Monday, June 18, 2007

Hong Kong: Dragon Boat Festival

Tomorrow is the fifth day of the fifth month in the Chinese calendar, which means Dragon Boat Festival (端午節), and a public holiday.

Like many festivals around the world, Dragon Boat festival's origins are not known for sure. The commonly-held view is that the day commemorates and celebrates Chinese poet Qu Yuan (c. 340 BC-278 BC). Disgusted by the corruption of the government in what is now Hunan province, Qu protested and committed suicide by drowning himself in a river.

More on Qu Yuan and Dragon Boat festival : wikipedia

As with any good festival, food is involved. In this case, sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves.

This one is filled with rice, minced pork, salty egg and a soupçon of dried shrimp.

Pre-cooked, the organically-wrapped pyramid package was HK$10 from a shop on a corner of the square. The shop is, by the way, considered one of the best places for cooked foods on a little island in the South China Sea because "they change their oil often."

To re-heat: three minutes in a microwave or 15 minutes steamed in a wok. Given the contents, it is recommended to supplement with green vegtables. Bon appétit!

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