Bak Chang

It's time for rice dumplings again. This year, it will happen on 23 June 2012. Decided to make some Bak Chang instead of Nyonya Chang, and in smaller quantities.

Made a guesstimate that 60 Bak Chang will be enough, but somehow, the ingredients only made 40 completed ones, and 6 with less ingredients.

Ingredients:

2.5kg glutinous rice, soaked overnight (Should have bought 4kg)

1kg pork belly, cut into thick chunks (NTUC frozen pork)

500g pork loin, cut into cubes (NTUC frozen pork) (Should have used 1kg of pork loin) 

1 pack of 200 grams sliced dried mushrooms, soaked overnight

3 packs of 200 grams of dried Chinese chestnuts, soaked overnight

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

150 grams of dried shrimps, soaked and diced

700 grams of shallot, chopped

Soy sauce, dark soy sauce, five-spice powder, salt and pepper to taste, and oyster sauce

16 salted egg yolks, cut into halves

1 Pack of bamboo leaves soaked overnight (about 70 to 80 leaves there), plus raffia to tie

Method:

1. Drain glutinous rice. 

2. Marinate both pork loin and pork belly with 3 tablespoon light soya sauce, 3 tablespoon dark soya sauce and plenty of salt and pepper, and 2 tablespoon of 5 spice powder.

3. Heat up oil in a large frying pan and fry shallot till golden.

4. Boil soaked chestnuts with sugar and water.

5. Use leftover oil from shallot frying to fry garlic. Set aside 3/4 of garlic for rice.

6. Use 4 tablespoon of shallot oil to fry mushroom till fragrant. 

7. Use 4 tablespoon of shallot oil to fry marinated meat for about 20mins.

8. Use 4 tablespoon of shallot oil to fry diced dried shrimps.

9. Use 4 tablespoon of oil to fry drained rice and season with more dark soya sauce and a little five-spice powder. Mix in garlic and fried shallot and dried shrimps.

10. Make a cone with two bamboo leaves and add a spoon of rice. Add the two types of pork, chestnut and mushroom, and half an egg yolk. Cover mixture with more glutinous rice.

11. Fold over bamboo leaf to make a pyramid and secure with a piece of reed or raffia.

12. Tie dumplings into bundles of 10. Boil in a pot of boiling water for four hours. Keep adding water.

13. Hang the dumplings on racks, to let the dumplings dry out.