Dragon Boat Festivals and Chinese styled “tamales”

Dragon Boat Festivals are celebrated with dragon boat races and Chinese styled “tamales”. While Mexican tamales are made of cornmeal wrapped in corn husks, Chinese zongzi (粽子) are sticky rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. The variety of zongzi fillings, savory and sweet, is no fewer than as there are for tamales. Some savory ones have sausages in them. Some plain ones are made with dates and red beans and eaten by dipping in white sugar, powdered sugar, or honey. In East Asian countries further south, the same food idea is wrapped in banana leaves. There is a whole lot of excitement and childhood memories wrapped up in those green bundles. Tied up together in dozens and steamed for hours, hot zongzi send the smell of bamboo and rice everywhere from restaurants, street side carts, and apartment houses to the streets. These food packages make an easy meal as families get together. Zongzi are convenient and environmentally safe as the bamboo leaf wrapping serves as a dish that is biodegradable and saves on dishwashing. Many of the usual American dragon boat races in Nevada, Colorado, California have been postponed. To read more, check out the Rose Regatta in October 2020.