Kee Chang/ Kan Sui Chang

Back then as a child, Duan Wu festival / dragon boat festival / dumpling festival is always a festival that I very much looking forward to. I wasn't really concerned about how the festival came by, all that I had in my mind was 'dumpling, dumpling, dumpling...'. Few weeks ahead the festival, my mom would be busy sourcing and preparing ingredients for dumplings. She would usually made dozens of 'em- ranging from bak chang (dumpling with pork), kee chang / kan sui chang (with or without red bean) to nyonya chang. I wasn't a big eater but I could gulp down 2 bak chang effortlessly. Those dumplings, if not finished, could be kept in freezer and stored for months. Whenever you feel like eating it, simply heat it up and a meal is ready.

Now, perhaps, it is time for my turn to make those delicious dumplings for the family. Afterall, good food are best shared.

If you are interested in the history of the festival, below is the story quoted from Wikipedia:

The story best known in modern China holds that the festival commemorates the death of the poet and minister Qu Yuan of the ancient state of Chu during the Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty. A cadet member of the Chu royal house, Qu served in high offices. However, when the king decided to ally with the increasingly powerful state of Qin, Qu was banished for opposing the alliance and even accused of treason. During his exile, Qu Yuan wrote a great deal of poetry. Twenty-eight years later, Qin captured Ying, the Chu capital. In despair, Qu Yuan committed suicide by drowning himself in the Miluo River.
It is said that the local people, who admired him, raced out in their boats to save him or at least retrieve his body. This is said to have been the origin of dragon boat races. When his body could not be found, they dropped balls of sticky rice into the river so that the fish would eat them instead of Qu Yuan's body. This is said to be the origin of zong zi (dumpling) 

Source : Wikipedia  

Red bean kee chang/ ki Chang/ kan sui chang
Makes 14 dumplings

Ingredients

• 28-35 bamboo leaves (check that the leaves are unbroken/without holes)
• 28-35 dumpling strings
• 500 g glutinous rice
• 10 g orange-tinted lye
• 250g red bean paste (homemade or store bought)

Cooking Directions

1. Wash and soak bamboo leaves and dumpling string overnight. Weigh the leaves down with something heavy.
2. Place the bamboo leaves in a big pot and fill up water to cover the leaves. Bring the water to boil. Remove and set aside the leaves.
   
   
3. Rinse the glutinous rice with water untill water runs clear. Soak the glutinous rice overnight.
4. Drain glutinous rice.
5. Mix lye with 2 tablespoon of hot water to dissolve it, add to glutinous rice, stir to mix well. Let it sit for an hour.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Secure the bamboo string on a pole or bar (if none of it available, get a helper to hold it while you tying your dumpling)
7. Put 2 bamboo leaves together, fold the leaves as shown.
   
8. Spoon in glutinous rice and spread it on the leaves as shown so that the red bean will not touch the leaves.
   
   
9. Add red bean.
   
   
10. Top with glutinous rice, cover completely and fold the leaves as shown.
    
        
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
11. Wrap and tie dumplings (have to be tight so that the leaves won't open up during process of cooking.
12. Boil a pot of water enough to cover all dumplings. When the water is boiling, add in the dumplings and cook for 4 hours (or equivalent of 4 hours using your pressure cooker - I cooked 40 minutes on 2nd orange line for WMF pressure cooker).
    
13. Remove dumplings from the water. Leave till cool by hanging it. Place a bowl/plate below as there will be dripping water.
    
    
14. Eat the dumpling as it is or dip it in sugar. For storing, keep in the fridge for several days or freeze it and it can be kept for few months.