Changzhou’s Small Foot Zongzi (Xiaojiao Zongzi, 小脚粽子)

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Duanwu Jie with a Taste of Jiangnan

This Duanwu Jie, we are introducing two special zongzi stories: Changzhou’s small foot zongzi and Sichuan’s savory zongzi. You may sense a theme in our blog with this entry, because after starting it as a mother-daughter effort in 2014, we brought on Kathy Yuan and Mala Mama to contribute their family recipes from Sichuan in 2021 and are now welcoming Zoe Yang and her mom, Iris Zhao, to share their stories and recipes from Jiangnan—the area south of the Yangtze River, including Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. They are from Nanjing, specifically, from which they immigrated when Zoe was 6 and where she later returned for culinary school.

I met Zoe on Instagram when I spotted her adorably fluffy kitten Xerxes posing with our Mala Market chilies, but I soon discovered that she is an extremely thoughtful essayist on culture and food. Only later did I learn she is a recipe developer—often in cahoots with her mom—and that the two of them would welcome this chance to write together. One could credit social media for this happy connection, but I call it kismet! (And as a former WSJ editor, I can’t help myself—I’m always on the lookout for super talented contributors.)

Read on for the bittersweet story of their family’s unique “small foot” zongzi, further proof that context is everything when it comes to home cooking—and that you should never skip the story on our blog! ~~Taylor 

Text, photos and video by Zoe Yang

In honor of 端午节 (duānwǔ jié), we’re excited to share step-by-step recipes for 粽子 (zòngzi) featuring two classic fillings, one well-known (red bean) and one rediscovered (fava bean)! Zongzi are made and eaten throughout China during Duanwu Jie (known in English as the “Dragon Boat Festival”), which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month of the lunar calendar (early to mid-June on the Gregorian calendar). The parcels of sticky rice are mixed with savory or sweet fillings and flavorings, wrapped in leaves and then boiled.

Pause. Who are we? We are Zoe Yang and Iris Zhao, The Mala Market’s newest recipe contributors! Iris is a retired schoolteacher living in Boston, Mass., who immigrated from Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu province, in the ’90s. Zoe is her daughter, who also considers herself 南京人 (nánjīng rén, a Nanjinger) despite being mostly raised in the U.S. Iris taught herself how to make a lot of Jiangnan classics—even the difficult ones—from scratch when she landed Stateside, and she passed that love of culinary discovery on to Zoe.

Together, we’re excited to share our explorations with all of The Mala Market’s Chinese food aficionados. Zongzi is a perfect place to start: We’ve got family stories, we’ve got a discussion of patriotism, we’ve got regionally specific holiday food, and we’ve got… foot binding. Read on!

What is Duanwu Jie, anyway?

The most widely accepted origin story of the holiday—the one Iris learned in school and taught to her own students for many years—is that it honors Qu Yuan, a royal advisor from the Warring States period who fell from favor with his king. Legend has it Qu Yuan was so heartbroken that he could no longer serve his beloved Chu state that he jumped into a river and killed himself. He in turn was so beloved by local people that they threw rice parcels into the river so that fish would eat them rather than his body.

First of all—and this is Zoe speaking—this is a really metal story to be teaching young children. Once you get past that, this idea of a bureaucrat completing suicide over losing his job, and being grieved in such a heartfelt way by common folk, has always felt strange. I’m sure a lot of that is my 21st century American cynicism, so I asked Iris whether she thinks this over-the-top story of patriotism resonates today.

Iris: You know, people just like the thing, so they keep making it. They’re not necessarily connecting it with Qu Yuan. 

You heard it here first: You can make zongzi just because you like ‘em, nationalist agendas be damned. Anyways, there’s probably also a practical reason we make zongzi around this time: the early summer zongzi leaves, which can come from a variety of plants, are fragrant and supple. And traditionally, zongzi are wrapped in fresh leaves.

Here in the States, we’ve only seen dried bamboo leaves sold, and they tend to be much more brittle even when rehydrated (watch for notes to help with cracking and splitting in the recipe steps). If you have access to fresh bamboo or phragmites (which are highly invasive in many parts of the US), try foraging fresh leaves for this recipe!

A forgotten filling for small foot zongzi

Iris’ favorite zongzi filling is red bean, which is purposefully unseasoned to highlight the 豆香 (dòu xiāng), bean fragrance, but eaten dipped in sugar. Zoe prefers savory zongzi, and was able to jog Iris’ memory of another filling variation 太太 used to make: 蚕豆 (cándòu), fava/broad beans, also known as 胡豆 (húdòu). Fava beans are commonly eaten in Jiangnan in both fresh and dried iterations. This recipe calls for dried favas (the fresh ones would get too mushy after cooking).

A history of bound feet: “Three-Inch Golden Lotuses”

This style of zongzi is passed down from Iris’ grandmother (Zoe’s 太太 (tàitài), great-grandmother) from Changzhou, Jiangsu, and neither of us have seen it outside our family. It makes a relatively small but dense zongzi bound by two bamboo leaves.

The reason it’s called 小脚粽子 (xiǎojiǎo zòngzi) small foot zongzi, became apparent to Zoe as she was learning the wrapping technique from Iris, and observed that the finished zongzi looked exactly like a bound foot:

Bound feet, or so-called 三寸金莲 (sāncùn jīnlián), three-inch golden lotuses, were a very, very painful beauty standard that generations of Chinese women were subjected to, including 太太. It certainly arouses mixed feelings, this realization that our matriarch was responsible for making zongzi every Duanwu Jie for her large family, and each one would have reminded her of her forced disability.

Of course, the fact that small foot zongzi are shaped like the beauty totem of the day (imagine brioche shaped like Kylie Jenners’ lips?) probably made them all the rage. It probably explains why our family held on to this recipe, despite the technique being relatively complicated.

Instructions for folding small foot zongzi

The night before wrapping zongzi, soak red beans and/or fava beans and bamboo leaves separately in plenty of water overnight. The next morning, drain the beans, and thoroughly wash the rice. Divide rice amount into two equal halves, if making both fillings. Add fava beans to one half of the rice, and mix in two tablespoons of light soy sauce. Let marinate for a couple of hours on the counter. Mix red beans into the other half of the rice and set aside.

When you’re ready to begin wrapping, cut 40 25-inch segments of kitchen twine and set aside. Feel the bamboo leaves—they should be very pliable and not prone to splitting when you bend them. If they still feel stiff, boil them for 1 minute. Remove bamboo leaves from the water and make two piles: one for sturdy, wide, unblemished leaves (these will form your main wrapper), and one for leaves that look short, thin, ripped, or otherwise imperfect (these will be your helpers). Trim off the hard stems of all leaves, then split the helper leaves down the middle lengthwise, along the central rib.

Step-by-step guide for the photo gallery:

  1. Taking a main leaf, form a cone on one end with the raised side of the central rib facing outward. Grip the edges tightly with your non-dominant hand to hold the shape.
  2. Add either fava or red bean rice mixture to the cup.
  3. Use your dominant hand to fold the leaf over…
  4. … and around the cone while keeping your other hand in place. (Video below starts here!)
  5. This will create the “little foot” shape while leaving an opening where the “ankle” is.
  6. Use the ankle hole to fill in more rice and beans.
  7. Tamp down using a chopstick. Make sure the bamboo leaf is tightly filled, as this makes the zongzi easier to wrap and less likely to come undone while cooking.
  8. Select a helper leaf that is wide enough to cover the ankle hole.
  9. Place one end of the helper leaf under the “foot,” with the rest of the leaf trailing off the back.
  10. Wrap the leaf up the back of the foot and over the ankle hole, sealing it…
  11. … and continue wrapping down one side of the foot, underneath, and back over there other side, following the contour of the foot. When you get to the end, tuck it in one of the folds. Don’t worry if it’s a little loose.
  12. Take a segment of kitchen twine and clamp down on one end with your teeth. Holding the zongzi in front of you with one hand, use the other to wrap the string around the zongzi. Knot tightly, digging the string into the zongzi.

Repeat with remaining rice and bamboo leaves. If any main leaves crack or split during the wrapping, start over and recycle it as a helper leaf.

For more visual guidance on filling and folding the second leaf layer that creates the small foot zongzi shape (starting from step 4 above), check out how Iris does it below:

Once you’re finished with wrapping, completely submerge zongzi in water in an Instant Pot (natural release) or pressure cooker, and cook on high for 30 minutes. On a stovetop, use a stockpot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 hours. This may require a couple batches depending on how big your pots are and how many zongzi you make.

To eat, remove the string and unwrap the zongzi. I like dipping the red bean ones in white sugar and the fava bean ones in a sauce of good light soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar all whisked together. Zongzi can keep in the refrigerator for up to a month. To reheat, briefly boil them again for 5 minutes.

To learn how to make another recipe for zongzi from Kathy and Mala Mama, visit Kathy’s Savory Sichuan Zongzi post!

Changzhou’s Small Foot Zongzi (Xiaojiao Zongzi, 小脚粽子)

By: Zoe Yang | The Mala Market

Ingredients 

Makes about 40 zongzi, half sweet red bean and half savory fava bean

  • cups dried red adzuki beans
  • cups  dried fava beans, husked (we recommend Bob’s Red Mill)
  • 80 bamboo leaves plus a few more in case of breakage
  • 12 cups short-grain glutinous rice
  • 2 tablespoons light soy sauce

Instructions 

Prep

  • The night before wrapping zongzi, soak red beans, fava beans and bamboo leaves separately in plenty of water overnight.
    The next morning, drain red beans and fava beans, and thoroughly wash the rice. Divide rice amount into two equal halves. Add fava beans to one half of the rice, and mix in two tablespoons of light soy sauce. Let marinate for a couple of hours on the counter. Mix red beans into the other half of the rice and set aside.
  • When you’re ready to begin wrapping, cut forty 25-inch segments of kitchen twine and set aside.
    Feel the bamboo leaves—they should be very pliable and not prone to splitting when you bend them. If they still feel stiff, boil them for 1 minute.
    Remove bamboo leaves from the water and make two piles: one for sturdy, wide, unblemished leaves (these will form your main wrapper), and one for leaves that look short, thin, ripped, or otherwise imperfect (these will be your helpers). Trim off the hard stems of all leaves, then split the helper leaves down the middle lengthwise, along the central rib.

Folding the zongzi (see above for photo/video)

  • Taking a main leaf, form a cone on one end with the raised side of the central rib facing outward. Grip the edges tightly with your non-dominant hand to hold the shape.
  • Add either fava or red bean rice mixture to the cup, then use your dominant hand to fold the leaf over and around the cone while keeping your other hand in place. This will create the “little foot” shape while leaving an opening where the “ankle” is.
  • Use the ankle hole to fill in more rice and beans, and tamp down using a chopstick. Make sure the bamboo leaf is tightly filled, as this makes the zongzi easier to wrap and less likely to come undone while cooking.
  • Select a helper leaf that is wide enough to cover the ankle hole. Place one end of the helper leaf under the “foot,” with the rest of the leaf trailing off the back. Wrap the leaf up the back of the foot and over the ankle hole, sealing it, and continue wrapping down one side of the foot, and underneath, following the contour of the foot. When you get to the end, tuck it in one of the folds. Don’t worry if it’s a little loose.
  • Take a segment of kitchen twine and clamp down on one end with your teeth. Holding the zongzi in front of you with one hand, use the other to wrap the string around the zongzi. Knot tightly, digging the string into the zongzi.
  • Repeat with remaining rice and bamboo leaves. If any main leaves crack or split during the wrapping, start over and recycle it as a helper leaf.

Cook

  • Once you’re finished with wrapping, completely submerge zongzi in water in an Instant Pot (natural release) or pressure cooker, and cook on high for 30 minutes. On a stovetop, use a stockpot or Dutch oven and bring to a boil, then simmer for 3 hours.
  • To eat, remove the string and unwrap the zongzi. I like dipping the red bean ones in white sugar and the fava bean ones in a sauce of good light soy sauce, sesame oil and sugar all whisked together.

Notes

Cooking may require a couple batches depending on how big your pots are and how many zongzi you make.
Zongzi can keep in the refrigerator for up to a month. To reheat, briefly boil them again for 5 minutes.

Tried this recipe?

About Zoe Yang and Iris Zhao

Zoe Yang is a Brooklyn-based writer and recipe developer. She was born, raised and culinarily trained in Nanjing, China. Iris Zhao, her mother, is a retired schoolteacher living in Boston who immigrated from Nanjing in the ’90s. Iris taught herself how to make a lot of Jiangnan classics—even the difficult ones—from scratch when she landed Stateside, and she passed that love of culinary discovery on to Zoe. Together they are sharing mother-daughter recipes from southeast China for The Mala Market. Zoe’s recipes and writing can also be found on Bon Appetit, TheKitchn.com and her personal site: www.zoeyijingyang.com.

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