{"id":21127,"date":"2025-09-20T12:58:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=21127"},"modified":"2025-09-20T12:58:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T16:58:06","slug":"the-zenith-of-zongzi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/?p=21127","title":{"rendered":"The Zenith of Zongzi"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Click on any image to view it in high resolution.)<\/em>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nIf you visit any of New York City\u2019s nine or so Chinatowns, you\u2019ve probably seen zongzi, a pyramid of bamboo-leaf-wrapped glutinous rice filled with savory tids and bits. In addition to pork belly, this one contained preserved duck egg yolk and lap cheong (Chinese sausage); the yellow, rice-grain-sized fragments are mung beans that add immeasurably to the savory flavor of this treat.<\/p>\n

Zongzi are an integral part of Dragon Boat Festival, the time-honored Chinese holiday, but fortunately they\u2019re available year round. They\u2019re crafted with an array of fillings, some sweet, some savory, and specific distinctions vary throughout regions of China and elsewhere in Asia. Locally, it\u2019s easy to find savory versions packed with peanuts, pork belly, lap cheong, ham, salted duck egg, dried shrimp, mushrooms and more in various permutations and combinations; sweet types involve red dates and sweet bean paste.<\/p>\n

Note that in our Chinatown dim sum parlors, you might encounter sticky rice wrapped in lotus leaves but those are Lo Mai Gai, usually rectangular or pillow shaped and featuring chicken \u2013 different but also delicious.<\/p>\n

So why did I bestow the title of \u201czenith\u201d on this example (aside from cheeky alliteration, of course)? Because when I sliced it open on the bench in Columbus Park, I lucked into picture-perfect symmetry.<\/p>\n

Want to see if I can repeat the shot? Only one way to find out: join me on my Not Your Ordinary Chinatown Tour<\/a> and we\u2019ll give it another shot!
\n 
\n 
\nStay safe, be well, and eat whatever it takes! \u2764
\n 
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why did I bestow the title of \u201czenith\u201d on the subject of this post (aside from cheeky alliteration, of course)? Read on…. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3336,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[35],"class_list":["post-21127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-snacks","tag-chinese"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3336"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=21127"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21137,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21127\/revisions\/21137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=21127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=21127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ethnojunkie.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=21127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}