaf packets that one can find at dim sum.

After defrosting in the fridge overnight and then into the steambasket for 15 minutes, they were ready to eat. I think I might have cooked them too long since some of the rice oozed out of the corners. But, no worries--I ate the rice that was stuck to the steambasket too...sticky goodness. I unwrapped the package, trying not to burn myself, and mushed it on my plate with a sprinkle of salt and a grind of pepper (my mom never over seasons but often under seasons). The rice was warm and sticky, the yellow bean just the perfect consistency of pastey-ness, and the scallop and sausage bits had a kick of saltiness.

With those two done, I only have about a dozen more to eat. Yum.