Making Teochew Durian Ba Chang 裹潮州双拼榴莲肉粽

As Duan Wu Jie (Dumpling Festival) approaches, I began to miss my Mom's homemade Teochew ba zhang  (rice dumpling) . As I dislike those sold outside, I decided to make my own.

Our Teochew ba zhang is unique as it has two tastes - a delicious combination of savoury and sweet fillings. Making ba zhang is a most time consuming process, which explains why I rarely make my own rice dumplings.

What makes a Teochew ba zhang special is the red bean paste which is first rolled into a ball and then wrapped in caul fat. The thin layer of caul fat retained the shape of the red bean after boiling and won't disperse into a mess. Nowadays many dumpling makers do not use caul fat due to the scarce supply.

3 days before dumpling festival, I prepared the bamboo leaves and reed strings for the wrapping. Soaked glutinous rice overnight before frying it with seasonings. Yesterday I spent a whole day preparing the ingredients and making the dumplings. It was laborious work.

After seeing a fellow Teochew post his Teochew ba zhang with yam paste, I decided to try a different sweet filling - durian paste! hahaha.... yummilicious!!

The Sunday morning before the dumpling festival, I passed by a temple and saw many volunteers helping to make dumplings for the underprivileged and devotees. They were making hundreds of dumplings.

Salute to these volunteers for spending their Sunday making rice dumplings for the needy who are not forgotten during festive celebrations.

Brought my nephews to watch the dragon boat race at Marina Bay.

Happy Dumpling Festival!

端午节总会想起小时候妈妈自己包的潮州双拼肉粽。好多年没吃了，忽然心血来潮, 自己动手裹潮州双拼肉粽。

单单咸粽子或甜粽子，吃多了容易腻。传统的潮州双拼肉粽馅料独特，一半甜，一半咸，一粽两味不容易腻。但咸甜双拼粽子做起来颇费工夫, 裹粽子的工序繁琐。

离端午节还有三天, 我准备竹叶和芦苇草  ~~ 洗净、晒干、浸漂。到了端午节前一日，一早就起来炒糯米、泡香菇虾米、浸栗子、煮红豆、捣豆沙、切花肉腊肠等。

我的馅料 : 糯米 (糯米先以五香粉、豉油、老抽等炒香)、肥豬肉（五花肉）、豆沙、腊肠、咸蛋、栗子、糖、葱花、虾米、香菇、猪网油（猪腹间的油膜）。现在外面卖的粽子都没有这么多料，只是放了必备的几样。

日前看到潮州老乡的帖子 ~ 芋泥双拼肉粽。我突发奇想 。。。 自制加了榴莲的潮州双拼肉粽。

一切准备就绪就开始裹粽子。包好的粽子，要在锅里煮上两个小时。

各位客官，请准备好纸巾，以免口水直流不止。好吃吗？甜滋滋又香喷喷的潮州双拼肉粽 。。。 食定正知! (这潮州话的意思是 : 只有吃了并且仔细品味以后，才真正知道它的好味道。)

端午节到，祝福“端”到你面前：

送你一粒粽子，愿你“粽”是快乐! 

端午节快乐！