Zongzi, or sticky rice dumpling, is one of my favorite foods to eat. They are sticky rice meals wrapped in bamboo leaves and filled with ingredients like mushroom, Chinese sausage, nuts, and more. You have probably had it sometime in your life, but do you know the history behind it?
There are variations to the legend, but this is the story I heard. A long time ago, during the warring states period of China, there lived a poet and politician named Qu Yuan. His home was under invasion and he did not want to abandon his own homeland, so he chose to jump into the Mi Luo River. Since he was loved by many, his people were saddened to hear about his loss. They wanted to make sure that the fish would not eat his body in the water, so they threw pieces of food to feed the fish. It was also believed that the rice balls would be eaten by dragons, so in order to prevent this, they wrapped and tied the rice balls in leaves… giving birth to the rice dumpling.
Now, every year, we hold dragon boat festivals on the fifth day of the fifth Lunar month and eat rice dumplings to celebrate and commemorate Qu Yuan.
