Eating the Traditional Un-traditionally

I had a sweet start to my Dumpling Festival yesterday, with this sweet dumpling served up for breakfast. This is probably the most traditional of glutinous rice dumplings; known as “jian shui zhong zhi” in Mandarin or “kee (or ki) chang” in Hokkien; and translated into English as “alkali water dumpling”.

That is its distinctive character; the dumpling is essentially just glutinous rice mixed with alkali water. The latter gives the dumpling a firmer, chewier texture compared to the other types of glutinous rice dumplings; it also gives the dumpling its characteristic yellow coloring. [Alkali water is very commonly added to many types of Chinese noodles. Most Southern Chinese style noodles have alkali in them, while Northern versions like the various la mian are usually alkali-free.]

I would say that jian shui zhong is probably the closest to the very first dumplings made those many centuries ago. It is a rice dumpling in the truest sense; devoid of any embellishment – no meat (a rare luxury in ancient times), no flavorings – and with just the alkali water added as a preservative and texture enhancer. Hundreds of years on, this plain, simple dumpling is still a favorite amongst many.

Jian shui zhongs are very small dumplings; usually no more than a third the size of the normal savory versions.

My feelings and thoughts about jian shui zhongs are very much tied in with my memories of both my late grandmothers. Every year, without fail, they would both make this dumpling for the Dumpling Festival. The whole family – aunts, uncles and cousins – loved these dumplings, eaten with a liberal coating of sugar. I however was more ambivalent about them; I found them tasteless and too chewy. The crunchy granules of sugar didn’t sit too well with me either. Yet, despite not having really enjoyed eating them, I still have incredibly fond memories of these dumplings, simply because they have long become associated, in my mind at least, with my grandmothers.

However, in recent years, I have come to like eating these jian shui zhongs. Two main reasons for this: well-made modern versions with sweet fillings like red bean paste and date paste; and the discovery of a distinctly non-traditional way of eating these traditional dumplings!

For breakfast yesterday, I had a store-bought red bean paste-filled one.

See the distinctive yellow coloring of the rice? This can range from a very light yellow to a darker yellow with brownish overtones, as in the case here.

Now, the traditional or classic way of eating jian shui zhong is to hold the whole dumpling in your hand and dip it into a small plate of caster sugar before taking each bite. I however have a very unconventional way of flavoring up my jian shui zhong, which will probably make the purists baulk and bring out the dumpling police! But what the heck, here goes anyways…

I like to eat the dumpling with each mouthful liberally smothered with either Nonya kaya or peanut butter. Absolutely delectable! The rich, flavorful and aromatic smoothness of the kaya and peanut butter is the perfect foil to the soft, dense, sticky, chewy blandness of the dumpling. Perfect!

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Oh! Another thing that these jian shui zhongs are excellent for (and something which I think I’ve mentioned before elsewhere in this blog) is as a texture enhancer for sweet dessert soups (tong shui) such as red bean soup. Throwing in a small jian shui zhong, cut into small chunks, during the cooking process, and letting it dissolve fully into the soup, will give the red bean soup an especially smooth mouth-feel – a result of the glutinous rice and alkali water combination.

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And so another Dumpling Festival has come and gone in the blink of an eye. But I now look forward eagerly to our next major festival, and my second most favorite after Chinese New Year – the Mooncake Festival. Only about three months away now… and then I will once again get to indulge in mooncakes. Yay!

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