Popo's Zongzi Celebration

At the beginning of dinner on Friday, Popo offered to give us a treat to take home - zongzi (粽子 zòng zi). You can read more about zongzi through this Wikipedia link, but in short, they are "a traditional Chinese food, made of glutinous rice stuffed with different fillings and wrapped in bamboo or reed leaves. They are cooked by steaming or boiling" (from Wikipedia). They're traditionally eaten around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival because, as legend has it, locals threw the treats into the river where a respected man had just killed himself so the fish would eat the rice and not the man's body. I had my first zongzi when I spent a month in 2004 studying Chinese in Taiwan. Cut the string open, peel the bamboo leaf back, and enjoy the sticky glutinous rice treat.

One of Popo's zongzi from Friday evening (5/27/2011) ready to be opened and enjoyed.

Gareth and I sat around for close to 45 minutes after finishing our meal. We're both pretty contemplative at times, and sitting around with nothing to do (as happens frequently here) can lead to interesting conversations about how this experience will shape us for the rest of our lives. They're fun conversations, but lounging in a fly-infested cafeteria while Popo tells you, "They'll be ready right away!" can get old pretty quickly.

After nearly 40 minutes of waiting, Gareth decided to jet back up to the room. I couldn't blame him. Just a few minutes later, Popo proved the old adage true: good things come to those who wait!

Popo does her thing.

Back in my room, I delicately cut the string that kept the the zongzi sealed and slowly peeled back the leaves to expose the steaming hot sticky rice. With each bite, the freshly cooked glutinous rice would adhere to my lips for a split second before I rounded up each grain with my lips and tongue. It was simply too good to not enjoy even the smallest piece. I have to admit that I even licked up the few grains of rice that stuck to the bamboo leaf. Though these zongzi didn't have the red bean fillings I loved so much in Taiwan, they were delicious. Thanks to Popo and her crew for all that they do for us!