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Recipe Details:
Sticky rice dumplings, also known as Zongzi, are a well-known Chinese holiday food, enjoyed by many people around the world. This diabetes-friendly recipe suggests to use glutinous brown rice for better glycemic control. While any meat can be used for stuffing, we use chicken to make our Zongzi lighter.
Ingredients:
Glutinous brown rice – 1¾ lbs.
Boneless chicken thighs (cut in small pieces) – 1 lb.
Step 1 Preparation of this dish should begin a day before cooking. First, in a large bowl, soak the glutinous brown rice, cover with a plate, and leave overnight. Step 2 Soak the dry bamboo leaves completely submerged in water in another large bowl overnight. Step 3 Soak the dry Shiitake Mushrooms in water overnight, cover with a plate, and leave overnight. Step 4 In a large mixing bowl, mix together chicken meat, ginger, scallions, garlic, Chinese 13 spices mix, light and dark soy sauces, sweetener, and black pepper. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and marinate overnight in the fridge. Step 5 The next day, continue cooking zongzi with stir-frying sticky rice. To do that, rinse the rice and set aside. Then heat a wok on medium-high heat and combine there vegetable oil, scallions, garlic, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anises. Stir-fry until all the ingredients turn brown. When that happens, remove them, but keep the oil in the wok. Then put in the rice and stir with the oil. Step 6 Add in light and dark soy sauces and oyster sauce. Mix everything well. Stir fry for approximately 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and set it aside. Step 7 Now, let’s make the Zongzi. Lay out all the ingredients on your work table. Also prepare a cooking string and a pair of scissors. Step 8 Squeeze out extra water from the shiitake mushrooms. Add 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil in the marinated chicken (still in marinade) and mix well. Step 9 Take two bamboo leaves and overlay them with each other the smooth sides facing outside. Cut the top edges of the leaves off so they form a line. Wrap the leaves into a taper shape with your hands. Step 10 Hold the leaves tightly, keeping them in shape. Then add some rice first and use a spoon to make a hollow in the middle of the rice. After that, put in 2 pieces of chicken and 2 pieces of shiitake mushrooms, then cover with more rice and make the top even. Step 11 Fold the leaves from the side and from the top. The shape will resemble a pyramid. Hold it tightly with one hand and tie the pyramid with a string, using your other hand. Step 12 Place the zongzi in a pot and cover them completely with water. Simmer the zongzi for approximately 3 hours on medium or medium-low heat. Step 13 Check out the water level to make sure the zongzi are fully submerged in order to be cooked evenly. Step 14 Remove the cooked zongzi from water, serve and enjoy!
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