Add whatever fillings you like—make your own zongzi and enjoy the fun of making them together as a family.

Photos and text byPurple Smile

Do you know how to make glutinous rice dumplings (zongzi)??? Modern life has become so convenient that you can buy steaming hot zongzi at convenience stores anytime, so few people bother to make them around the Dragon Boat Festival anymore. Located in the Lize Industrial Park in Yilan, a special zongzi-making event will be held on Saturday mornings from 10:00 to 12:00 on May 10, May 17, May 24, and May 31, 2014. Want to bring your kids along to experience the process of making zongzi? You can even steam and eat them right after making them. Come take a look!!

The event takes place at Xihé Sightseeing Factory. We visited it last time >>Linked article

Whether you’re here for DIY activities or anything else, the first step is to wash your hands!!

Haha, these little ones didn’t forget—there’s a twist to this water; it actually has fish in it!!

While waiting to make zongzi, the tables are already set with all the fillings.

Blank stare!!! Haha, he’s probably thinking, "Where’s my cake!!??"

Fried sticky rice!!! This one has a special twist—it’s made with some of Xihé’s seafood.

These are white shrimp<水晶虾>, dried pork slices~~ also commonly used ingredients.

In recent years, food safety scandals have made everyone wary of what they eat. Usually, housewives would buy ingredients like dried shrimp and small dried fish from traditional markets, but there are always unscrupulous vendors who take advantage of holiday sales seasons to push unsafe products. Every now and then, incidents of substandard hygiene and safety standards are exposed. That’s why Xihé emphasizes letting consumers know about the healthiness, safety, hygiene, and deliciousness of natural seafood. Xihé products boast no added bleaching agents or preservatives during processing.

The filling is already stir-fried.

Zongzi with added mushrooms are even more fragrant and delicious.

The pre-marinated meat is brought to the table with the aroma of meat wafting through the air~~~ absolutely mouthwatering!!

This time, experienced aunties were invited to demonstrate for everyone.

You can see how skillfully they wrap the zongzi—they finish in just a few moves.

Tying them into bunches is also an art!!!

With the aunties’ careful guidance, we also learned how to wrap zongzi properly.

Sister Ruirui also wanted to give it a try.

After watching several times, when it came time to do it herself, she realized it wasn’t as easy as it looked.

Total lack of coordination!! Haha, but kids learn faster—actually, they got the hang of it better than the adults.

Making zongzi is an art, and tying them up is also a skill to master!! I think very few people our age still know how to make zongzi.

But making zongzi is also a form of historical heritage. And coming to wrap zongzi = wrapping success. Adults wrap for lottery luck, kids wrap for academic success, haha. These will definitely be super tasty and fragrant!!

These two were waiting around bored and ended up playing with puzzles instead.

Waiting for the zongzi to steam isn’t boring at all!!

Let’s do some more DIY!!

We got hooked on blanching seafood.

Xiao Beiguo happily shows off the food he cooked.

Ruirui is contentedly eating the abalone she prepared.

Xihe also prepared worksheets to turn DIY into an educational extracurricular activity.

Hehe, the long-awaited zongzi are finally steamed and ready.

The aroma wafts through the air.

The filling is hearty, paired with Xihe’s white shrimp (crystal shrimp) and dried shrimp, which really add a touch of ocean freshness to these zongzi—amazing!

Making zongzi together as a family and enjoying them together is such a fun experience. If you’re too lazy to prepare the ingredients, let Xihe do it for you!!

Xihe Food Sightseeing Factory
Location: No. 11, Lixing 2nd Road, Lizhi Industrial Park, Wujie Township, Yilan County
Phone: 03-9907998

We are Ben & Jean—we love food, travel, photography, and 3C.
http://smilejean.pixnet.net/blog