TEA LEAF GLUTINOUS RICE DUMPLINGS ~ TastelLoutis cooking

The original recipe for these rice dumplings from Amy Beh is a vegetarian rice dumpling recipe. Here, I replaced the vegetarian filling with non-vegetarian filling that is using pork belly and dried prawns. However, I followed the recipe for the rice portion whereby tea leaves are added to the rice.

My kitchen was filled with a very fragrant aroma while the dumplings are cooking.

These were made for my nephew who is working in Singapore and was back during the Raya holidays. He missed home-made Changs during Duan Wu Jie.

Recipe adapted from Amy Beh’s book At Home With Amy Beh 2 with modifications

Ingredients For Rice

[makes 20 dumplings]

900 gm glutinous rice flour – washed, soaked overnight and drained

50 gm dried prawns – rinsed and drained

50 gm shallots – thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic – chopped

3 tbsp [15 gm] Siu Xian tea leaves – soaked in 125 ml hot water for 10 minutes. Strain, keep the tea leaves and discard the tea

Small pieces pandan leaves [about 2 cm] – I omit

40 rice dumpling leaves - soaked and cleaned [with hemp strings]

2 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp sesame seed oil

Seasoning

1 tbsp each of salt and sugar to taste

2 tbsp 5 spice powder

½ tsp msg

1 tsp pepper

2 tbsp light soy sauce

Heat oil in a non-stick pan, fry shallots and garlic until golden brown. Dish out.
Fry tea leaves with remaining oil until fragrant and crispy, add in the dried prawns. Stir fry to mix well. Add in the rice and seasoning, then add in fried shallots and garlic. Stir and toss to mix well. Dish up and set aside.

Ingredients for Filling

500-600 gm pork belly – cut into bite size pieces [about 20 to 22 pieces]

10 dried mushrooms – soaked and cut halve

20-22 chestnuts – soaked with a drop of alkaline water and water for about 30 minutes, rinsed and boil in water until soft

5 salted egg yolks – steamed for 10 minutes and quartered

50 gm shallots – thinly sliced

3-4 tbsp oil

Seasoning

1 tbsp sugar

½ tbsp 5 spice powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

½ tsp msg

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Marinate pork belly with seasoning for 30 minutes or overnight.
Heat oil, sauté shallots until golden brown. Add in marinated pork belly. Fry until fragrant and firm.
Add in the mushrooms and chestnuts. Continue to fry until seasoning is well absorbed by the ingredients.
Dish up and set aside.

To Wrap The Rice Dumplings

To wrap dumplings, take 2 pieces of bamboo leaves and fold into a cone.
Add 1 heaped tablespoon of rice, add a slice of pork, a piece of mushroom, a chestnut, a piece of salted egg yolk, top up with 1-2 tablespoon of rice.
Wrap into a pyramid shape dumpling and secure tightly with a hemp string. Do the same until all the ingredients are finished.
Put the bundles of rice dumplings in a big pot. Top up with water enough to cover the changs. Add a tablespoon of salt and sugar to the water.
Bring to boil over high heat, then lower to medium and continue to cook for 2 hours or until rice dumplings are cooked. Replenish with more hot water to the pot when required.
Remove and hang to let them dry. Best to serve rice dumplings warm.